The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope

The satirist and poet, Alexander Pope wrote the heroi-comical poem, The Rape of the Lock circa. 1712. Just like the satires of  fellow writer Jonathan Swift (Gullivers Travels, Battle of the Books), this poem aims at mocking the grandiloquent narratives of the age. Pope uses a highly literary vocabulary blending archaic language with the language of the period. The poem is divided into five cantos, the traditional format for narrative poems. The stylistic conventions of The Rape of the Lock aside, Pope wishes to satirize the narrative form, this is achieved by the taking of a minor incident and transforming it into a matter for the gods. The poem tells the story of Belinda, a notable belle who is the subject of a man's affection, being totally entranced by her, he cuts off a lock of her hair without her permission ( hence the title, 'The Rape of the Lock). The satire lies in this banal and/or bawdy incident being told in such epic verse. Pope's dramatised tone uses exclamation and lamentation to further the satire, the train of minute sylphs that watch over Belinda warn her to 'beware of man!' (Canto 1, Line. 114).
However, Pope also highlights the fragility of beauty, Belinda losing a lock of her hair affects her deeply;

The meeting points the sacred hair dissever

From the fair head for ever, and for ever!' (Canto 4, line 57-8)

Pope was one of the best satirists of his time and there is lasting influence in his works that is relevant now. The Rape of the Lock represents melodrama and perhaps even vanity that so trivial events can be interpreted as a divine battle. Pope's obscure and classical references may deter some modern readers but it is not necessary to translate every obscurity to still understand the humourous satire of this narrative poem.