Page 231 - DENG405_BRITISH_POETRY

British Poetry

Notes

The “rape” of the lock therefore represents a greater threat to Belinda’s virtue
than the theft of her hair would suggest.
Just as it does in the first canto, religious imagery parallels the language of force in the second
canto. Much like the ritualism of Belinda’s toilette in the first canto, Belinda’s charms become objects
of worship. Of particular note, of course, are her locks, which draw the attention of many admirers,
chief among them the Baron. The rituals he performs at dawn are an act of worship. He builds an
altar—a feature of both pagan and Christian worship—to celebrate Belinda’s beauty. On the altar
the Baron places “twelve vast French romances, neatly gilt” to honor Love, rather than gilded Bibles
(38). This equation of religion and secular love echoes the presence of Bibles and billet-doux together
on Belinda’s dressing table in the first canto and further serves Pope’s mock-heroic purposes. The
ritual sacrifices performed by the Baron mimic the epic convention of sacrificing to the gods to
secure their favor before a venture. The powers’ decision to grant only half of the Baron’s desire
alludes to a common feature of the epic in which the interference of the gods is a mixed blessing.
Yet Pope undercuts the traditional power of the gods. Their half-blessing does not have tragic
consequences for the Baron; rather, he only succeeds at securing one of Belinda’s curls. Pope further
undermines the piety of prayer, replacing it with the Baron’s “three amorous sighs” (42).
The poem’s comic attitude towards religion implies that the worship of beauty amounts to sacrilege.
Pope crystallizes this religious perversion in the cross that Belinda wears. The cross seems to serve
not a religious function but rather an ornamental one, much like the equation of the Bible with
billet-doux and French romances. Indeed, this central symbol of Christianity remains secular, so
“Jews might kiss” and “infidels adore” it just as easily as Christians (8). Pope even sexualizes this
traditionally religious object, placing it on Belinda’s “white breast” and thereby suggesting that the
Jews and infidels are instead admiring her breasts (7). By subverting established principles of religious
worship, Pope critiques society’s willingness to value appearances and other insignificant matters
over a moral lifestyle.

24.1.3 The Rape of the Lock: Canto III

Summary

The third canto begins with a description of Hampton Court Palace and the amusements of life at
court. The palace’s towers rise up from the meadows overlooking the River Thames. Pope indicates
that it is at this site that “Britain’s statesmen” deal with matters at home and abroad and where
Queen Anne holds court (5). Belinda and her companions arrive at Hampton Court and disembark
the boat to take part in the day’s activities. They first engage in gossip, discussing balls, fashion, and
political matters. They punctuate their conversation with taking snuff and fluttering fans.
After the afternoon’s pleasant conversation, Belinda sits down to play cards with the Baron and
another man. They play ombre, a three-handed bridge with some features of poker. Pope describes
the game as a battle: the three players’ hands are “three bands [prepared] in arms,” troops sent to
“combat on the velvet plain” of the card table (29, 44). Like the commander of an army, Belinda
reviews her cards, declares spades trumps, and sends her cards into combat. She meets with early
success, leading with her high trumps (49-56).
The suit breaks badly (54) when “to the Baron fate inclines the field” (66). He retains the queen of
spades (67) with which he trumps her king of clubs (69). The Baron then leads high diamonds until
he nearly sets (beats) Belinda, who is “just in the jaws of ruin” (92). On the last trick, however,
Belinda takes the Baron’s ace of hearts with the king, who “spring to vengeance with an eager pace,
/ And falls like thunder on the prostrate Ace” (97-8). By recovering the last trick, Belinda wins back
the amount she bid and therefore takes the game. Thrilled at her victory, Belinda “fills with shouts
the sky” (99). The speaker then interjects to remind the reader that Fate holds some disaster for
Belinda.

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