Page 250 - DENG405_BRITISH_POETRY

Unit 24: Alexander Pope: The Rape of the Lock

15. What happens to the lock of hair at the end of the poem? Notes
(a) It is returned to its rightful owner
(b) It is set into a ring
(c) It is offered to the poet as a token of gratitude
(d) It is turned into a constellation

24.5 Summary

• Alexander Pope was born in London in 1688. As a Roman Catholic living during a time of
Protestant consolidation in England.
• The action of the poem begins with the rising sun awakening the residents of a wealthy house-
hold.
• The opening of The Rape of the Lock establishes the poem’s mock-heroic tone.
• Pope relies on martial language to situate his poem within the epic tradition and reinforce his
satiric manipulation of the genre.
• Pope has successfully utilized supernatural machinery not simply by incorporating good spirit
but also by incorporating an evil spirit like Umbrid.
• Pope demonstrates two quite separate influences in The Rape of the Lock: mock epic and
Horation satire.

24.6 Keywords

Vanity : Excessive pride in or admiration of one’s own appearance.
Amorous : Feelling sexual desire.
Anxious : Experiencing worry, nervousness or unease.
Culminate : Reach or be at the meridian.

24.7 Review Questions

1. What are some of the images that recur through the poem and what significance do they
have?
2. Is pope being ironic when he treats Belinda’s beauty as something almost divine?
3. To what degree can the poem be read as a sexual allegory?
4. What are the distinctive formal features of Pope’s poetry?
5. How is the heroic couplet suited to Pope’s subject matter, or to satire more generally?

Answers: Self Assessment

1. (b) 2. (b) 3. (c)
4. (a) 5. (c) 6. (a)
7. (d) 8. (a) 9. (b)
10. (d) 11. (c) 12. (b)
13. (d) 14. (d) 15. (d)

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