Rape of the lock

* The Rape of the lock was written by Alexander pope and first published in 1712 ,then reworked and published agin in 1714 .

1) Did this poem has characteristics of mock heroic poem?

- characteristics of this poem : 

        Mock heroic works either put a fool in the role of the hero or exaggerate the heroic qualities to such a point that they become absurd.

           The story focuses on the central character , Belinda ,whose lock of the hair is cut off at a social gathering.

       In this poem pope has used spirits such as sylphs and Gnomes. They play various functions and even take part in the battle of the mortals. In fact his futile function of the spirits cannot but mock us laugh. 

       We have the description of the heroic battles though the cards .pope adds an invocation at the Beginning then there are included the super natural creatures like sylphs, Gnomes and Nymphs etc.     

          All these elements have made the rape of the lock a true intense of mock heroic poem.

2) Do you think that clariss's speech is waste of time ?  

 - clariss's speech 

           A lady at court who lends the Baron her scissors to chop off Belinda's lock of hair. She later finds the whole incident frustratingly trivial and delivers a speech about how physical beauty is ultimately fleeting and that instead women should concentrate on being as morally upright as they possibly can. 

               Clarrisa declares ,virtue is most attractive to the soul. While her speech obviously makes good sense ,it is typical of a more traditional style of poem which would be primarily concerned with didacticism ,or simply telling the reader what the moral is .

             So ultimately we can say that clariss's speech is not the waste of time but clarrisa' s name meaning "clarity", hints that the reader might do well to take her wise advice.

 3) Do you think that this poem is narrated only for joy or is it a satire on contemporary society and time ? 

 - social satire : 

               Pop's remarkable poem ' The rape of the lock ' is essentially a social satire. 

           The poem exposes in a witty manner the follies and absurdities of the aristocratic life of the 18th century England. Principal targets of satire in the poem are the fashionable and aristocratic ladies and gentlemen of the time.

            Then we can find that the coquetry ,the art ,the artifice and the false pride and vanities of the aristocratic ladies are the chief concern of pope in the poem .These ladies in the very early of their life learn how to blush in a coquettish manner. 

             Their heart shifts from one beloved to another according to their need. 

          Thus ,we may conclude that pope attempts to expose tha follies and absurdities of the royal English society in a witty manner.

4) can we say that Belinda is modern woman or foolish woman of fashionable woman or practical woman? 

- Belinda is fashionable woman: 

              The protagonist of the poem, Belinda is a wealthy and beautiful young woman who travels to Hampton court for a day of socializing and leisure. 

              Her remarkable beauty attracts the attention of Baron ,who snips off a lock of her hair in his infatuation.

            Fundamentally ,as her name suggests with its literal meaning of " beautiful ". She is so beautiful that those around her consider her basically exempt from any moral judgement.

5) The Rape of the lock explain this title give your point of view .

-  The title of the poem : 

              According to my point of view , ' Rape' did have a sexual connotation ,but in no way as strongly as it does now. By using it in the tittle as the verb to describe what happens to Belinda' s hair , pope is playing on both layers of meaning seizing something by force and personal violation.

           In the poem no woman is the victim of rape but it is the lock of a woman named Belinda that is raped by a fashionable Baron. The title of the poem bears literary reminiscent.