The Course of Time, A Poem

Unknown artist

Robert Pollok’s <i>The Course of Time, A poem in Ten Books</i> was published by Charles Wells of New York in 1833. The epic poem is composed in blank verse over ten books, and is essentially a Calvinist version of Milton’s <i>Paradise Lost</i>, mimicking it in both form and content. The protagonists of Pollok’s poem are two heavenly beings who were unaware of the happenings in the mortal realm. They visit hell and earth and learn about the history of mankind, the character of humanity, the Creation and the Fall, and the final day of Judgement. The poem dwells on these points through the doctrines of Calvinist ideology like original sin, total depravity, and atonement through God’s grace.