Analysis of The Looking-Glass. : on Mrs. Pulteney

Alexander Pope 1688 (London) – 1744 (Twickenham)



With scornful mien, and various toss of air,
Fantastic vain, and insolently fair,
Grandeur intoxicates her giddy brain,
She looks ambition, and she moves disdain.
Far other carriage grac'd her virgin life,
But charming G--y's lost in P--y's wife.
Not greater arrogance in him we find,
And this conjunction swells at least her mind:
O could the sire renown'd in glass, produce
One faithful mirror for his daughter's use!
Wherein she might her haughty errors trace,
And by reflection learn to mend her face:
The wonted sweetness to her form restore,
Be what she was, and charm mankind once more!


Scheme AABBCCDDEEFFGG
Poetic Form
Metre 11010100111 0101011 010100101 1101001101 1101010101 1101110111 1101000111 0101011101 11010010101 1101011101 0111010101 0101011101 011010101 1111011111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 588
Words 102
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 467
Words per stanza (avg) 100
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
95

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…

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