1. Can you think of situations in which people have radically different but strongly held convictions?

2. Does Pope believe that a person can be a jack-of-all trades? Why, or why not?

3. Why might "A little learning" be "a dangerous thing"?

4. Thinkers of the Enlightenment era were enamored of generality. How does Pope's conception of beauty reflect his era's love for general principles?

5. The Neoclassicists favored human artifice over untamed nature. How does Pope apply this concept to writing?

6. Would Pope agree that writers should use as few words as possible? Explain.

7. In what ways do the sounds of lines in this section of the poem echo their sense?

8. How do these lines reflect the Neoclassical idea of restraint and moderation?

9. According to Pope, what happens as each generation grows?

10. How might Pope's advice apply to judging someone else's writing? to other aspects of life?