Pope's The Rape of the Lock is described as a mock heroic epic. But why would Pope select this form to present this story in this way? It seems to me most epics are about important, world-spanning, cataclysmostrophic events. And while I realize what I said back there is not a word I feel that this makes clearer what Pope is trying to mock in his mock heroic epic.
This false sense of the epic is applied to an incident that, while not entirely mundane, is altogether unepic. In both of the cantos we read, Pope employs several epic conventions and certain other methods to create an overblown tale.
The first canto begins with the epic convention of proclaiming what the author is singing about.
"What dire offense from amorous causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things, I sing- This verse to Caryll, Muse!" Already pope introduces the concept of the mighty rising from the trivial. Suggesting the subject of the mockery is directed at the ridiculous circumstances, including English society and the behavior of its inhabitants, that would cause mighty contests to rise from trivial things. The bulk of the canto consists of descriptions of Belinda's beauty and a catalogue of sorts of Sylphs, Nymphs, and Salamanders. The catalogue, an epic convention, is a lengthy aside from any action in the poem that establishes the place of the Sylphs in the story. This grandiose description all leads up to...a woman waking up and getting ready for her day. The insertion of the Sylphs further emphasizes the epic, implying(mockingly) that the supernatural must have intervened in order for these events to occur.
The third canto is where the actual rape of the lock occurs. The scene is a card game between Belinda, The Baron, and a third trivial player. The desciptions in this card game make it easy to forget that they are simply playing cards. Titanic struggles between royal forces are used to describe the flow of the game. After the lady wins the game the Baron decides to take a lock of her hair. The Baron is compared to Scylla who took a lock of her father's hair and was turned into a bird. This comparison to a Greek myth places, if possible, the story on a grander scale. As he is cutting the lock a Sylph attempts to intervene but Fate "cut the Sylph in twain" and the lock was cut.
The inclusion of the Sylphs, comparisons to Greek mythology, and conventions of the epic form all give this story an epic feel. But why? I don't feel like Pope was mocking the epic form itself but rather the epic self-importance with which English society men and women live their lives. The final 20-30 lines of the first canto are an excellent example of this. Wherein Belinda "begins the sacred rites of pride." She utilizes instruments and accessories from all over the world and the description is that of a harmonious work of beauty wrought by the diversity of the entire globe. But in truth her epic masterpiece that is her face is nothing more than an exercise in shameless human vanity.
This false sense of the epic is applied to an incident that, while not entirely mundane, is altogether unepic. In both of the cantos we read, Pope employs several epic conventions and certain other methods to create an overblown tale.
The first canto begins with the epic convention of proclaiming what the author is singing about.
"What dire offense from amorous causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things, I sing- This verse to Caryll, Muse!" Already pope introduces the concept of the mighty rising from the trivial. Suggesting the subject of the mockery is directed at the ridiculous circumstances, including English society and the behavior of its inhabitants, that would cause mighty contests to rise from trivial things. The bulk of the canto consists of descriptions of Belinda's beauty and a catalogue of sorts of Sylphs, Nymphs, and Salamanders. The catalogue, an epic convention, is a lengthy aside from any action in the poem that establishes the place of the Sylphs in the story. This grandiose description all leads up to...a woman waking up and getting ready for her day. The insertion of the Sylphs further emphasizes the epic, implying(mockingly) that the supernatural must have intervened in order for these events to occur.
The third canto is where the actual rape of the lock occurs. The scene is a card game between Belinda, The Baron, and a third trivial player. The desciptions in this card game make it easy to forget that they are simply playing cards. Titanic struggles between royal forces are used to describe the flow of the game. After the lady wins the game the Baron decides to take a lock of her hair. The Baron is compared to Scylla who took a lock of her father's hair and was turned into a bird. This comparison to a Greek myth places, if possible, the story on a grander scale. As he is cutting the lock a Sylph attempts to intervene but Fate "cut the Sylph in twain" and the lock was cut.
The inclusion of the Sylphs, comparisons to Greek mythology, and conventions of the epic form all give this story an epic feel. But why? I don't feel like Pope was mocking the epic form itself but rather the epic self-importance with which English society men and women live their lives. The final 20-30 lines of the first canto are an excellent example of this. Wherein Belinda "begins the sacred rites of pride." She utilizes instruments and accessories from all over the world and the description is that of a harmonious work of beauty wrought by the diversity of the entire globe. But in truth her epic masterpiece that is her face is nothing more than an exercise in shameless human vanity.
posted by Nathan at 7:12 AM
1 Comments:
Nathan, this is an interesting post despite the fact that, as you are aware, it does not respond to the prompt. You do a good job of working out the effects of the mock-epic tone; I would have liked to have heard what you had to say about what the consequences of this are for Pope's portrayal of reason.
Post a Comment
<< Home