Social Satire in Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock” Alexander Pope’s distinct use of satire and mockery make this parody of Ulysses’ “The Iliad”, more socially dramatic and induces much rhetoric. Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock” shows many interesting characteristics and can easily be understood in the terms of early English literature. Through close supervision and examination of “The Iliad”, one can see the similarities and some of different plot twists in which Pope intended. Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock” has biblical teachings throughout in Helps the reader to realize that it is it satirical. Alexander Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock” is very similar to “The Iliad” and can be distinguished as a classical, yet more modern poem with pranks and plot twists (Schaefer, p91). Pope leaves his audience to recall and compare the similarities and differences between old English and original Greek literature as a timeline and guide on how he presumed his writing efforts of “The Rape of the Lock” (Frost, p349). The fact left unknown, is exactly when Pope begin writing “The Rape of the Lock,” and what time he decided to mimic “The Iliad” (Frost, p346). With Pope’s work one may conclude that he knew bringing in biblical passages would indeed provoke the Christian readers to read deeper and ponder upon the verses and biblical inferences made (Gandolfo, p36). Something else the audience is baffled by, is whether he had too much material and crammed it all together making it more confusing and distracting for the reader (Frost, p347). Alexander Pope’s work is considered by many, a parody of the underworld and a journey in which a hero encounters a member of the dead (Baines, p71). Pope does not use the best grammar and punctuation; his sentences are a... ... middle of paper ... ...arvelous job of portraying his characters in a way that is in line with the other elements of this poem and achieves emphasis on vague portions of this poem and to show underlying irony. Works Cited Baines, Paul. “Part II; Work.” Complete Critical Guide to Alexander Pope (2000): 47-149 Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Feb. 2014. Frost, William. “The Rape of The Lock And Pope’s Homer.” Modern Language Quarterly 8.3 (1947): 342. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Feb. 2014. Gandolfo, Anita. “Pope’s THE RAPE OF THE LOCK.”, Explicator, 38.1 (1979): 35. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Feb. 2014. Jermyn, Scott. “Pope’s RAPE OF THE LOCK.”Explicator 47.2 (1989):16. Academic Search Complete. Web 7 Feb. 2014. Schaefer, Tatjana. “Sir Plume In Pope’s The Rape of the Lock: A Parody of Homer’s Ulysses.” Anq 25.2 (2012): 91-95, Academic Search Complete. Web. 7 Feb. 2014.
Rochette-Crawley, S. (2004) James T. Farrell. The Literary Encyclopedia. April 2, 2004. Retrieved on May 13, 2009 from http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1487
Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. A. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print
To begin, in The Rape of the Lock, Alexander Pope uses satire to invoke a capricious, melancholy mood to illustrate the absurdity of fighting over the cutting of one's hair. Hidden inside this poem is a crafty criticism of the society that helps create the crisis over the stolen lock. A Society in which appearances ere more important to a person’s sense of identity, and treats the insignificant with utmost importance.
Ruskin, John. “Grotesque Renaissance.” The Stones of Venice: The Fall. 1853. New York: Garland Publishing, 1979. 112-65. Rpt. in Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1989. 21-2.
Votteler, Thomas. Contemporary Literary Criticism Vol. 75, edited by Thomas Votteler, Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1993, p. 334-335.
Goblin Market” was considered to be a fairy tale however the poem had various erotic exploration of sexual fantasy, commentary on capitalism and the Victorian market economy. It is also interpreted about temptation, yearnings and atonement. On the other hand, “The Rape of the Lock” commented on human vanity and the custom of romance as Pope inspected the abused position of women. He’d pointed out that society recognized the upper class in a serious manner however they are in a frivolous manner. He’d used the poem to mock the noble and their lifestyles. “Goblin Market” and “The Rape of the Lock” related to each other as both poems have a significance of victimhood and hair being cut off.
The Norton Anthology: English Literature. Ninth Edition. Stephen Greenblatt, eds. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 2308. Print.
Abrams, M.H. and Greenblatt, Stephen eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Seventh Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2001.
Richardson, Nicholas. The Iliad : A Commentary. Vol. VI: books 21-24. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1993.
Murray T.; William F; Wyatt. Homer: The Iliad, Books I-XII. Classical Library, Harvard University Press
Homer, Iliad is the narration of the Trojan war. The Trojan war was one of the most important and significant wars of Greek mythology, Homer described how the war was triggered by the abduction of the most beautiful women known as Helen. This paper will argue how the traditional view of this poem is accurate because it indeed was Helens beauty and her selfishness that sparked the Trojan war. Although Helen was not happy about the outcomes of her mistakes. This paper will present how Helen faced many forms of self judgment, how she created many relationships with significant characters, such as Paris, Priam and Aphrodite. Homers portrayal of this significant women was remarkable as we were able to feel her pain and anguish, the readers were
Pope, Alexander. "An Essay on Man." in Eighteenth-Century English Literature. Eds. Geoffrey Tillotson, Paul Fussell, Jr. and Marshall Waingrow. New York: Harcourt, 1969. 635-51.
Many years ago in ancient Greece, Plato initiated a debate about the usefulness of literature by declaring that poetry had no place in the ideal society, mainly because it was full of lies and because it evoked undesirable emotions. His pupil Aristotle, however, took the opposing side of this dispute and argued that literature was, in fact, useful. Aristotle agreed with Plato that literature induces undesirable emotions, but he stated that it only does so in an attempt to purge us of these harmful sentiments, a process which he termed “catharsis”. The events in Homer’s Iliad, while used by both Plato and Aristotle to defend their theories about literature, lend themselves to the defense of Aristotle’s ideas more so than Plato’s. Specifically, the juxtaposition of Achilleus’s intense lamentation with the portrayal of Hephaistos’s shield, the description of Hektor’s increasing pride, and the account of Patroklos’s impulsive nature in battle all perfectly exemplify Aristotle’s idea of catharsis and demonstrate the true worth of literature.
Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock is a satirical poem that features a theme of gender roles. Throughout the poem, Pope uses his protagonist Belinda, to poke fun at the superficial nature of aristocratic women. He focuses on the ritual of womanhood and approaches it like a trivial matter, and her reaction to the offence is hysterical. Through this portrayal, he reveals that the Baron has a childish quality in his need for revenge for Belinda’s stab at his ego. The speaker’s view does come across as misogynistic, but the woman is trying to stand her ground in a society dominated by men. Taking into consideration that a male wrote the poem, during the 18th century, when woman had a particular place in society, and men often trivialized their concerns. Pope alludes to the idea that most wars are indeed over very trivial matters. The conflicts between men and women are exposed during Pope’s exploration of this “trivial war.” The narrative of Belinda and the Baron in The Rape of the Lock reveals the main underlying theme as the power struggle between the genders.
- - -. “Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800.” http://go.galegroup.com. N.p., 1988. Web. 9 Dec. 2010. .