Pope
starts off by identifying the piece as a Heroi-Comical poem. After looking the
term up I found out that a Heroi-Comical poem is commonly referred to as a mock-epic or sometimes as a mock-heroic. Now I understand why
Pope recognized it as such. The Rape of the Lock treats petty human experiences
and insignificant occurrences as extraordinary instead of trivial. The poem
deals with society’s fuss over trifling matters by blowing them way out of proportion.
Let’s take a
look.
In the poem a feud of epic proportions starts up
after the baron steals a lock of Belinda’s hair.
For ever curs'd be this detested
Day,
Which snatch'd my best, my fav'rite Curl away!
Happy! ah ten times happy had I been,
If Hampton-Court these Eyes had never seen!
Which snatch'd my best, my fav'rite Curl away!
Happy! ah ten times happy had I been,
If Hampton-Court these Eyes had never seen!
I never knew someone could cherish one specific lock
of hair so much.
The small matter of losing a lock of hair enrages
Belinda:
Then flash'd the living Lightnings
from her Eyes,
And Screams of Horror rend th' affrighted Skies.
Not louder Shrieks to pitying Heav'n are cast,
When Husbands, or when Lapdogs breathe their last,
Or when rich China Vessels, fal'n from high,
In glitt'ring Dust and painted Fragments lie!
And Screams of Horror rend th' affrighted Skies.
Not louder Shrieks to pitying Heav'n are cast,
When Husbands, or when Lapdogs breathe their last,
Or when rich China Vessels, fal'n from high,
In glitt'ring Dust and painted Fragments lie!
Now the act of having a piece of
your hair cut seems that it has the power to start a war.
Pope takes this trivial occurrence
and makes it important.
Belinda battles the Baron for her
lock of hair, only to not find it after the battle ends. Don’t worry though because
that is also made into an extraordinary event when Pope says that the trimmed lock
of her golden hair has risen to the heavens, there to become a shining star.
So on that note, Pope’s poem embodies all that is
expected of a Heroi-Comical poem. But it does make you wonder if anyone would
actually make such a fuss on losing a lock of hair. Would you?
Yeah, it does seem like a bit of an over-reaction, doesn't it? I'm almost lead to wonder (and perhaps you are too!) what Pope is really talking about when it comes to that hair. After all, at one point Belinda says something along the lines of wishing that the Baron had taken a less visible lock. What might she being referring to? And do you think that Pope is referring to that as well?
ReplyDeleteHow do you think Pope's other uses of the mock-heroic set up Belinda as our protagonist? Do we think that he's going after something in this Horatian satire that is about a little more than hair?
I think the lock of Belinda's hair comes to symbolize her femininity. The lock of hair can be linked to her virginity. Her lock of hair is used by Pope as a expression of who she is as a person. For this reason Belinda states that she would have rather had the Baron seized a less visible lock. This statement can be equated to her declaring that physical rape would be preferred to that of her hair because than at least she would still have what made her the person she is. By this being stated Pope's misogyny towards women is shown. Belinda takes pride in her appearance just as other women did in that time period. She puts herself on display and Pope uses her hair to criticize women and show the only power they had was in their beauty.
DeleteI found this poem delightful. It was a breath of fresh air after reading "The Rambler" (well-named) and Kant.
DeleteI think the possible meaning of "less visible lock" is referred to in a footnote in the text. I don't necessarily think that's what Belinda meant by it - she is portrayed as a foolish girl who says things without thinking, based on how she feels at the time. I think Pope is hinting at that - but only hinting. The suggestion is there, but it's ambiguous. They way I read it, it has a double meaning with no favored interpretation. The line - like the poem as a whole - plays with currents of sexuality without explicitly invoking them. It's a playful poem, that on the surface is about hair, and what can be seen from the outside; but beneath is about sex, and what can only be seen by pulling the covers back.
I don't think that "The Rape of the Lock" is misogynistic, per se, because Pope isn't criticizing all women, but rather a certain kind of woman - Belindas. Clarissa speaks for Pope when she calls Belinda's obsession with her hair silly, for "curled or uncurled, locks will turn to gray." Pope is suggesting that courtly women should care less about their appearance, and more about their inner qualities and virtues. I would say that's a timely message today as well.