RAPE OF THE LOCK SOCIAL SATIRE As Shakespeare is the poet of
man, Pope is a poet of society. “The Rape of the Lock” is a social document
because it mirrors contemporary society and contains a social satire, too. Pope
paints about England in the 18th century. The whole panorama of “The Rape of
the Lock” revolves around the false standard of the 18th century. Pope satirizes
the young girls and boys, aristocratic women and men, their free time
activities, nature of husbands and wives, the professional judges and
politicians of the day. Pope depicts the absurdities and the frivolities of the
fashionable circle of 18th century England. The world of Belinda – the
world of fashion is trivial. The whole life of Belinda is confined to sleeping,
make-up, enjoyment and alluring the lords. There are no transcendental elements
in her life. This life is marked by ill-nature, affection, mischievousness,
coquetry, yielding and submissive nature, fierce and unruly nature, infidelity,
cheapness, meanness, trivialities and frivolities etc. Belinda represents all
the fashion struck women, busy in such stupidities. The gallants of the time
have not been spared by the Pope. Baron not only represents Peter but also
typifies the aristocratic gallants of the age. Pope satirizes man’s nature that
is always weak at beauty. Men sacrifice everything at the altar of beauty and
even the most intelligent man behaves foolishly when he falls a victim to
beauty. To make his satire sharper and all the more effective, Pope introduces the
aerial machinery, which facilitates the satire. Through this weapon, the poet
throws, in contrast, the weaknesses of the fashionable women of that age. He
satirizes women who are interested in fashionable life and its pursuits and who
go on exercising their evil influence even after their death. For the sake of
worldly grandeur, they can bid farewell even to their chastity and honour. He
satirizes women of fiery, coquettish mischievous and yielding nature and gives
them different names. It also provides the poet with an opportunity to satirize
the class consciousness of women. All the women and beaus gather at the place
where they exchange talks on trivial things e.g. visits, balls, films, motions,
looks, eyes, etc. and “at every word, a reputation dies”. “A beau and witling
perished in the throng, One died in metaphor, and one in song.” Man’s favourite
activity is to take suffered women to play with a fan. There is singing,
dancing, laughing, ogling, etc. and nothing else. Women are busy alluring the
dukes and lords. The poet reflects the hollowness of men in the character of
Sir Plume who is coward, foolish and senseless, lacking courage. Women are on
the whole irresolute and they have made toyshops of their hearts. They have
even illicit relations with the beaus. Women are meant only for the
entertainment of men, who play toy with them. Pope also satirizes of the
husbands and wives of the day. Husbands always suspect their wives. They think
that their wives have been merrymaking with their lovers. Wives are also not
virtuous at all. They love their lap-dogs more than their husbands. And the
death of husbands is not more shocking than the death of a lap dog or the
breakage of a china vessel. So through the medium of satire, Pope paints a
picture of 18th-century English society. His satire is didactic and impersonal.
It is not inflicted against any person or individual, rather against society
and that, too, owing to some moral faults. He is dissatisfied with the society
around which he wants to reform. The society he pictured is the aristocratic
group of 18th century fashionable English society. But thee are several allied
subjects, too, on which he inflicts his satire. For example, he satirized
judged those who make hasty decisions. “The hungry judges soon the sentence sign, And
wretches hang that jurymen may dine” He also satirized those friends whose
friendship is but lust, those politicians who do not have a deeper insight and
cannot see beyond the shows and take steps just for their interests and ends
etc. To sum up, the poem is a reflection of this artificial and hollow life,
painted with a humorous and delicate satire. Pope’s satire is intellectual and
full of wit and epigram. Is the picture of Addison as Atticus though unjust and
prompted by malice, is a brilliant piece of satire. “As an intellectual
observer and describer of personal weakness, the Pope stands by himself in
English verse.”