Mock-heroic features of Pope's "The Rape of the Lock"
Q. DESCRIBE THE MOCK-HEROIC FEATURES YOU FIND IN POPE 'S 'THE RAPE OF THE LOCK '.
Mock-epic, also known as mock-heroic poetry is a juxtaposition of trivial subject matter and grandeur epic style. From the fundamental point of view, mock-epic is nothing but the most popular neo-classical burlesque used as a double-edged satirical weapon. Batrachomyomachia, an anonymous parody, attributed to Homer, is most probably the earliest example of mock-epic genre. Alexander Pope was the central figure of Augustan Age, for his best mock-heroic poetry The Rape of the Lock, written based on a contemporary scandal. It deals with the journey from an insignificant event of cutting hair lock of a belle, to a Trojan war.
Pope 's The Rape of the Lock, published in 1712(revised version in 1714 with five cantos), is like a literary heterogeneous architecture that offers a multi-dimensional flow of phenomena. This poem nurtures the every sphere of emotions. The poem is just to bring out a serious enmity between two Catholic land lord families-the Petres and the Fermors derived from a 'dire ' offense by the young lord Petre. He takes revenge by cutting the lock of hair of Arabella Fermor, a lady from Fermor family, as his amourous proposal was strongly shunted aside by the lady. The entire poem is decorated with super-natural characters like sylphs, gnomes and their magical activities. From the beginning, Pope created a sarcastic atmosphere with the luxurious, idle lifestyles of lord families. At last but not the least, this mock-heroic poetry, written in iambic pentameter, also leaves a great literary value with its enriched rhetoric and prosodic features.
The features of a mock-epic would be almost same as the epic but it should be clearly distinguished by its dissimilarity between subject and style. The features of The Rape of the Lock as a mock-epic, are depicted below:
The Title: A mock-heroic poetry must be beautified with a grand title. Rape is a serious moral violation which
Mock-epic, also known as mock-heroic poetry is a juxtaposition of trivial subject matter and grandeur epic style. From the fundamental point of view, mock-epic is nothing but the most popular neo-classical burlesque used as a double-edged satirical weapon. Batrachomyomachia, an anonymous parody, attributed to Homer, is most probably the earliest example of mock-epic genre. Alexander Pope was the central figure of Augustan Age, for his best mock-heroic poetry The Rape of the Lock, written based on a contemporary scandal. It deals with the journey from an insignificant event of cutting hair lock of a belle, to a Trojan war.
Pope 's The Rape of the Lock, published in 1712(revised version in 1714 with five cantos), is like a literary heterogeneous architecture that offers a multi-dimensional flow of phenomena. This poem nurtures the every sphere of emotions. The poem is just to bring out a serious enmity between two Catholic land lord families-the Petres and the Fermors derived from a 'dire ' offense by the young lord Petre. He takes revenge by cutting the lock of hair of Arabella Fermor, a lady from Fermor family, as his amourous proposal was strongly shunted aside by the lady. The entire poem is decorated with super-natural characters like sylphs, gnomes and their magical activities. From the beginning, Pope created a sarcastic atmosphere with the luxurious, idle lifestyles of lord families. At last but not the least, this mock-heroic poetry, written in iambic pentameter, also leaves a great literary value with its enriched rhetoric and prosodic features.
The features of a mock-epic would be almost same as the epic but it should be clearly distinguished by its dissimilarity between subject and style. The features of The Rape of the Lock as a mock-epic, are depicted below:
The Title: A mock-heroic poetry must be beautified with a grand title. Rape is a serious moral violation which
Bibliography: Main text: Page-56, "An Anthology: Poems, Plays and Prose" by Board Of Editors. The University Of Burdwan, Burdwan, June2013 Albert Edward. History of English Literature. City: New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2014 www.britannica.com. The Rape of the Lock. 24 November 2014 www.writework.com. Discuss Alexander Pope 's 'The Rape Of The Lock ' as a 'Mock Heroic Poem ' By Kellee. April 2005 http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/mock-heroic-poetry-definition-examples-style.html#lesson www.en.wikipedia.org. Mock-Heroic www.goodreads.com www.scribd.com. Pope Rape of the Lock-Mock Heroic Features www.crossref-it.info. Mock Heroic http://www.sparknotes.com. THE RAPE OF THE LOCK