Milton Paradise Lost Lock Of Hair Essay - 696 words

In this poem, Pope pokes fun at female vanity. Pope wrote Rape of the Lock expressly at the request of his friend, John Caryll, in an effort to make peace between real-life lovers. The incident of the lock of hair was factual; Pope's intention was to mix humor with the ill feelings aroused by the affair. He was, in fact, putting a minor incident into perspective, and to that end, chose a mock-heroic form, composing the poem as a parody of epic poetry, particularly the work of Milton (Paradise Lost).


He is inviting the individuals involved to laugh at themselves, to see how emotion had inflated their response to what was really an event of no consequence. For the reader, the incident becomes a statement about human folly, a lesson on female vanity, and a humorous view of the rituals of courtship. The poem was published in 1712 and again in 1714; probably the sarcasm is more biting in the later version than in the one presented to Miss Fermor. Pope could hardly have hoped to soothe the lady's wounded pride by pointing out her vanity. In keeping with his choice of mock-heroic form, Pope employs a high toned poetic diction and the stately iambic pentameter of dignified epics like Milton's Paradise Lost. Pope's mastery of line rhyme and metering lend an even greater air of seriousness.


To achieve this effect, he reverses the position of ordinary speech, as in these lines: "Her lively looks a sprite mind disclose", "Favors to none, to all she smiles extends", and "Bright as the sun her eyes the gazers strike." The effect of this inversion is to add rhetoric weight to the end of the lines. At the same time, the reader is always aware that the poem is a joke. Pope comes right out and says so. For example, one epic tradition is to open with a statement of purpose and an invocation to the Muse. Pope states his purpose as being to sing of the "dire offense" that springs from "amorous causes" and the " ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

...................You are reading a preview................... Visit our Blog and Unlock Full Access to this essay

Continue READING the FULL Essay by clicking HERE

Essay Tags: milton paradise lost, mock heroic, rape of the lock, lock of hair, pope

This is an Essay sample / Research paper, you can use it for your research of: Milton Paradise Lost Lock Of Hair