Textuality » 4A Interacting
Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
The Rape of the Lock (1714)
Extract from Canto One
"The rape of the lock" is a mock heroic poem. It was commissioned to Pope to reconcile two families after a quarrel. The protagonists really existed, but the author used fictional names. The poem parodies the habits of Aristocracy in the 17th century.
The extract starts with the female protagonist just woken up. She is sitting to at her dressing table and making herself up. Right from the start the reader can notice the high register used to describe the scene and the objects laid on the desk in front of which Belinda is sitting.
The toilet is "unveiled", the silver vases are in a "mystic order" and the girl is a "nymph": this kind of adjectives and phrases sets the mood for the whole text.
Belinda is over the text described as: "the nymph", "a heavenly image", "the Goddess" and "the fair". The terms convey an idea of solemnity and delicacy that is led to exaggeration.
The servants are named "priestess" and sylphs": the work of helping the woman to get ready is practically a ceremony. The table is an "altar" and the objects placed on it are almost like relics. The lady adores them because of their "power". They are able to correct each defect and make every woman become beautiful. They are an armor, like those used by heroes. Belinda herself is compared to a hero. As they used to get ready before a battle, she is now getting ready to go out. The comparison is quiet preposterous.
Furthermore, using her make-up, Belinda "awakens every grace, "calls forth all the wonders of her face" and "sees by degrees a purer blush arise". Her beauty is not natural, but artificial.
The reader understands that the poet is exploiting the language of the classical epic poetry, but the combination of this kind of register and the object of the text sounds rather unusual and inappropriate.
So why does Pope use this style to talk about such trivial things?
As said before, the author parodies the habits of the Aristocracy. That's why he makes use of these turn of phrases. He wants to ridicule the Middle Class.
Every act in Belinda is magnified to the point of becoming ridiculous.
The whole poem is meant to make people laugh about the exaggerated and wasteful lifestyle of the Aristocracy, and also to make them reflect about its vices.