Alexander PopeThe Rape of the Lock

Pope’s Life Born May 21, 1688 (Restoration), London

Crippled at 12; hunchback

Never married, but involved with two women in his life

Martha Blount and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

Never formally educated because he was Catholic

Gained an appreciate for the classics and writing

Conformed to strict writing rules

Greatest work (at 24) was The Rape of the Lock, a mock-heroic

Financially independent through translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey

Died 1744, Twickenham

Pope’s WritingFirst Period

Pastorals—1709 Two most important poems were Essay on

Criticism (1711) and The Rape of the Lock (1714)

Second Period Iliad translation (1715) Odyssey translation (1726)

Third Period Dunciad (1728) Essay on Man (1734)

18th Century BackgroundAugustan Age (1660-1780)

Bracketed between “rigid scholarship” of the 17th cent. and scientific/religious skepticism of the 19th cent.

Interest in society, and self as part of society All aspects—politician to servant—examined Satirized ruthlessly Writer depended on patron, but could also be

independent Printing press came of age Expanding, healthy economy Civilized society = London; exotic ideas admired

Literary BackgroundAugustan Age (1660-1780)

Basic rule—man had to follow “Nature” The pure standards of taste and judgment that

should control man’s artistic endeavors Knowledge of classics and former civilizations Strict adherence of rules and regulations Heroic couplets (suitable for lofty themes) Art subservient to Nature

Also called Reason and Common Sense Formalism stifled freedom of expression Various forms: mock epic, ode, epistle, and epigram

Pope’s MethodsPope and the 18th Century

No advantage of vernacular speech, but he used colloquialisms

Mature outlook, poise and control, careful judgment

Exposed shallow flaws in society

Imitation Re-creation of a work

Pope translated old into Augustan phraseology

Pope’s MethodsPope and Society

Poked fun at society, e.g. The Rape of the Lock Commentary on British legal system

Biting satire against others

Pope and the Classics Looked to Homer (favorite) and French classicism

Pope and Didactic Poetry Teach lessons to society “Hope springs eternal in the human breast” and “A

little learning is a dangerous thing”

Pope’s MethodsPope and Poetic Form

Heroic couplet

“Laugh where we must, be candid where we can; But vindicate the ways of God to Man.”

“The Rape of the Lock”Alexander Pope

Satire & the Mock HeroicSATIRE: the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or

the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.

MOCK HEROIC is a form of satire that adapts the elevated heroic style of the classical epic poem to a trivial subject.

The Epic Conventions• High formal diction

• Invocation of the Muse

• “machinery” (i.e. gods or supernatural figures)

• Gods speak to hero in a dream

• The arming of the hero

• Sacrifice to the gods

• Exhortation of the general to the troops

• Catalog of the armies

• Battle scenes

• Descent into the underworld

• Intercession of the gods

• Ascension of the dead into the heavens

BackgroundRefashioned like Virgil’s Aeneid or Homer’s

Odyssey

Pope had three aims: Patch a feud between two well-known families (a

lock of hair was stolen) Ridicule the shallowness and useless frivolity in

the upper class Make fun of the epic conventions

Historical BackgroundThree prominent Roman Catholic families: the Carylls, the Fermors, and the Petres.

Fermors had a daughter, Arabella. Petres had a son, Lord Petre. Lord Petre cut off a lock of Arabella’s hair as a

joke, causing the bitter quarrel. John Caryll asked Pope if he would write a poem to

heal the breach.

Important AttributesCharacters

Belinda (Arabella Fermor) The Baron or Lord (Robert, Lord Petre of Essex) The Muse (John Caryll) Sir Plume (Sir George Browne) Thalestris, an Amazon (Lady Browne) Clarissa (?)

Places The Mall Hampton Court The Ring Rosamonda’s Lake

Important AttributesUse of sylphs

Part of the “epic machinery” Borrowed from the classics

The game of Ombre

Structure of the poem Five cantos (sections) Regular rhyming couplets

Research (due 12/12)Sylphs, salamanders, undines, gnomes and

their connection to Paracelsus

The game of Ombre Extra Credit: Learn how to play and teach us

Mock epic, ode, epistle, and epigram

Heroic couplets

Patron of the arts (FYI: Latin, patronus)