Rape of the Lock : is the most famous poem of Alexander Pope. A two-canto version appeared in 1712 & immediately made Pope famous as a poet. A long humorous poem in the classical style (likeness to ancient Greek & Roman writing); instead of treating the subject of heroic deeds, it was about the attempt of a young man to get a lock of hair from his beloved’s head. The revised version in five cantos appeared in 1714. A mock-epic, it satirises a high-society quarrel between Arabella Fermor (the ‘Belinda’ of the poem) & Lord Petre 7th Baron, who had snipped a lock of hair from her head without her permission. The satirical style is tempered, however, by a genuine & almost voyeuristic interest in the beau-monde (fashionable world) of 18th-century English society. The revised & extended version of the poem brought more clearly into focus its true subject – the onset of acquisitive individualism & a society of conspicuous consumers. In the world of the poem purchased artefacts displace human agency, & ‘trivial things’ assume dominance. The Rape was followed by Imitations of Horace (1733–38). These were written in the popular Augustan form of the “imitation” of a classical poet, not so much a translation of his works as an updating with contemporary references. Pope used the model of Horace to satirise life under George II, esp. what he regarded as the widespread corruption tainting the country under Walpole’s influence & the poor quality of the court’s artistic taste. Pope also added a wholly original poem, An Epistle to Doctor Arbuthnot, as an introduction to the “Imitations”. It reviews his own literary career & includes the famous portraits of Lord Hervey (“Sporus”) & Addison (“Atticus”).
... a way as to make the trivial appear last, thus producing a ludicrous effect due to the humorous shock of sudden frustration of an expectation. Example: The poet Pope wrote in his The Rape of the Lock: "Here thou, great Anna, whom three realms obey, Dost sometimes counsel take, and sometimes tea." 12.A portmanteau word: A portmanteau word is a fictitious ...
... on the same qualities; whatever else is or is not there, these are quintessential to a true epic creation. An epic cannot be a frivolous exercise, only a mock-epic (like The Rape of the Lock) can be that, and even a mock-epic generally aims at purging folly through laughter, which is a serious enough purpose. An epic cannot be close and constricted—wideness and largeness are its ...
... it resulted also from the idea of commonsense as the cardinal rule of poetry, that nothing incredible should be admitted unless it was treated humorously, like the sylphs and gnomes in Pope's Rape of the Lock or the beasts in the fables of Gay & Swift. Poetry however seems naturally to demand the element of the supernatural & the only way to admit the supernatural without offending against reason was ...
... together the best from poetry of a lighter kind with that which has a high seriousness or intention, for instance the mock epic with the epic? There are critics now who are in ecstasies over Pope's Rape of the Lock and put it on the very highest level, but we could hardly reconcile ourselves to classing any lines from it with a supreme line from Homer or Milton. Or can the perfect force of Lucan's line ...
... when he turns in that direction—the satiric is only a strong line in his creation; that is a different kind of inspiration, not the ordinary satire. Pope attempted something creative in his Rape of the Lock , but the success, if brilliant, is thin because the deeper creative founts and the kindlier sources of vision are not there. 27 April 1931 The Ode A successful ode must be a perfect ...
... turns in that direction - the satire is only a strong line in his creation; that is a different kind of inspiration, not the ordinary satire. Pope attempted something creative in his Rape of the Page 373 Lock, but the success, if brilliant, is thin because the deeper creative founts and the kindlier sources of vision are not there." 4 Before we proceed to relish Sri Aurobindo's ...
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