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I I am Rashad Qudir, graduated from Govt. College Sheikhupura. I did my

Masters In English Literature and Applied Linguistics.

Since 2011, I have been teaching at Govt. College of Commerce.

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TThis is my article written on a masterpiece

THE RAPE OF THE LOCK
BY ALEXANDER POPE:

The Rape of the Lock as a Filigree Work

The term ‘Filigree’ means an ornamental work or embroidery with threads of gold and
silver. It indicates the decoration that beautifies an obvious and ordinary thing. William
Hazlitt is the 1st critic who has used this word ‘Filigree’ for appreciating ‘The Rape of the
Lock’. He states:-

“The most exquisite specimen

of filigree work, fine ornamental

work using gold, silver and copper wires.”

‘The Rape of the Lock’ has been made a filigree work with the help of good sense and
fancy. So we can say that if in ‘The Rape of the Lock’ wit is silver, fancy is gold and the
two are woven together as in filigree work. Dr. Johnson claims in this regard: ‘The Rape
of the Lock’ is a rare example of the harmonious mingling of brilliant wit and good sense
with delicate fancy’. Primarily, this poem is a mockery of the epic and on that account it
is a great poem. As we know,

“The long narrative poem of

national significance is called

an epic and the reverse of an epic

would be a mock-epic.”

It is a literary parody of heroic style. The subject of a mock-epic is ordinary and trivial,
but the treatment and style is high-minded. According to Alexander Pope, “the use of
pompous expression for low action is truly the perfection of the mock-epic. A mock-epic
is also called mock-heroic because in it, little subjects are inflated with false dignity. First
of all, the title of the poem “The Rape of the Lock” is quite mock-epical. Rape is a serious
moral offense which means the violation of a woman’s chastity by force. But Pope has
used this term in an amusing way. The possession of the ‘Lock’ of Arabella by Petre is
ironically described by him as “The Rape of the Lock”. So the title evokes nothing but the
mock-heroic sensations.

“Alexander Pope in ‘The Rape of

The lock’ makes new things familiar,

 And familiar things new.”

In a mock-epic the great things are made look small and the small things are made look
great. It means the standards of great and small are confused. For example, in the
poem, the staining of honour and loss of a lady’s virginity is equated with the loss of
new brocade and the breaking of a china jar. And the death of a lap-dog is associated
with the death of a dame’s husband. As Hazlitt points out:-

“He (Pope) makes the great

to little and the little is made

great and this is absolutely a

mocking style.”

The hero of an epic is an extraordinary person. As against, in a mock-epic; the hero is a

ordinary person because the subject matter of such a poem is also trivial and usual. In
‘The Rape of the Lock’, there is one heroine only and she is a fashionable butterfly who
screams and cries at the loss of her lock like epic heroes and this is quite humorous.
Another requirement of epic hero is that he performs certain rites and offers prayers in
order to achieve success. He addresses gods and goddesses and invokes their help. In
this poem there is an imitation of such formalities and prayers when Baron burns the
fire in order to get Belinda’s lock. After a thorough study of this poem with realize that
the subject matter of the poem is absolutely ordinary which is based upon ‘a dispute
related to love affair between a young fashionable girl Belinda and a gentleman Baron,
who proposes his name for marriage to her but she rejects his proposal’.

Consequently Baron cuts one of her beautiful locks. So the subject is unimportant but
his slight theme has been given epical treatment. Pope has used highly showy and
bombastic language for low actions. For instance, he addresses to Belinda as ‘the fairest
of mortals’ and ‘the brightest fair’. Her dream is called ‘mystic vision’ and Betty is called
as ‘inferior priestess’. In the same way the scissors has been described as ‘two edge
weapon’, ‘little engine’. ‘fatal engine’ etc. fan, eyes and bodkins as ‘deadly weapons’,
‘deadly spears’, ‘deadly bodkins’. So he uses extraordinary language to deliver normal
things, and the purpose is to heighten the mock-epical effects. For creating mock-heroic
stuff, he compares Belinda’s reaction after cutting her lock with ‘Othello’ the
Shakespearean hero:-
 “Not Fierce Othello in so loud

a strain Roared for the

handkerchief that caused his pain.”

So the poem is not only a masterpiece of an art; it is also a classic of construction. The
poem is an admirable instance of the mighty effects of a dazzling poetic fancy and
reveals how a great work of art can be wrought out of little and insignificant facts. The
entire poem sparkles with the poet’s ingenious power to invest very common and slight
elements with the most attractive appearance. ‘The Rape of the Lock’ is called a filigree
work mainly because of the machinery introduced by the Pope.

“Machinery’s function is to highlight

the effects and impacts of an event.

It belongs properly to a tragedy.”

The use of machinery is a traditional and distinctive feature of epic poetry because
‘Homer’, the first great epic poet has also introduced this term in his epic. So Pope
follows this term in this poem. There are many purposes to inject ‘Aerial Machinery’.
The apparent one is to expend it into a mock-epic poem, but Pope is also presented it to
achieve the objects of humour and satire. He expresses, when Belinda likes beautiful
women die, they turn into different kinds of spirits and return to their original elements
form which they are composed. To exemplification;

“Salamanders-women of unruly and fierce

nature – go to element of fire; Nymph-women

of gentle and submissive nature pass into water;

Gnomes-women of mischievous nature – remain

On earth and even after death are on search of

Some mischief; Sylph-women who are flirt and

Coquet go into the air.”

