Phyrne

Phryne had talents for mankind,

Open she was, and unconfin'd,

Like some free port of trade:

Merchants unloaded here their freight,

And Agents from each foreign state,

Here first their entry made.

Her learning and good breeding such,

Whether th' Italian or the Dutch,

Spaniards or French came to her:

To all obliging she'd appear:

'Twas Si Signior, 'twas Yaw Mynheer,

'Twas S'il vous plaist, Monsieur.

Obscure by birth, renown'd by crimes,

Still changing names, religions, climes,

At length she turns a Bride:

In di'monds, pearls, and rich brocades,

She shines the first of batter'd jades,

And flutters in her pride.

So have I known those Insects fair

(Which curious Germans hold so rare)

Still vary shapes and dyes;

Still gain new Titles with new forms;

First grubs obscene, then wriggling worms,

Then painted butterflies.

Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope, (born May 21, 1688, London, England—died May 30, 1744, Twickenham, near London), poet and satirist of the English Augustan period, best known for his poems An Essay on Criticism (1711), The Rape of the Lock (1712–14), The Dunciad (1728), and An Essay on Man (1733–34). He is one of the most epigrammatic of all English authors. Pope’s command of diction is no less happily adapted to his theme and to the type of poem, and the range of his imagery is remarkably wide. He has been thought defective in imaginative power, but this opinion cannot be sustained in view of the invention and organizing ability shown notably in The Rape of the Lock and The Dunciad. He was the first English poet to enjoy contemporary fame in France and Italy and throughout the European continent and to see translations of his poems into modern as well as ancient languages.

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Phyrne

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