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Pope had translated the Iliad recently before writing the Rape of the Lock so it is no wonder that the poem contains many allusions to it and other epics. Pope used the heroic couplet fore mostly because of the awe in which he held the epics and secondly because it provides a superb field in which to satirist whilst maintaining levity. His mocking of the epic begin in the first two lines of the poem: What dire offence from across causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things, This is an imitation of the opening of an epic where the subject is stated, in this case a battle which is fought over a trivial thing which is caused by lust. Since Pope launched straight into the style of an epic we are immediately struck by harsh satire. An epic usually dealt with tales which were not trivial things and we just have to recall that the Iliads subject was war between two great nations and the rape of Helen rather than the rape of a lock of hair and this is what makes the satire so biting. The game of Ombre played between Belinda and the Baron is The Rape of the Locks substitute for battle.
It mocks the heroic by displaying the typical Homeric hero, the display of the heros arete, in Belinda's case this is her skill in cards, which eventually leads to the death of the hero, the loss of her hair. This makes the loss of Belinda's hair seem even more trivial when we compare it to death in battle and this is exactly what Pope was trying to achieve. He was trying to reconcile the Baron and Arabella and by trivial ising the loss of her hair he may have made it easier for the two to forgive one another. What makes the satire even more blinding is the fact that Belinda's skill is not complete and she in fact only thinks she has defeated the Baron. Belinda is compared to Eve from Milton's Paradise Lost but again The Rape of the Lock seems inconsequential when contrasted with the fall of mankind. Belinda possesses some of the faults that seem intrinsic to mankind such as narcissism, she is not only proud of her beauty but she actually goes as far as worshipping her image in the mirror just as Eve caught a glimpse of herself in the water and fell in love with herself before she met Adam and also just as Narcissus was doomed to fall in love with himself.
These allusions are there to remind us that many have suffered worse consequences from similar flaws and that perhaps Belinda should be glad that it was only a hair that she lost. Perhaps the most piercing satire about the loss of her hair is Evn then, before the fatal engine close and this is alluding to the wooden horse which lead to the sacking of Troy. The loss of any hair no matter how beautiful cannot compare to the loss of life that results from the wooden horse entering Troy. The Virgilian echo at the beginning of Canto IV satirists a secret fondness for the Baron and later in Canto IV Umbriels descent into the Cave of Spleen satirists the many voyages made to the underworld by the epic heroes it is through this satire that Pope makes his point that life could be worse for both Belinda and the Baron. Pope mocks the hero preparing for battle in the where Belinda is preparing for her trip to Hampton Court: Now awful Beauty puts on all its arms; The fair each moment rises in her charms, This again trivializes Belinda and her desire to appear more beautiful. It also satirists the war that is love and how she prepares for a rendezvous can be likened to how a hero would prepare for battle.
When Pope begins to talk about Belinda's petticoat we instantly recall Achilles shield and we therefore are left knowing that her petticoat will fail her just as Achilles shield failed him; in spite of the construction of both shields they both fail albeit Belinda's only fails metaphorically. Pope uses the Here-comical to enhance the effect of his satire whilst also enabling the victim of the satire to share their failure with an epic hero; although Belinda failed to protect her chastity her failure combined with Achilles failure does not make hers seem that bad. The echoing nature of the mock heroic helps make the situation more bearable as someone has already made these same mistakes but usually in their case they did not have the chance to learn from their faults whereas in essence Pope has pointed out Belinda's little unguarded follies in the hope that she will seek to better herself from the knowledge of them.
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Research essay sample on Loss Of Her Hair Belinda And The Baron Pope
