Rape of the Lock Alexander Pope l l

Rape of the Lock Alexander Pope

l l Mock-heroic, Mock epic poem Lit terms booklet: l l l l l #61: Mock epic: A comic literary form that treats a trivial matter in a heroic, grand, epic style for comical purposes. Poem is divided into 5 cantos or sections We will read only a portion Canto 1 opens with a formal statement of theme—”what mighty contests rise from trivial things” invokes the Muse to inspire the poet Belinda is the heroine of the poem Sylph Ariel visits her and warns her that some dread fate is in store for her Canto 2 tells how Belinda is on a boat on the river Thames heading towards the palace of Hampton Court A baron attempts to steal one of Belinda’s beautiful locks (hair) Belinda’s sylph is a guardian angel who attempts to protect her

l l l Canto 3 Hampton Court, the royal palace about 15 miles up the Thames from London was associated with wits as well as statesmen Pope accentuate the triviality of the incident by inflating the incident to heroic proportions The trivial and serious are JUXTAPOSED (placed side by side for effect) throughout the poem The lords and ladies gossip as they socialize l l Line 16 “At every word a reputation dies” Hyperbole: Gossip can be destructive, but this is the extreme claim The mock battle is represented by the card game

Imagery: Visual images “parti-colored” “shining” “velvet” suggest brightness, lightness. Underscores the light tone of the poem l Line 45: Skillful nymph is referring to Belinda’s ability to play cards l Literary terms booklet: l #27 Diction: A writer’s choice of words, particularly for clarity, effectiveness and precision. l Pope describes hands of cards in language usually reserved for epic heroes: “chief in years”, “hoary majesty” l

Lit terms booklet l #71: Parallelism: The use of phrases or sentences that complement each other in structure or in meaning. l l Eg. Line 84 Rape of the Lock “Of various habit, and of various dye” referring to the falling of all of the “players” on the “battlefield” in the game of cards Foreshadowing: Commentary on humanity hints at the coming event and sets it in a universal context line 101. l As Belinda pours her coffee, her lock of hair becomes vulnerable l

Belinda’s lock is protected by the “airy band” of sylphs headed by Ariel (name borrowed from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream) l But the baron eventually succeeds in “raping” the lock from her head with a pair of scissors l His achievement is glorified—Belinda’s hair is compared to other great works of mortal pride line 173 -178 l

l Canto four is described. Read it and note a few pieces of information in your notes…. . Canto 5 l A battle of words in now described line 8 “like gods they fight” l “Sir Fopling” reference to comedic character of the time –he falls l “Those eyes are made so killing” line 28 l Reference to the words of an aria (song) in opera Camilla by Bonocini l The song of a dying swan was believed to be most beautiful l

l Satire: line 61 -62 l Belinda’s silliness is demonstrated by the comparison to Othello, one of the great tragic heroes in English drama l The loss of Belinda’s lock is softened because it has become immortalized as a star in the sky.