Rape of the Lock, Mock Epic
The inspiration for The Rape of the Lock was an actual incident among Pope's acquaintances in which Robert, Lord Petre, cut off lock of Arabella Fermor's hair, and the young people's families fell into strife as a result. John Caryll, another member of the same circle of prominent Roman Catholic, asked Pope to write a light poem that you put the episode into a humorous perspective and reconcile the two families, since it was hard enough being Catholic's in a Anglican country during the early 1700's. Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock is an outstanding English example of a mock epic. What is a mock epic? A mock-epic or (mock-heroic) in terms of a literary form that burlesques the epic by treating a trivial subject in the "grand style" of uses that epic formulas to make a trivial subject ridiculous by ludicrously overstating it. Usually the characteristics of the classical epic are employed, particularly the formal statement of theme; the invocation to a deity; depictions of warriors (especially their dress and equipment); the grandiose speeches (challenges, defiance, boastings) of the heroes; battles; and the involvement of supernatural machinery (gods directing of participating in the act
ion). Pope's The Rape of the Lock uses highly polished verses, satirical heroic couplets, wit, and intelligence within the epic formula to satirize the absurdities and follies of his society and this is where we find the most delicate humour within the poem. The invocation is an address to a deity for aid. In classical literature, convention demanded an opening address to the Muses, requesting their assistance in the writing. The Muses were the nine daughters of Zeus who preside over the arts and sciences and inspire those who excel at these pursuits. In the Aeneid Virgil directly calls upon the Muses to aid him in the task of writing about the journeys and battles of Aeneas. In Paradise Lost Milton instead of calling upon the Muses for aid in writing his Judao-Christian version of a classical epic, he calls upon Moses. Moses may not be a Muse, but in the Christian tradition, he is a close equivalent. The Muses and Moses have some striking similarities; the Muses lived on Mount Olympus and Moses delivered the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai; also both The Muses and Moses have inspired writers to write for centuries; finally Moses may not be a god like the Muses, but he is an important religious figure in the Judao-Christian ! Firstly, the Devil from Paradise Lost is a prime example of an epic hero. The Devil has a very imposing stature as described here, "... in bulk as huge as whom the fables name of monstrous size, Titanian, or Earth-born, that warred on Jove, Briareos or Typhon ..."(Milton I. 196-8). He is also internationally important because he is the eternal foe of god. The devil also has superhuman courage because he dared to declare war on heaven (Milton I. 40-4). Finally,
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Approximate Word count = 1150
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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