The Rape of the Lock – Alexander Pope

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A witty mock-epic poem that satirizes high society by exaggerating a trivial quarrel over a stolen lock of hair into a grand heroic battle.

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Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock (1712, revised 1714) is a brilliant satirical poem that parodies the epic form to mock the trivial concerns of 18th-century aristocratic society. Inspired by a real-life incident in which a nobleman cut a lock of hair from a society belle, Pope inflates the incident into a heroic narrative filled with supernatural beings, elaborate rituals, and melodramatic conflict. Written in heroic couplets, the poem imitates the structure of classical epics like Homer’s Iliad and Virgil’s Aeneid, yet applies it to a minor social slight. Characters such as Belinda (the heroine), Ariel (her guardian sylph), and the Baron (her suitor) become vehicles for Pope’s commentary on vanity, gender roles, and the artificiality of polite society. The use of supernatural “sylphs” who attend to beauty and decorum parodies the gods of classical epics while emphasizing the absurdity of high-society preoccupations. Pope’s language is ornate yet incisive, his wit razor-sharp. Beneath the playful tone lies a serious critique of the values of his age. The Rape of the Lock remains one of the most celebrated mock-epics in English literature, notable for its poetic craftsmanship, ironic humor, and cultural insight.