'The Rape of the Lock': A Parody of Classical Epics.

              'The Rape of the Lock,' the masterly mock-epic poem in English, was written following the model of Boileau´s Le Lutrin, 'it is an exquisitely witty and balanced burlesque displaying the literary virtuosity, the perfection of poetic judgement, and the exquisite sense of artistic propriety' (The Victorian Web 1).

      This poem, adapting the form of heroic-couplets and invoking classical epic devices, acts as a satire on the pettinesses of the aristocracy´s life. It deforms moral values of polite society, criticizes the human pride and reveals an artifical community of calm and decorum, but where human feelings are ignored. Although these beings belong to a divine world, Pope represents them as vulnerable and fragile inhabitants.

      Using a humorous way, similar conventions and formulas as the classical epic employed, 'The Rape of the Lock' parodies the traditions of ancient history: the abduction of Helen of Troy becomes here the theft of a lock of hair; the gods are represented as minute sylphs and the description of Achilles´shield turns into a digression on one of Belinda´s petticoats.

                                                                         

      Examples of the epic conventions that Alexander Pope parodies are:

     >Invocation of the Muse: In ancient Greece and Rome, poets had always requested the muse to fire them with creative genius when they began long narrative poems or epics. In 'The Rape of the Lock,' Pope does not invoke a godess; instead, he invokes his friend, John Caryll (spelled Caryl) in the poem, who asked Pope to write a literary work focusing on an event, 'the stealing of a lock of hair,' that turned the members of two families into better enemies.

    >Division of the poem into Books or Cantos.

    >Descriptions of Soldiers Preparing for Battle: In 'The Illiad,' Homer describes the armor and weaponry of the great Achilles; Pope describes Belinda preparing herself with combs and pins - 'Puffs, powders, patches-.

    >Descriptions of Heroic Deeds: In 'The Illiad,' Homer describes the exploits of his heroes during the Trojan War, while Pope describes the exploits of Belinda and the Baron during a card game called Ombre, which involves three players and a deck of forty cards.

   >Account of a Great Sea Vogaye: In 'The Odyssey,' Ulysses travels the seas between Troy and Greece; in 'The Aeneid,' Aeneas travels the seas between Troy and Rome and in 'The Rape of the Lock,' Belinda travels up the Thames in a boat.

   >Participation of Deities or Spirits in the Action: Supernatural beings take part in the action, as in 'The Illiad,' 'The Odyssey,' 'The Aeneid,'...

                            

   >Presentation of Scenes in the Underworld: the Gnome Umbriel visits the Underworld.

 

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The Victorian Web. 2000. 6 Dec. 2011. http://www.victorianweb.org/previctorian/pope/rape.html