The Rape of the Lock[M1]
Biography
- Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was born in London in 1688. As a Roman Catholic living
during a time of Protestant consolidation in England, he was largely excluded
from the university system and from political life, and suffered certain social
and economic disadvantages because of his religion as well. He was self-taught
to a great extent, and was an assiduous scholar from a very early age. He
learned several languages on his own, and his early verses were often
imitations of poets he admired. His obvious talent found encouragement from his
father, a linen-draper, as well as from literary-minded friends. At the age of
twelve, Pope contracted a form of tuberculosis that settled in his spine,
leaving him stunted and misshapen and causing him great pain for much of his
life. He never married, though he formed a number of lifelong friendships in
London’s literary circles, most notably with Jonathan Swift[M2] .
Pope wrote during what is often called the Augustan/ Restoration/
Neoclassical Age of English literature (indeed, it is Pope’s career privileging satire defines the age). During this time,
the nation had recovered from the English Civil Wars and the Glorious
Revolution, and the regained sense of political stability led to a resurgence
of support for the arts. For this reason, many compared the period to the reign
of Augustus Caesar in the 1st century AD Rome, under whom both
Virgil and Horace had found support for their work. The prevailing taste of the
day was neoclassical, and 18th-century English writers tended to value poetry that was learned and allusive, setting
less value on originality than the Romantics would in the next century.
This literature also tended to be morally and often
politically engaged, as its dominant mode.
The Rape of the Lock is one of the most
famous English-language examples of the mock-epic.
Published in its first version in 1712, when Pope was only 23 years
old, the poem served to forge his reputation as a poet and remains his most
frequently studied work. The inspiration for the poem was an actual incident
among Pope’s acquaintances in which Robert, Lord Petre, cut off a lock of
Arabella Fermor’s hair, and the young people’s families fell into strife as a
result. John Caryll, another member of this same circle of prominent Roman
Catholics, asked Pope to write a light poem that would put the episode into a
humorous perspective and reconcile the two families. The poem was originally
published in a shorter version, which Pope later revised. In this later version
he added the “machinery,” the retinue of supernaturals
who influence the action as well as the moral of the tale.
After the publication of The Rape of the Lock, Pope spent
many years translating the works of Homer. During the ten years he devoted to
this arduous project, he produced very few new poems of his own but refined his
taste in literature (and his moral, social, and political opinions) to an
incredible degree. When he later recommenced to write original poetry, Pope
struck a more serious tone than the one he gave to The Rape of the Lock.
These later poems are more severe in their moral judgments and more acidic in
their satire: Pope’s Essay on Man is a philosophical poem on
metaphysics, ethics, and human nature, while in the Dunciad Pope writes
a scathing exposé of the bad writers and pseudo-intellectuals of his day.
Characters
·
Belinda - Belinda is based on the historical Arabella Fermor, a
member of Pope’s circle of prominent Roman Catholics. Robert, Lord Petre (the
Baron in the poem) had precipitated a rift between their two families by
snipping off a lock of her hair.
·
The Baron - This is the pseudonym for the historical Robert, Lord
Petre, the young gentleman in Pope’s social circle who offended Arabella Fermor
and her family by cutting off a lock of her hair. In the poem’s version of
events, Arabella is known as Belinda.
·
Clarissa - A woman in attendance at the Hampton Court party. She
lends the Baron the pair of scissors with which he cuts Belinda’s hair
·
Ariel - Belinda’s guardian sylph, who oversees an army of
invisible protective deities
·
Brillante - The sylph who is assigned to guard Belinda’s earrings
·
Crispissa - The sylph who is assigned to guard Belinda’s “fav’rite
Lock”
Summary
of the poem
In the
section before the given extract Belinda arises to prepare for the day’s social activities after
sleeping late. Her guardian sylph, Ariel, warned her in a dream that some
disaster will befall her, and promises to protect her to the best of his
abilities. Belinda takes little notice of this oracle, however. After an
elaborate ritual of dressing and primping, she travels on the Thames River to
Hampton Court Palace, an ancient royal residence outside of London, where a
group of wealthy young socialites are gathering for a party. Among them is the
Baron, who has already made up his mind to steal a lock of Belinda’s hair. He
has risen early to perform an elaborate set of prayers and sacrifices to
promote success in this enterprise.
In the section
given for the appraisal of the AL candidates the partygoers
are seen enjoying a tense game of cards after their arrival at the palace.
Thereafter they enjoy a round of coffee. The curling vapours of the steaming
coffee remind the Baron of his intention to attempt Belinda’s lock. Clarissa
draws out her scissors for his use, as a lady would arm a knight in a romance.
