The Rape of the Lock (Magill Book Reviews)
At a glance:
- Author: Alexander Pope
- First Published: 1712
- Type of Work: Mock-Epic Poetry
- Genres: Satire, Poetry, Mock-heroic poetry
- Subjects: Dreams, Beauty, England or English people, Eighteenth century, Card games, London, Hair, Boats or boating, Vanity
- Locales: London, England
As the beauteous Belinda sleeps toward noon, a guardian sylph warns her in her dreams of a dire event to occur that day. Undeterred, she rises to her makeup table as usual, then sails off down the Thames for a tea party at Hampton Court. Here the world quite properly admires her, but then the “rape” occurs: An amorous young lord (the Baron) snips off one of the two curls carefully trained to dangle just so down the back of Belinda’s lovely neck.
Belinda screams in horror, and a loud scene ensues. The party chooses sides; women slay men with frowns and revive them with...
[The entire page is 525 words long]
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