Alexander Pope imagines his own gravestone speaking, shooing away the grand figures of power and fame. Right away, the tone is half-mocking, half-wistful: “Heroes and kings! your distance keep.” He wants no fancy burial among the mighty in Westminster Abbey. Instead, he asks for the quiet of an ordinary grave where a “poor poet” can rest undisturbed. The speaker’s pride is a quiet, stubborn kind — he insists he never flattered the powerful, unlike even revered classical poets such as Horace and Virgil. By saying “let Horace blush, and Virgil too,” he’s cheekily claiming a purer honesty, but there’s also a sigh in the lines. The mood isn’t angry; it’s tired and gently sarcastic, like someone who’s seen enough of courtly games and just wants a little peace away from all that noise.
Epitaph. for One Who Would Not Be Buried in Westminster Abbey. — Summary
Heroes and kings! your distance keep: In peace let one poor poet sleep, Who never flatter'd folks like you: Let Horace blush, and Virgil too.