Taking up the scissors, he tries three times to clip the lock from behind
without Belinda seeing. The Sylphs endeavour furiously to intervene, blowing
the hair out of harm’s way and tweaking her diamond earring to make her turn
around. Ariel, in a last-minute effort, gains access to her mind, where he is
surprised to find “an earthly lover lurking at her heart.” He gives up
protecting her then; the implication is that she secretly wants the Baron.
Finally, the scissors close on the curl.
A daring sylph (Crispisa) jumps in between the blades and is cut in two; but
being a supernatural creature, he is quickly restored. The deed is done, and the
Baron exults while Belinda’s screams fill the air.
In the
subsequent section, Umbriel, a mischievous gnome,
journeys down to the Cave of Spleen to procure a sack of sighs and a flask of
tears which he then bestows on the heroine to fan the flames of her ire.
Clarissa, who had aided the Baron in his crime, now urges Belinda to give up
her anger in favor of good humor and good sense, moral qualities which will
outlast her vanities. But Clarissa’s moralizing falls on deaf ears, and Belinda
initiates a scuffle between the ladies and the gentlemen, in which she attempts
to recover the severed curl. The lock is lost in the confusion of this mock
battle, however; the poet consoles the bereft Belinda with the suggestion that
it has been taken up into the heavens and immortalized as a constellation.
Extract
of Canto 3
But when to mischief mortals bend
their will,
How soon they find fit instruments
of ill!
Just then, Clarissa drew with
tempting grace
A two-edg'd weapon from her shining
case;
So ladies in romance assist their
knight
Present the spear, and arm him for
the fight.
He takes the gift with rev'rence,
and extends
The little engine on his fingers'
ends;[M3]
This just behind Belinda's neck he
spread,
As o'er the fragrant steams she
bends her head.
Swift to the lock a thousand
sprites repair,
A thousand wings, by turns, blow
back the hair,
And thrice they twitch'd the diamond in her ear,
Thrice she look'd back, and thrice the foe drew near.
Just in that instant, anxious Ariel
sought
The close recesses of the virgin's
thought;
As on the nosegay in her breast
reclin'd,
He watch'd th' ideas rising in her
mind,
Sudden he view'd, in spite of all
her art,
An earthly lover lurking at her
heart.
Amaz'd, confus'd, he found his
pow'r expir'd,
Resign'd to fate, and with a sigh
retir'd.
The peer now spreads the glitt'ring
forfex wide,
T' inclose the lock; now joins it,
to divide.
Ev'n then, before the fatal engine
clos'd,
A wretched Sylph too fondly
interpos'd;
Fate urg'd the shears, and cut the
Sylph in twain,
(But airy substance soon unites
again).
The meeting points the sacred hair
dissever
From the fair head, for ever, and
for ever!
Then flash'd the living lightning from her eyes,
And screams of horror rend th'
affrighted skies.
Not louder shrieks to pitying
Heav'n are cast,
When husbands or when lap-dogs
breathe their last,
Or when rich China vessels, fall'n
from high,
In glitt'ring dust and painted
fragments lie!
Epic
– characteristics
·
The word “epic” comes from the Ancient Greek word epos,
which simply means “word, narrative, or song”.
1. It starts with the theme or subject of the
story.
2. In epics, the bard invokes a Muse, one of
the nine daughters of Zeus. The poet prays to the Muses to provide divine
inspiration to tell the great story.
3.
An epic poem is a lengthy, narrative work of poetry.
4.
These long poems typically detail extraordinary feats and
adventures of characters from a distant past.
5. It is written in a very special style
(verse as opposed to prose).
6. The narrative opens in medias res,
or in the middle of things, usually with the hero at his lowest point. Usually
flashbacks show earlier portions of the story.
7. It presents the heroic ideals such as courage,
honour, sacrifice, patriotism and kindness.
8. An epic gives a clear window of the social and
cultural patterns of the contemporary life. Beowulf thus shows the love of
wine, wild celebration, war, adventure and sea-voyages.
9. The hero is outstanding. He might be
important, and historically or legendarily significant.
10. The setting is large. It covers many nations,
or the known world.
11. The action is made of deeds of great valour or
requiring superhuman courage.
12. Supernatural forces—gods, angels,
demons—insert themselves in the action.
13. The poet tries to remain objective.
14. Epic poems are believed to be supernatural and
real
15. Catalogues and genealogies are given. These
long lists of objects, places, and people place the finite action of the epic
within a broader, universal context. Often, the poet is also paying homage to
the ancestors of audience members.
16. Main characters give extended formal speeches.
17. Use of the epic simile.
18. Heavy use of repetition or stock phrases.
Mock
epic Form
·
In a mock-epic the central concerns are serious
and often moral, but the approach is satirical rather than earnest indicating how
far the culture has fallen.
·
The epic considered the most serious of literary
forms, had been applied to the lofty subject matter of love, war and faith.
·
Pope uses the form to mock his society in its
very failure to rise to epic standards, exposing its pettiness by casting it
against the grandeur of the traditional epic subjects and the bravery and
fortitude of epic heroes
·
Pope underscores the ridiculousness of a society
that fails to distinguish between things that matter and things that do not –
it has lost its sense of proportion. The trivial is handled with the gravity
and solemnity that ought to be accorded to truly important issues
·
The poem mocks the men it portrays by showing
them as unworthy of a form that suited a more heroic culture.
· He intended the poem to be cathartic.
·
Pope’s use of the mock-epic genre is intricate
and exhaustive.
·
Every element of the contemporary scene conjures
up some image from epic tradition or the classical world view
·
The great battles of epic become bouts of
gambling and flirtatious tiffs.
·
The great, if capricious, Greek and Roman gods
are converted into a relatively undifferentiated army of basically ineffectual
sprites.
·
Cosmetics, clothing, and jewelry substitute for
armor and weapons, and the rituals of religious sacrifice are transplanted to
the dressing room and the altar of love.
Themes
1. Deterioration of heroic ideals (kleos/ arête) is the
central theme of the poem - parodying of great classical epics reflects the
fall in stature of Pope’s society and the deterioration of its values. All
other themes are subthemes of this particular theme
a. Man’s place in the Universe - Pope discusses man’s
relationship with God,
fellow human beings and himself: the fundamental ethic of man’s existence.
i. Reversal of Gender roles - 18th Century society in England
expected certain stereotypes – women to be modest and men to be masculine. But
in the poem both Belinda and Clarissa are strong, dominant women. The men in
the poem are effeminate. Baron is a fop and show off. He needs a woman – Clarissa
to empower him.
ii. Female sexuality - Women were expected to be modest and
retain high moral values. A woman who transgresses is sidelined and ostracized.
The word ‘rape’ is significant in the poem. Belinda’s wantonness in habouring
an earthly man in her heart earns her the ‘rape’ of her lock and the consequent
rage and shame.
b. Idleness, vanity and excess of the upper class resulting in
an amoral society –
i. Beauty
is worshipped at the expense of strength of character and good name
ii. The ruling classes are involved in very superficial,
unimportant activities -Baron’s enjoyment
derived from clipping Belinda’s hair is a sign of the depravity the upper class
had sunk to.
iii. The characters are uncontrolled and undisciplined. Pope as
a product of an age that privileged reason over emotional excess illustrates
what happens when vanity and passion are left unchecked.
Techniques:
·
Mock epic genre - Pope uses the mock epic to create high burlesque. He mocks
the subject matter (event and characters) by treating it with a dignity it does
not deserve
·
The heroic couplet - The verse form of The
Rape of the Lock is the heroic
couplet - lines of ten syllables each, alternating stressed and unstressed syllables.
o
Pope distributes his sentences, with their
resolutely parallel grammar, across the lines and half-lines of the poem in a
way that enhances the judicious quality of his ideas.
o
The inherent balance of the couplet form is
strikingly well suited to a subject matter that draws on comparisons and
contrasts: the form invites configurations in which two ideas or circumstances
are balanced, measured, or compared against one another.
o
It is thus perfect for the evaluative,
moralizing premise of the poem, particularly in the hands of this brilliant
poet.
·
Zeugma, a rhetorical device in
which a word or phrase modifies two other words or phrases in a parallel
construction, but modifies each in a different way or according to a different
sense. The reader is asked to contemplate that paradox and to reflect on the
relative value and importance of these two different registers of activity - lines
157–8: “Not louder shrieks to pitying heaven are cast, / when husbands,
or when lapdogs breathe their last.”
·
Parody – Pope parodies the
battle scenes of the great epic poems - in the image of Clarissa arming the
Baron—not with a real weapon, however, but with a pair of sewing scissors - Pope
is suggesting that the energy and passion once applied to brave and serious
purposes is now expended on such insignificant trials as games and gambling,
which often become a mere front for flirtation.
·
Rule of three - “the three
attempts” by which the lock is cut is a convention of heroic challenges,
particularly in the romance genre.
·
Irony - the ironic comparison
of the Baron’s feat to the conquest of nations.
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