In “The Rape of the Lock” aerial machinery is the product of both fancy and realism.
Although most of the description is fanciful yet the conceptual origin is realistic.

For, illustrate, the poem indicates that since Belinda is careless and considered other as
inferior, she has to be guarded by some supernatural power.

“The addition of the supernatural

machinery has enhanced the

poetic values of the Rape of the Lock.”

The introduction of the machinery of sylphs and the gnomes also heighten the mock-
heroic effect of the poem. In fact, the mocking impression would not have been
achieved if there would have no machinery used in the poem. We know that in the true
epic the machineries or the supernatural elements are always large, powerful and much
effective, so its essential requirement that Pope should use the supernatural machinery
to make it a true parody of an epic. So by the use of Aerial Machinery Pope not only
enlarge the scope of the poem but also makes it interesting and absorbing. Alexander
Pope exposes some special qualities of airy beings like the sylphs can change their
colour and sex, they can untie and reunite, they can see into the future, they remain
invisible to the mortals and can look into their hearts.

“It’s a virtue of supernatural

machinery that he can easily

perform extraordinary tasks.”

Pope also uses Aerial machinery for the purpose of fun. It is through aerial machinery
that Belinda is informed about the calamity hovering over her head. The aerial knows
that some disaster will threaten to ‘the brightest fair’, that day, though he doesn’t know
the exact nature of that catastrophe. This type of disclosure before hand creates
suspense and is a source of dramatic implementation in the poem. The most important
function is performed by these spirits, enhanced the satirical tone of the poem. The visit
of the gnome to the cave of ‘Spleen’ not only increases the mock-heroic issues but is
also a strong weapon of satire on men and women who are the victims of anger,
affectation, ill-nature etc.

“The use of supernatural machinery

 by Alexander Pope in ‘The Rape of

the Lock’ has succeeded in creating

intensity in the art of satire.”

In this poem the aerial machinery has symbolic value because:-

“Symbolically the aerial machinery

represents the glitter, the pomp

and show, and the artificiality

of the age of queen Anne.”

Through the aerial machinery Pope accomplishes the real rank of social satire. The poem
is a satire on class consciousness, on defects of men and women – flirty,
mischievousness, ill-nature, affectation, and fiery temperament and on yielding belles.

The filigree work of Pope is also evident in his picture of the gay and polished London
society. There is a brilliant sunshine throughout the poem and it sparkles in every line.
He presents the refine picture of lovely belles and gallant and beaus who keep
themselves idly busy in their toilet and dressing, in their game of omber and in useless
gossip and naughty ogling. Though there is a violent grief when the lock of Belinda is
raped but soon it turns into a fancy when the war between two sexes is started. So
there is nothing dark and dismal in the poem. In other words, he has written for his age,
as Dr. Johnson points out:-

“He displays extraordinary art in

ministering to the taste of his age.”

The description of game of omber is highly fanciful. It has been compared with the grave
war between gods and goddesses. The table has been turned as a ‘battle field’, the
dispersed cards have been dubbed as ‘routed army’ etc. Similarly, the war between two
groups – Baron’s and Belinda’s is an imaginative record. And in the end, the portrayal
that the lock of Belinda reaches the sky and turns into a commet is also highly fabulous.
So we see that the Rape of the Lock is full of imaginative representation. But the
interplay of ideal is impossible without wit.
In this poem wit and fancy are in fact found infused together as a ‘Filigree Work’. Pope
makes an ample use of fun in the Rape of the Lock. For instance, he has used quip for
satirical purposes. His satire on contemporary social life is very witty. The same, the very
title of the poem is whimsically conceived as an imitation on such well-known incidents,
like the Rape of Halen in literature. Pope’s humour reaches its apex in the narration of
Belinda’s make-up. Her toilet is visualized in a quite entertaining and comic way. Aerial
machinery is primarily a blend of elegant and puns. As Dryden praises Pope:-

“The true end of a satire is the

amendment of vice by correction.”

From the technical stand-point too this poem is essentially lively in character. The poem,
in fact, is not simply a satire on the fashionable and frivolous English society of 18 th
century; it is an ingenious spoof of heroic style in poetry. The beautiful diction and style
truly produce a witty effect. As Swift regards Pope:-

“Pope could fix one couplet

more sense than I can do in six.”

To sum up we can say that with the help of great intellectuality and flight of imagination
Pope has made ‘The Rape of the Lock’ the most exquisite specimen of filigree work ever
invented in the world of letters. The critics judge his qualities and point out his respect
and importance on the pages of history. Ruskin thinks of as:-

“The most perfect representative

of the true English mind. If we take

away the poetry of Pope, the loss

can’t be measured.”

In the same way, Edmund is of the view that probably no poet with the exception of
Shakespeare, has enriched our language so much with quotable and readily remember
sayings as Pope did. But we can observe the apex of Pope’s importance as a great poet
to the statement of Dr. Johnson:-

“If Pope be not poet, where is

poetry to be found!”