Category:HistoryPaper Title:rape of the lockText:In this Canto, Pope describes the satirical decent of Umbriel into”underworld” as the last literary convention of epic poetry thatPope uses. Umbriel is the representative of the darker side of the supernatural worldandhe goes to the Underworld or the Cave of spleen to gain some assistance forthe”violated”. In the Cave of Spleen, Umbriel discovers two symbols offemininewiles: Ill-nature an old Puritan dressed in black and white and Affectation,awoman who pretends to be ill to gain superiority.
These women give Umbriel abag full of “sighs, sobs, and passions, and the war oftongues”(Line 84) andadded the gift of a vial of “soft sorrows, melting griefs, and glowingtears”(Line 87). These “weapons” are the female wiles thatcause the epicbattle between Belinda and the Baron. Pope ends the poem stating thatBelinda’s lock will go to heaven with her name inscribed on it so thateveryonewill know her name. In the final analysis, the scales are tipped in favor of the comical: thereader of the poem is impressed by the sheer force of the humor, and thegrandstyle serves to exaggerate the ridiculous. The laughter and ridicule do notundermine the importance of good sense and virtue in the relations betweenmen and women.
In conclusion, “The Rape of the Lock” is indeed a mock-heroic toindicate to Arabella Fermor and Lord Petre that they should not worry abouttrivial things such as the “rape” of one’s lock. “The Rape ofthe Lock” is anexample of how Pope fuses both the classical world with his modern world..History
