Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“What then remains but well our pow'r to use, And keep good-humour still whate'er we lose?”
- Source
- The Rape of the Lock
- Date
- 1717
- Local voice
- Fictional character · Clarissa
Meaning of “What then remains but well our pow'r to…”
Within Clarissa’s speech, the practical response to inevitable loss is to use one’s capacities well and preserve composure rather than trying to make change impossible.
Where does it come from?
The Rape of the Lock, Canto V, lines 29–30 in Pope’s 1717 revision; spoken by Clarissa. Her speech was added in 1717, so the inherited 1714 source year is corrected to 1717. Clarissa’s counsel is immediately followed by the poem’s return to comic battle, preserving the satirical frame.
Why the local voice matters
The Rape of the Lock, Canto V; Clarissa speaks before the poem immediately returns to comic battle, a contrast that keeps the moral counsel inside the satire.
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