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Alexander Pope The Rape of the Lock

Study Questions (adapted from the guides by Al Drake, Gerald Lucas and Charles Knight)

Canto Two

The scene is the river Thames, and all the beaux and belles have gathered aboard a boat. Belinda is the center of attraction. What is she compared to?

Especially attractive are two locks of hair. What is the purpose of these locks (cf. 19, 21-28)?

The phrase “destruction of mankind” implies the fruit of Eden and the terrible consequences of eating it. In fact, why has Belinda spent so much time putting on cosmetics and presenting such tempting ringlets?

A male character is now introduced (l. 29) who is attracted to Belinda, or at least, her hair: how does he plan to get it (ll. 30-34)?

What drives the Baron to form his nefarious plot? Why is the extremely serious term "rape" used to describe such a ridiculous act? (Hint: look up the Latin verb from which this word derives.) What classical stories about rape or abduction might lie behind Pope's description of Belinda's plight?

Ariel, who we learn is not only Belinda’s personal guardian sylph, but is also the head of the whole sylph nation, gives a speech, warning that some disaster impends, but he’s not sure what it is, though he suggests things that might happen, ll. 100-110. These are very famous lines and suggest that Ariel’s sense of what’s important and not important is a bit confused. How?

However, aware that some disaster portends, he assigns various protective tasks tot he sylphs. Fifty sylphs will guard the petticoat. Why? What will Ariel himself guard? Why? (We must remember that Ariel’s power depends on Belinda being totally chaste. )

What punishments can be expected by the sylphs who fail to do their job?

What echoes of Milton's Paradise Lost do you find in this canto regarding what the spirits say about their task? How does Pope's style in this canto deflate or confound the seriousness of the threat the heroine faces?

Canto Three

The scene shifts to Hampton Court. We gather that the beaux and belles are part of the social elite attendant upon the queen. Stimulated by the coffee, the Baron conceives the idea of cutting off a lock of Belinda’s hair. Thrice he tries to cut off the lock, but each time, Belinda turns around. Why? Finally, on the third time, he succeeds. Why is he able to succeed now whereas he couldn’t before (ll. 125-134)?

Belinda roars in anger, louder than if what had happened? How is the line similar to ll. 105 – 110 in Canto 2?

The Baron proceeds to boast of his deed. What comparisons does he use in order to describe the longevity of his fame? What do they tell us about him and his worldview?

Canto Four

Belinda mourns the loss of her hair. What does she wish for?

Looking back on her day, she sees omens foreshadowing the dreadful event. What were they?

In her pleas to the Baron, she speaks almost as if he had done something else to her. What do you think? And in lines 175-176 as if she almost wishes what had actually happened?

General Questions

Read aloud a few lines of the poem. What metre does Pope use? What is the rhyme pattern?

What would you say is the main thing or tendency that Pope's mock epic criticizes? Is Pope concerned to offer an alternative to the foolish ideas and pretentions he mocks, or is that not the point of his poem? Explain.

"What mighty contests rise from trivial things." The Rape of the Lock is, above all else, a mock-heroic poem. Much of the wit of the poem lies in Pope's application of epic techniques to less-than-epic topics. But what is the effect of the mock-heroic? Does Pope make fun of his epic sources? Does he make fun of the characters and situations to which the epic is applied, or does his use of the epic give them a kind of heroic dignity? Does Pope's elaborate mock-epic submerge the poem?

An addition to Pope's mock-heroic is his use of Rosicrucian imagery - his sylphs, gnomes, salamanders, and nymphs, as well as the speeches and actions attached to them. In fact, none of this appeared in the first, two-canto version of the poem, and some of Pope's friends urged him not to add it to a piece that was already successful and, they said, delicately balanced. What does the Rosicrucian material add to the poem? Were Pope's friends right?

Is Belinda's story an effective vehicle for broader satire on the superficialities of eighteenth-century high society? What exactly is Pope satirizing? How is it connected to his mock-heroic and to the story of Belinda?

How are we supposed to read the character of Belinda? Is she a wronged heroine? A lovable and sympathetic young lady? A pretty but silly and superficial girl? Or does she combine both positive and negative readings? What, actually, is a coquette, and does Belinda get into trouble for breaking the rules for a coquette? The situation is complicated by the fact that she is more-or-less based on the historical Arabella Fermor. What is the effect of that complication? Is Belinda a satiric object or a satiric vehicle?

We are aware that throughout the poem there is a stream of sexual imagery, some of it quite funny. Is this merely incidental humor of the nudge-nudge type, or is sexuality an important subject of the poem? If it is an important subject, what does the poem have to say about it? In particular, what is and should be the role of sexuality in the life of a young woman of the eighteenth century such as Belinda?

What contemporary forms of entertainment or art take the place of a formal mock epic such as Pope's?

Bonus content: Arabella Fermor and her two locks: