What mighty contests rise from trivial things." Rape of the Lock
The Rape of the Lock is a mock-heroic poem by Alexander Pope that satirizes the trivial quarrel between two aristocratic families in 18th-century London. The poem was written to reconcile the families after Lord Petre cut off a lock of hair from Miss Arabella Fermor’s head without her consent, which caused a violent dispute. The poem is dedicated to Miss Fermor, who belonged to a distinguished Catholic family.
Pope imitates the form and style of the epic genre, which is usually reserved for heroic and serious subjects, and applies it to a commonplace and trivial incident. He uses various epic conventions, such as the invocation to the muse, the epic similes, the epic machinery, the journey to the underworld, the voyage on water, and the heroic battle, to create a contrast between the high style and the low subject matter, which is typical of a mock-heroic poem.
One of the mock epic features is the invocation to the muse, which sets forth the theme of the poem. Pope invokes the muse to learn the secret cause of the Baron’s assault on Belinda, the heroine of the poem, and how a little man could dare such a bold task and how a soft female heart could harbour such violent anger. He also mocks the triviality of the subject by using an epic convention that is usually meant for grand and noble purposes.
Another mock-epic feature is the use of epic similes to compare Belinda’s toilet to a religious ritual. Pope describes Belinda’s dressing table with epic grandeur and shows how she worships her beauty with various articles of luxury, such as ornaments, perfumes, combs, powders, pins, puffs, a mirror, some love letters, and even a Bible. He also compares her dressing process to Achilles arming himself for battle in Homer’s Iliad, which creates a humorous effect.
Pope also uses epic machinery, which means the agency of supernatural beings that intervene in human affairs and assist or oppose the main characters. Pope introduces the sylphs, gnomes, nymphs, and salamanders as his epic machinery, which are derived from the Rosicrucian doctrine. The Rosicrucian doctrine was a mixture of religion and magic that was popular in the Pope’s time. The sylphs are airy spirits that guard Belinda and her beauty, while the gnomes are earthy spirits that plot against her and help the Baron. The nymphs are watery spirits that live in rivers and fountains, and the salamanders are fiery spirits that dwell in flames.
The poem also follows other epic conventions, such as the journey to the underworld, where Belinda descends into Hampton Court’s Cave of Spleen, where she meets Thalestris, her friend and confidante. The voyage on the water is another epic convention that Pope uses to describe Belinda’s journey on a boat along the Thames River, where she is admired by everyone. The heroic battle is the climax of the poem, where Belinda and her allies fight against the Baron and his supporters over the stolen lock of hair. Pope uses martial imagery and language to depict this battle of wits and charms.
The Rape of the Lock is a masterpiece of mock-heroic poetry that reflects Pope’s wit and genius. He successfully portrays the manners, morals, fashions, and follies of his contemporary society with humor and satire. He also shows how mighty contests can rise from trivial things by using an epic style for a petty subject.