Although this poem was originally composed by 1715, Pope chose not to publish it until 1738. It appeared under the imprint of Robert Dodsley as a sixpenny folio of eight pages, attributed to “the Author of the
Essay on Man”. The printer was John Wright (McLaverty 25). In this form, the work consists of 52 lines, set out in quatrains with alternating rhymes. Four early transcripts are known, though none of them is autograph. They appear to be largely independent of one another, and show a number of different readings throughout, with stanzas added or deleted. The earliest state of the text appears to be represented by a version transcribed by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Another state appears in a copy that Pope sent to his friend Ralph Allen in 1736, while further variants emerge in the…
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Citation: Rogers, Pat. "Alexander Pope: The Universal Prayer". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 October 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40990, accessed 21 November 2024.]
