Couplets on Wit

Alexander Pope 1688 (London) – 1744 (Twickenham)



I

But our Great Turks in wit must reign alone
And ill can bear a Brother on the Throne.

                II

Wit is like faith by such warm Fools profest
Who to be saved by one, must damn the rest.

                III

Some who grow dull religious strait commence
And gain in morals what they lose in sence.

                IV

Wits starve as useless to a Common weal
While Fools have places purely for their Zea.

                V

Now wits gain praise by copying other wits
As one Hog lives on what another sh---.

                VI

Wou'd you your writings to some Palates fit
Purged all you verses from the sin of wit
For authors now are so conceited grown
They praise no works but what are like their own.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 27, 2023

38 sec read
95

Quick analysis:

Scheme AA BB CC XX XX BBAA
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 693
Words 127
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4

Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope (1688-1744) is regarded as one of the greatest English poets, and the foremost poet of the early eighteenth century. He is best known for his satirical and discursive poetry, including The Rape of the Lock, The Dunciad, and An Essay on Criticism, as well as for his translation of Homer. more…

All Alexander Pope poems | Alexander Pope Books

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