Task sheet – Class 2

Please scroll down to the end of the document so you don’t miss any of the tasks.

The primary purpose of these tasks is to motivate you to read the assigned works. By completing the assignment, you
also prepare for class discussion. The works or excerpts which you are required to read for the course can be found in
the Required Reading Pack (sometimes, short poems or excerpts are reproduced on the task sheet as well, like the
excerpts from Pope here).

I. Check out my questions/tasks (see below) first, then read my introduction and the excerpt
from Alexander Pope’s mock-epic Rape of the Lock and complete the tasks.

The poem satirizes the shallow morality and the triviality of 18th century aristocratic society by taking a minor incident
(a gentleman cutting off a young lady’s lock of hair) and turning it into the central theme of a “heroic” epic. In the poem
all the well-known epic devices are parodied. The epic battle, for example, is degraded to become a “battle” between
men and ladies, consisting of mutual manipulation and covert sexual games. The passage below is a famous instance of
parodying the epic device of arming the hero. It takes place in the morning as Belinda, the heroine, makes her “toilet
preparations” (hairdo, make-up). Thus Pope makes fun of the shallowness of the values in his own society by
juxtaposing the grand or the great with the trivial or the inconsequential. He uses three different extended metaphors
(groups of metaphors) to do this. 1. Religion 2 the word of battle and warriors 3 the British empire (See my questions
below)

121And now, unveil'd, the Toilet stands display'd,

122Each Silver Vase in mystic Order laid.
123First, rob'd in White, the Nymph intent adores
124With Head uncover'd, the cosmetic Pow'rs.
125A heav'nly Image in the Glass appears,
126To that she bends, to that her Eyes she rears;
127Th' inferior Priestess, at her Altar's side,
128Trembling, begins the sacred Rites of Pride.
129Unnumber'd Treasures ope at once, and here
130The various Off'rings of the World appear;
131From each she nicely culls with curious Toil,
132And decks the Goddess with the glitt'ring Spoil.
133This Casket India's glowing Gems unlocks,
134And all Arabia breathes from yonder Box.
135The Tortoise here and Elephant unite,
136Transform'd to Combs, the speckled and the white.
137Here Files of Pins extend their shining Rows,
138Puffs, Powders, Patches, Bibles, Billet-doux.
139Now awful Beauty puts on all its Arms;
140The Fair each moment rises in her Charms,
141Repairs her Smiles, awakens ev'ry Grace,
142And calls forth all the Wonders of her Face;
143Sees by Degrees a purer Blush arise,
144And keener Lightnings quicken in her Eyes.
145The busy Sylphs1 surround their darling Care;
146These set the Head, and those divide the Hair,
147Some fold the Sleeve, while others plait the Gown;
148And Betty's prais'd for Labours not her own.

Questions

1. Highlight in yellow all the nouns by which Belinda, the heroine is called in the poem. 1 p
1
Invisible air spirits corresponding to “supernatural machinery” in epics, such as angels in Paradise Lost.
2. Who is her human helper? Who are her non-human helpers? 1 p

3. Highlight in blue and explain the references to religion. What is the point of these religious
metaphors? What kind of “religion” is the narrator referring to here? (Ironically, of course, like
when you say “food is his religion”.) THREE SENTENCES 2 p

4. Highlight in green metaphors related to battle/war. What kind of war is Belinda preparing for?
ONE SENTENCE 2 p