The Rape of the lock

~  The Rape of the Lock

Name :parmar Nidhi Shamjibhai

Semester : M. A  Part 1

Paper : The Literature of Neo classical period

(Paper no 103) 

 

~Class Assignment :

Q~ write a character of main character Belinda and Baron. 

Introduction : 

         The Rape of the lock written by a famous poet Alexander pope. It was based on a real life incident of between their two wealthy Catholic families in London society. Where a lock of hai was cut. And use the mythology characters of Sylphs 🧚‍♂️. This poem in main character is Belinda and baron. The represent a Arabella fermor to Belinda and Lord petre to Lord Baron. This poem is mock heroic narrative epic. 

∆ About the poet :

Name :  Alexander pope

Born : 21 May 1688 ( England) 

Died : 30 May 1744( England) 

Occupation : Writer ,Translator

Literary Movement : Classical, Augustan literature

Notable work : The Duncid 

                          The Rape of the lock

                          An Essay on Criticism

              Alexander pope was an English poet translator an satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18 th century. Best known for his Satirical and discursive poetry. 

He was famous for his time of period. 

∆ Key facts :

 

~ First published in 1712

~ Final published in 1717

~Mock heroic narrative epic 

~ characters :

1 Belinda

2 The Baron 

3 Ariel 

4 Umbriel

5 caryl

6 Shock

7 Clarissa

8 Sir plume

9 Thalestris

10 Betty

Setting : London

Background : Themes river

                        Hampton Court

Divided :  Canton 1to 5

∆ characters sketch :

 ~   Belinda 

 

 Belinda, the main character, is a young, rich lady proud of her beautiful hair. Even though the poem is based on a real event, Belinda is not the real-life Arabella Fermor. She represents a typical flirtatious woman in British high society. She sleeps late, spends a lot of time getting ready,

and focuses heavily on her looks, even for simple social gatherings and card games.

Belinda's actions and moods are controlled by her guardian spirits, the sylphs and gnomes.

They take care of her appearance, protect her, and influence her feelings. When the Baron cuts her hair, she gets upset, and the gnome Umbriel even makes her feel worse. This shows that Belinda, like other women in the poem, is guided more by these supernatural forces than by reason or logic.

Even though the poem makes fun of Belinda and her society, it also shows her situation is serious. Her hair, which is admired by men, can also harm her reputation if misused. When her lock is cut, Belinda feels unsafe and regrets going to Hampton Court. Her beauty, which gives her status, can also be a source of trouble without her doing anything wrong.

∆ Baron

 

The Baron, who cuts Belinda's hair, is not a real person but a typical silly nobleman. The narrator calls him "adventurous," but he mostly acts foolish. He is driven by his passions and doesn't think clearly. When he decides to take Belinda's hair, he burns all his past love gifts as an offering, which makes him look ridiculous and lovesick rather than serious.

After cutting her hair, he compares himself to a great hero from the Iliad, even though his action is small and trivial. Because hair was considered a love token at that time, his act has a serious and troubling side, almost like a violation of Belinda. By comparing himself to the heroes of Troy, he also acts as if what he did was destined and unavoidable, showing he has no regret and avoids responsibility for his actions.

∆  Conclusion : 

 

Thus to Conclude we can say that  Alexander pope is very well write the poem the rape of the lock' characters sketch. He choose a small war in use his mythology's characters  the poem like interested and more enjoyed

∆     Home assignment

Q ~ write a Short summary of 'The rape the Lock'. 

∆ Introduction :

                      The Rape of the lock written by a famous poet Alexander pope. It was based on a real life incident of between their two wealthy Catholic families in London society. Where a lock of hai was cut. And use the mythology characters of Sylphs 🧚‍♂️. This poem in main character is Belinda and baron. The poem is divided into 5 Canton. This poem is mock heroic narrative epic. 

∆ About the poet :

Name : Alexander pope

Born : 21 May 1688 ( England) 

Died : 30 May 1744( England) 

Occupation : Writer ,Translator

Literary Movement : Classical, Augustan literature

Notable work : The Duncid 

                          The Rape of the lock

                          An Essay on Criticism

              Alexander pope was an English poet translator an satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18 th century. Best known for his Satirical and discursive poetry. 

He was famous for his time of period. 

