The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope

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“The Rape of the Lock” is a poem written by Alexander Pope that uses Horatian satire to satirize the trivialness of a lock of hair being cut from a woman’s head without her knowledge. Pope writes the poem in a mock-epic style to help trivialize this minor incident. Pope uses the conventions and techniques of epic poetry in his mock epic. These techniques include heroes that are elaborately described, use of supernatural beings, and description of trivial things as battles.
Unlike most epic poetry where males portray the heroes, Pope uses a female, Belinda, as his heroine. Belinda is a very attractive woman who leads a luxurious life. Pope uses his mock-epic to idealize the aristocratic society of the seventeenth century. He especially does this by idealizing Belinda, the heroine of the poem. Pope does this by putting Belinda at the center of the poem. The poem opens with Belinda awakening at noon and getting ready for a party. Belinda’s beauty is first admired by her “watchful sprite” Ariel (1.106) Ariel is the one who watches over Belinda and he describes her as being “[f]airest of mortals, thou distinguished care/ [o]f thousand bright inhabitants of air!” (1.27-28). Ariel sets the tone that Belinda as a beautiful woman who has many waiting on her. Pope treats Belinda’s getting ready with the reverence that a goddess would receive. The vases and powders she uses are described as having mystic powers, “[a]nd now unveiled, the toilet stands displayed,/ [e]ach silver vase in mystic order laid” (1.121-122). Pope describes the cosmetics she uses as mystic to further idealize Belinda and show her as the heroine. After many hours of primping, Belinda is finally ready to go forth into society. Pope further demonstrates Belinda’s great...

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...ombat flies” (5.37-38). Pope uses the dramatization of war to make this trivial altercation look more important than it is.
Pope uses the mock-epic style of “The Rape of the Lock” to spotlight the foolishness of feuding over the removal of a lock a hair. He uses the conventions of epic poetry to further allude to the ludicrousness of the situation. Pope uses techniques such as idealizing a heroine, having supernatural beings, and dramatizing trivial things in terms of war to strength his mock-epic style and his satire of the incident. By using these techniques, Pope also alludes to epics that do hold significance. This allows the reader to see the contrast in the importance of things.

Works Cited

Pope, Alexander. The Rape of the Lock. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume C,
9th ed. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: Norton, 2012. 2686-2704.

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