To Pope’s ImpromptuTitle and Epigraph This poem is also known by a longer title: "To Mr. Pope In answer to a coppy of verses occasion'd by a little dispute upon four lines in the Rape of the Lock"
Finch is responding to these four lines from Pope's The Rape of the Lock (first published 1712, finished 1717):
Parent of vapors and of female wit,
Who give the hysteric or poetic fit,
On various tempers act by various ways,
Make some take physic, other scribble plays; (Canto 4, lines 59-62)
Alexander Pope's poem "Impromptu, To Lady Winchelsea Occasion'd by Four Satyrical Verses on Women-Wits, in The Rape of the Lock":
In vain you boast Poetic Names of yore,
And cite those Sapphos we admire no more:
Fate doom'd the Fall of ev'ry Female Wit;
But doom'd it then when first Ardelia writ.
Of all Examples by the World confess'd,
I knew Ardelia could not quote the best;
Who, like her Mistress on Britannia's Throne;
Fights and subdues in Quarrels not her own.
To write their Praise you but in vain essay;
Ev'n while you write, you take that Praise away:
Light to the Stars the Sun does thus restore,
But shines himself till they are seen no more.
"Ardelia" is Finch's pen-name. The poem was written around 1714, and published in Bayle's Dictionary in 1741.
Pope’s and Finch’s poem share the words "fate" and "world," and Pope's use of "admire" is echoed in Finch's use of "admiration."
Disarmed with so genteel an air,
The contest I give o’er;
Yet, Alexander, have a care,
And shockshock Echoes the Shock from Pope's The Rape of the Lock where the word suggests a military campaign: "Or whether Heaven has doomed that Shock must fall. /. . . / Ariel himself shall be the guard of Shock." (Canto 2, lines 110, 116), and in Belinda's words from Canto 4, line 164: ". . . Shock was most unkind!" the sex no moreno more Finch echoes Pope's use of “no more” in "Impromptu": “In vain you boast Poetic Names of yore, / And cite those Sapphos we admire no more:“ and “Light to the Stars the Sun does thus restore, / But shines himself till they are seen no more.” .
We rule the world our life’s whole race,
Men but assume that right;
First slaves to ev’ry tempting faceFirst slaves to ev’ry tempting face Compare Pope's lines from The Rape of the Lock: "If to her share some female errors fall, / Look on her face, and you'll forget 'em all." (Canto 2, lines 17-18),
Then martyrs to our spite.
You of one Orpheus Orpheus . . . Hebrus . . . flood From Greek mythology: Orpheus was a legendary poet who could tame wild animals with his lute playing. He was allowed to lead his wife Eurydice out of Hades, provided he not look back as she followed him. Disobeying this command, he lost her forever. Afterward, lamenting his loss and disregarding the Thracian Maenads (women who followed Bacchus) these women tore him apart and threw his head into the Hebrus river. John Milton presents a brief account of Orpheus in Lycidas (1638), lines 58-63, which includes the river Hebrus: "His goary visage down the stream was sent, / Down the swift Hebrus to the Lesbian shore" (lines 62-63). sure have read,
Who would like you have writ writ . . . wit Finch reverses the end rhyme of lines 3 and 4 from Pope's "Impromptu": “Fate doom'd the Fall of ev'ry Female Wit; / But doom'd it then when first Ardelia writ.”
Had he in London town been bred,
And polished too his witwrit . . . wit Finch reverses the end rhyme of lines 3 and 4 from Pope's "Impromptu": “Fate doom'd the Fall of ev'ry Female Wit; / But doom'd it then when first Ardelia writ.”;
But he poor soul thought all was well,
And great should be his fame,
When he had left his wife in hell,
And birds and beasts could tame.
Yet venturing then with scoffing rhymes
The women to incense,
Resenting heroines of those times
Soon punished his offense.
