The document summarizes Alexander Pope's poem "The Rape of the Lock" in 3 sentences: The poem satirizes a real incident where a Lord cuts a lock of hair from a woman named Belinda's head without her permission. It is written as a mock epic in five cantos using rhymed iambic pentameter and deals with the vanities of humankind in a trivial situation. The summary outlines the plot, which involves Belinda getting ready for a card game, a fight over the stolen lock breaking out, and the lock ultimately becoming a star or constellation.

1. “TheRapeOfTheLock”
by
“AlexanderPope”
Presented by Maryam Bibi
Roll no 14211502-005
Program Bs English 5th

2. “Alexander Pope”
An-Introduction
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English
poet.
Born on 21 May 1688 at England.
He is best known for his satirical verse, as
well as for his translation of Homer.
Best known for his An Essay on Criticism
The Rape of the Lock and The Dunciad.
Famous for his use of the heroic couplet.
Pope also use of classical genres ; epic,
georgic, elegy and heroic epistle
Died on 30 May 1744.

3. About “The Rape Of The Lock”
 A mock epic
 Social satire
 The entire poem is written in five cantos, making use
of the popular rhymed iambic pentameter verse
 The story in poem is relatively simple.
 The poem deals with an actual event and thus pokes
fun at the two families, but more than that it shows the
vanities of humankind.

4. Difference between Epic and
Mock Epic
• Epic:
“A long narrative poem about the actions of a great
person.”
 Mock epic:
“A long narrative poem which deals in a grand diction
with trivial/ordinary themes and produces laughter.”

5. Heroic couplet and Iambic
pentameter
 Heroic couplet:
Heroic couplet is a pair of rhymed lines with iambic
pentameter.
 Iambic pentameter:
Iambic pentameter refers to a certain kind of line of
poetry, and has to do with the number of syllables in the
line, an unstressed syllables followed by stressed
syllables.

6. Example….
This nymph, to the destruction of
mankind,
Nourished two locks, which graceful
hung behind

7. Summary of the Poem
 The action completes in one single day in the life of fashionable
recusants of London. Belinda gets up from bed at about noon
and spends a few hours in ‘denting and painting’. She has to
take part in a card game named ‘Ombre’ at Hampton Court
Palace. She along with a number of young men and ladies
undertake a boat journey in the river Tames to reach the
destination in the north Bank. Ariel, the divine angel guesses
some evil to happen on Belinda and engages his troop of Sylphs
to guard Belinda’s possessions and honors. An adventurous
youth Robert, Lord Petre is determined to steal Belinda’s
tempting ‘Locks’ of hair. In the card game Belinda wins. This
makes the Baron more adamant.

8. Clarisse hands over a pair of scissors to the Baron. The Baron
stealthily cuts a lock from of hair from Belinda’s head. Discovering
the theft, Belinda becomes utterly sorry. Clarisse tries to mollify her
but fails. A gnome named Umbriel descends to the Underworld on
Belinda’s behalf and obtains a bag of sighs and a vial of tears from
the Queen of Spleen. With these magical gifts, he means to comfort
poor Belinda. Grief overcomes her as her eyes half-drown in tears
and her head droops upon her bosom. She resolves to fight against
the Baron. She attacks the Baron with snuff and hair-pin etc. A
fearful combat ensues. During the fight, the Baron loses the Lock.
So he fails to return it.
The poem, however, ends with a note of consolation to Belinda that
her golden ‘Lock’ must have formed a constellation in the sky.
Continue

9. Analysis of Canto 5
 Canto 5 shows Umbriel casting the vial of sadness upon
Belinda so that she is almost drowned in tears. She desires for
simple, country life. Clarissa, the one who helped the Baron
earlier in his successful risk, gives an interesting moral
sermonette about self-importance and age and the need of
women to use good sense in the battle of the genders. Soon a
battle of teacups ensues, disturbed by the Baron’s sneezing
from the snuff that he is using; this causes the lock to fly high
into the air, never to be rescued. Some think that the lock has
gone to the moon, where love letters and other love tokens find
themselves eventually, but others think that the lock became a
star.