∆ Key facts :

 

~ First published in 1712

~ Final published in 1717

~Mock heroic narrative epic 

~ characters :

1 Belinda

2 The Baron 

3 Ariel 

4 Umbriel

5 caryl

6 Shock

7 Clarissa

8 Sir plume

9 Thalestris

10 Betty

Setting : London

Background : Themes river

                        Hampton Court

Divided : Canton 1to 5📚

Summary :

                 The poem begins with Belinda, a beautiful and rich young woman, still asleep. Her guardian spirit, Ariel the sylph, sends her a dream. He explains that sylphs exist to protect young women, but also hints that they sometimes control or mislead people. Ariel feels something bad is about to happen to Belinda, though he doesn't know what. He warns her to "beware of man."

Belinda wakes up and gets ready for the day with the help of her maid Betty and many sylphs. She looks stunning when she leaves for Hampton Court by boat. Everyone admires her, especially her two shiny locks of hair. The Baron wanted to take one of Belinda's beautiful locks of hair. He made up his mind that he would cut it off. Earlier that morning, he prayed to the god of love to help him succeed. As an offering, he burned things from his past romances-like old love letters, ribbons (garters), and small gifts from women he once loved hoping this sacrifice would bring him good luck. Ariel, still worried, gathers an army of sylphs to protect Belinda. He warns them to guard her hair, her jewelry, her fan, and even her pet dog. His idea of "disaster" seems rather silly-like losing a dress, jewelry, or a pet.

At Hampton Court, Belinda joins a game of ombre (a card game). With the help of sylphs, she wins dramatically against the Baron. After the game, coffee is served, and the Baron remembers his plan. With scissors secretly provided by Clarissa, he moves to cut Belinda's lock. The tiny spirits (sylphs) tried to guard Belinda's hair. But their leader, Ariel, looked into her thoughts and realized that Belinda secretly liked a man. This meant she was not completely "innocent" or "pure" as he thought. Because of this, Ariel gave up protecting her. The Baron then cuts off the lock, and Belinda screams in shock.

Meanwhile, the gnome Umbriel goes to the Cave of Spleen (a place of sadness and bad moods. He collects bags and vials filled with sighs, tears, and anger. Returning to Belinda, he pours them out on her and her friend Thalestris, who becomes furious. Thalestris pushes her lover Sir Plume to demand the lock back from the Baron. The Baron refuses. Belinda laments her lost lock, blaming herself for ignoring Ariel's warning.

At the end, Clarissa gives a sensible speech. She says that beauty will not last forever, so women should not rely only on looks. Instead, they should focus on being good and virtuous. But nobody pays attention to her advice.Instead, the men and women start a mock battle. They don't fight with real weapons but with playful things like fans, shouting, and clouds of face powder.

In the fight, Belinda attacks the Baron. She even throws snuff (powdered tobacco) into his nose to make him sneeze and then threatens him with a hairpin. Belinda demands that he give her lock of hair back. But strangely, the lock has disappeared. At the end of the poem, the stolen lock of Belinda's hair is said to have floated up into the sky. There, it becomes a star among the heavens. This means her beauty will be remembered forever, because the lock now shines brightly in the sky and will never grow old or fade away.

Conclusion : 

Thus to conclude we can say that the rape of lock is a mock heroic epic poem is well known written the poem . Alexander Pope's poem is based on real life incident. 

 ∆  Essay :

Q~ write a theme on the poem the Rape of the Lock

∆ Introduction :

  

                   The Rape of the lock written by a famous poet Alexander pope. It was based on a real life    incident of between their two wealthy Catholic families in London society. Where a lock of hai was cut. And use the mythology characters of Sylphs 🧚‍♂️. This poem in main theme is The Triviality of court life' and Gender other. This poem is mock heroic narrative epic. 

∆ About the poet :

Name : Alexander pope

Born : 21 May 1688 ( England) 

Died : 30 May 1744( England) 

Occupation : Writer ,Translator

Literary Movement : Classical, Augustan literature

Notable work : The Duncid 

                          The Rape of the lock

                          An Essay on Criticism

              Alexander pope was an English poet translator an satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18 th century. Best known for his Satirical and discursive poetry. 

He was famous for his time of period. 

∆  key facts :

 

~ First published in 1712

~ Final published in 1717

~Mock heroic narrative epic 

~ characters :

1 Belinda

2 The Baron 

3 Ariel 

4 Umbriel

5 caryl

6 Shock

7 Clarissa

8 Sir plume

9 Thalestris

10 Betty

Setting : London

Background : Themes river

                        Hampton Court

Divided : Canton 1to 5

 

∆ Theme :