And as the Hebrus Orpheus . . . Hebrus . . . flood From Greek mythology: Orpheus was a legendary poet who could tame wild animals with his lute playing. He was allowed to lead his wife Eurydice out of Hades, provided he not look back as she followed him. Disobeying this command, he lost her forever. Afterward, lamenting his loss and disregarding the Thracian Maenads (women who followed Bacchus) these women tore him apart and threw his head into the Hebrus river. John Milton presents a brief account of Orpheus in Lycidas (1638), lines 58-63, which includes the river Hebrus: "His goary visage down the stream was sent, / Down the swift Hebrus to the Lesbian shore" (lines 62-63). rolled his skull,
And harp besmeared with blood,
They clashing as the waves grew full,
Still harmonized the flood Orpheus . . . Hebrus . . . flood From Greek mythology: Orpheus was a legendary poet who could tame wild animals with his lute playing. He was allowed to lead his wife Eurydice out of Hades, provided he not look back as she followed him. Disobeying this command, he lost her forever. Afterward, lamenting his loss and disregarding the Thracian Maenads (women who followed Bacchus) these women tore him apart and threw his head into the Hebrus river. John Milton presents a brief account of Orpheus in Lycidas (1638), lines 58-63, which includes the river Hebrus: "His goary visage down the stream was sent, / Down the swift Hebrus to the Lesbian shore" (lines 62-63). .
But you our follies gently treat,
And spin so fine the thread,
You need not fear his awkward fate,
The lock won’t cost the head The lock won’t cost the head Refers to Pope's The Rape of the Lock, while also playing on "maidenhead": that is, virginity..
Our admirationadmiration Echoes Pope's "admire" from his "Impromptu": In vain you . . . / . . . cite those Sapphos we admire no more” you command
For all that’s gone before;
What next we look for at your hand
Can only raise it more.
Yet sooth the ladies I advise
(As me too pride has wrought)
We’re born to wit, but to be wise
By admonitions taught.
Writing Ideas
1. Ange Mlinko, in her lively poem guide to “The Answer,” notes that in Anne Finch’s time “among the literate classes of Europe, poetry used to be a kind of social media too.” Think about the social media you use—Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Skype—and write a poem that plays with the form of one, or all. You might write a poem that is also a tweet, or a poem that takes the shape of status updates. How does writing a poem for such a public forum change what, and how, you write?
2. “Translate” Finch’s poem: going line-by-line, and keeping the lines as short and punchy as hers, translate “The Answer” into contemporary English. Then try another version into slang.
3. “The Answer” is literally an answer: to Alexander Pope and some demeaning comments he made about female writers. Write a poem that responds to a person who has insulted you or someone you know. Try, like Finch does, to use their first name in the first few lines of your poem.
4. Finch turns a Greek myth on its head to both flatter and belittle Pope. Write a poem that also uses a myth or legend to an unexpected effect.
Discussion Questions
1. Describe Finch’s tone in “The Answer.” How does she make her displeasure known, and how does she soften it? What do the last four lines mean in the context of the poem? What is Finch’s tone in them?
2. Anne Finch is making a complex argument in “The Answer.” Try summarizing her points in prose and comparing them to the poem itself; what does she gain by setting her rebuttal to Alexander Pope in verse?
3. How does Finch use the myth of Orpheus in her poem? What comparisons does she draw between Orpheus and Pope? How does her interpretation of the myth tie into her treatment of Pope?
4. Read “Impromptu,” by Alexander Pope, the poem “The Answer” is replying to. What does each poem assert about men and women? How do the poets present their ideas about gender, and their ideas about each other? What kinds of allusions do they invoke? Why might they do so?
Teaching Tips
1. Present the context around “The Answer,” either by having students read Ange Mlinko’s poem guide, or by summarizing its main points. Tell students they are going to go on a scavenger hunt for other “literary fights.” Have them research poems, and poets, who have disagreed over poetry. Giving students opposing poets or movements might be helpful—for example Lord Byron/John Keats; W.C. Williams/T.S. Eliot; even the “rival” anthologies, Donald Hall’s New Poets of American and England and Donald Allen’s The New American Poetry 1945-1960. What do people tend to disagree about in poetry? How is this similar to, or different from, disagreements in other art forms? What is at stake in such arguments? (A way to contextualize this might be through contemporary examples: the fights over East and West coast rap styles, or tech-world debates such as Mac vs. PC/Windows or iPhone vs. Android)
2. Was Alexander Pope a misogynist? Divide the class in two and have them do a “debate” on the issues raised by “The Answer.” Ask each group to find examples to make their case in Pope’s poems, and poems of his contemporaries like Finch. Begin the debate by reading aloud “The Answer” and “Impromptu.”
Anne Finch, the Countess of Winchilsea, was an English poet and courtier in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. She was a major female poet during her lifetime, whose work spanned genres and addressed a variety of subjects. She authored religious verse and love...