∆ The Triviality of Court Life

             In The Rape of the Lock, Alexander Pope criticizes the shallow and unimportant lifestyle of the 18th-century royal court by telling a humorous story in a very serious, epic style. The poem centers on Belinda, a beautiful young lady, whose lock of hair is secretly cut off by the Baron This small act of vanity is treated as if it were a major event, leading to quarrels and mock battles among the courtiers. Pope uses heroic couplets, a form usually connected with grand epic poems like Homer's Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid, which describe wars, gods, and great struggles. By using this lofty style to describe something as minor as a stolen curl, Pope creates a comic contrast that makes the concerns of court life look ridiculous. He even compares Belinda's sorrow over her hair to Queen Dido's tragic grief in Virgil's Aeneid and imitates lines from Homer's Iliad but instead of warriors fighting with shields and spears, the fashionable men at court compete with wigs, ribbons, and carriages. Through these playful exaggerations, Pope shows how the aristocrats waste their energy on vanity, fashion, and gossip, rather than on anything meaningful. In this way, he mocks the superficiality of court society, proving that their values and worries are trivial when compared to the noble struggles of classical heroes

∆ Beauty vs. Poetry

                 In The Rape of the Lock, Alexander Pope shows how 18th-century society gave too much importance to beauty and appearance, especially among women. The poem tells the story of Helinda, a beautiful young lady, whose lock of hair is cut off by the Baron. This small act leads to an exaggerated quarrel at court. Pope humorously mocks Belinda's obsession with her beauty by comparing her moming routine of getting dressed and doing makeup to an epic hero preparing for battle. While epic heroes fight for noble causes like honor, duty, or the safety of their people, Belinda's "battle" is only to look attractive, which shows how shallow her concerns are.

Through the character Clarissa, Pope adds a moral voice in Canto V. Clarissa reminds everyone that beauty fades with time hair will turn gray, youth will disappear, and even the most attractive faces will change with age or illness. She says that instead of chasing beauty, women should focus on building inner worth and morality because "charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul. This means beauty may attract people's eyes for a short while, but true character and virtue win lasting respect.

However, the Pope complicates this message at the end of the poem. The stolen lock of Belinda's hair rises into the sky and becomes a constellation, suggesting that beauty can achieve a kind of immortality if it inspires poetry and art. Pope even refers to "Berenice's lock, a famous story from classical poetry where a lock of hair became a star. By linking Belinda's lock to this tradition, Pope shows that while ordinary beauty fades, beauty captured in art can live forever.

In the end, the Pope seems to say that everyday vanity and obsession with looks are foolish, bu beauty itself still has value when it becomes the source of great poetry. Beauty alone is temporary, but when poetry preserves it, it becomes eternal. 

∆ Gender

In The Rape of the Lock, Alexander Pope talks about how and women were treated differently in the 18th century, often in unfair ways. The story is about Belinda, a beautiful young woman whose lock of hair is cut off by the Haron. At first, Pope makes fun of Belinda for being too focused on her looks, but he also shows sympathy for her hecause society judges women mainly by their beauty, not by their intelligence or goodness. For example, the poem says that even if Belinda makes mistakes, people forget them as soon as they see her pretty face.

Unlike most poems of that time, which made men the heroes, Pope puts Belinda at the center of the story and makes her the main character, almost like an epic hero. The men, on the other hand, are shown vain and silly. Pope also explains why Belinda cares so much about her beauty because in her world, unattractive women are mocked and ignored. So, beauty was her only way to survive in society. Toward the end, Clarissa gives an important speech, saying thatbeauty will fade with age, but goodness and moral worth last much longer. This shows that women can also be wise and thoughtful, not just beautiful. At the same time, the Pope criticizes the men. The Baron's act of stealing Belinda's hair is called a "rape" (meaning theft), showing it was wrong and unfair. Other men, like "Sir Fopling" and "Dapperwit," are mocked as foolish and shallow because they only care about their looks

In the end, the Pope shows both sides he makes fun of women's vanity but also feels sympathy for them, since society gave them little choice but to depend on beauty. He also points out that men, who were supposed to be superior, are often just as vain and far less wise than women.

∆ Religion and Morality

In The Rape of the Lock, Pope shows that people in his time often cared more about beauty and fashion than about true religion or morality. For example, Belinda keeps her Bible on the same table as her makeup and love letters, which makes religion seem less important. Pope even jokes that her dressing table is like an altar where she worships beauty instead of God. He also introduces the magical sylphs, who secretly guide people's actions. Sometimes they protect women, sometimes they mislead them, which makes it unclear whether people are really in control of their choices. Because of this, the Pope suggests that it is difficult to judge someone as purely good or bad. In the end, the poem points out the hypocrisy of society, where people pretend to be moral and religious but are actually more focused on vanity and material things. 

 ∆ Conclusion : 

    

       Thus to conclude we can say that the all theme 's are very well present by Alexander pope all themes are help understand the poem easily.