How is Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock" a mock epic?

Pope's "The Rape of the Lock" (1712; 1714) is based on an actual incident in which Lord Petre took some scissors and snipped a bit of hair from Miss Arabella Fermor, an action which caused a considerable about of outrage among the aristocratic society in London, particularly the Roman Catholic aristocrats.  A friend of Pope's, John Caryll, suggested that he calm the waters by creating a poem.  Pope answered the challenge with the greatest mock-epic in English literature.

The mock epic essentially treats a trivial matter, in this case, the snipping of a lock of hair, and the inconsequential participants (two minor aristocrats) in the heroic style of a classical epic.  Pope was particularly suited for this because he had translated both The Odyssey and The Aeniad, and was completely familiar with all the elements of classical epics.

The title of the poem itself gives away the mock epic: the snipping of a lock of hair is transmuted into a "rape" of the lock.  The diction Pope uses is meant to elevate the ridiculous to epic proportions.  In another nod to classical epic, Pope divides the poem into Cantos, sections usually reserved for significant and culturally important poetic efforts.  In this case, of course, the Cantos only serve to remind the reader how inconsequential the subject of this "epic" really is.

Pope surrounds the heroine, Belinda, with supernatural creatures called "sylphs," whose duties are to take care of Belinda and keep her safe.  Most true epics also include these classical supernatural beings, and their job is to watch over the hero or heroine and, if the time comes, to sacrifice themselves for the hero or heroine.  In Canto II, for example, the leading sylph, Ariel, warns the others that something seems amiss, and orders them to be watchful.

After the hair is snipped off, in Canto IV, one of the characters incites Belinda into a rage, and there is very satiric scene based on a epic battle, a very foppish character, Sir Plume, demands that Lord Petre return the lock--this scene is a clever parody of a typical epic battle, but in this case, the weapons are words, and the stakes are a lock of hair, not the fate of empires.

In Canto V, we have another parody--this time, the battle of the sexes--and Belinda demands the return of the lock with a hair pin, but true to the epic, the hair has been taken by the sylphs to become part of the heavens as if the lock were important enough to become yet another constellation.

How is Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock" a mock epic?

"The Rape of the Lock" is considered to be perhaps the best mock-heroic poem in English literature because of Pope's incredible ability to incorporate themes, language and characters from Classical Greek epics in a poem about a lock of hair.

Pope was asked by a friend to try to reconcile two groups of Catholic aristocrats who had gone to war with each other over the taking by Lord Petre of a lock of Arabella Fermor's hair--by snipping it off with scissors during a party.  Pope decided that the best way to defuse the situation was to use the "high style" of the epic, with all its conventions, to show the antagonists how ridiculous the argument was.

The poem begins, as epics should, in medias res, that is, in the middle of things (after the cause of the problem has occurred), using the epic convention of formal vocabulary and diction: "What dire Offense from am'rous Causes springs,/What mighty Contest rise from trivial Things."  This establishes the epic nature of the dispute, but also puts the tongue in cheek because the readers know the "back-story."

The protagonist of the poem, Belinda (Arabella Fermor), like all epic protagonists, is protected by supernatural beings, the Sylphs, who "Oft when the World imagine Women stray,/The Sylphs thro' Mystick Mazes guide their Way," and not only are the Sylphs there to guide Belinda through this difficult time, but when Lord Petre is about to snip the lock of Belinda's hair, one of the Sylphs interposes herself and is cut in half.  We are not playing games here--very serious business.

With the use of the epic to describe the war over a lock of hair, Pope effectively flips the epic on its side: instead of the hero being a proud warrior, wise, generous, brave, a good leader, the hero of "The Rape" is a rather shallow, self-absorbed woman who, as we later learn, does not see much difference in scale between the death of husbands or lap dogs.  And rather than the object of the war being the destruction of a major city or culture and the establishment of another, the object here is a lock of hair.  The combat, instead of taking place on a battle ground involving thousands of warriors, takes place on a card table, and the battle itself is Ombre, a game of cards.  The tools of this battle, consistent with its original cause, are snide comments, dirty looks, and a pinch of snuff Belinda blows into Lord Petre's face, causing him to sneeze.  Each of these elements is described as if we were reading The Aeniad or The Iliad, two classical epics Pope was very familiar with, having translated both The Odyssey and The Iliad.

The poem has its desired effect by dis-arming the two camps of aristocrats and ultimately enjoyed a wide audience and became the model of a mock-epic satire in English but never quite duplicated.

How is "The Rape of the Lock" a mock epic?

Pope wrote this mock-epic poem at the request of his friend John Caryll to help heal a rift between two prominent Catholic families. In real life, Lord Petre had taken a lock of Arabella Fermor's hair without her permission, causing a quarrel that blew out of proportion.

The poem is a mock epic because it uses the epic form, a genre meant for serious subjects, such as the Trojan war in Homer's Iliad, and applies it to such a trivial issue as the loss of a lock of hair. The humor comes in the grandiose and overblown way this hair theft is described, complete with lamentations, exclamations, and the lock of hair ascending to the moon at the end of the poem. Pope populated his mock-epic world with sylphs and made as much of Belinda's petticoat as Homer did of Achilles's shield.

Pope wanted to use humor to heal an argument but also to show that the aristocrats and leaders of his day lacked the heroism of figures from classical literature. By poking gentle fun at them, he hoped to inspire them to worry about more important subjects than card-playing, hair, and flirtations.

How is "The Rape of the Lock" a mock epic?

A mock epic is a parody which mocks (makes fun of) classic characteristics of a stereotypical epic. This happens when the text pokes fun at the idea of an epic hero or heroic literature. Typically, the mock epic turns the classical understanding of an epic upon its head by making the action of the text so outlandish that it becomes absurd.

Pope's "The Rape of the Lock" is a mock epic- basically, Pope admits this in the full title of the poem: "The Rape of the Lock: An Heroi-Comical Poem."

This poems can be simply detailed as a mock epic based upon the fact that the object of desire is not a noble woman, a queen, even a peasant. Instead, the object of desire is hair. The Baron upon the boat with Belinda becomes infatuated with Belinda's locks. Not only does he desire them, he has built an alter to ask for success in his ability to possess the locks.

The fact that a simple Baron desires a lock of hair makes the poem a mock epic.

Consider The Rape of the Lock as a representative mock-heroic poem.

Pope's The Rape of the Lock is mock heroic, as well as mock epic, since it is divided into cantos and is long enough to be reminiscent of an epic.  The adjective "mock" means imitation, fake.  The poem presents trivial occurrences as if they are epic.

Some of the parallels between the poem and epics follow:

• The hero of the poem is Belinda 
• The preparing for battle, the arming of the warrior, is Belinda putting on her makeup, etc.
• The battle is the game of cards
• The "rape" or injustice or evil deed is the cutting off of the lock of hair
• The supernatural components are the sylphs and gnomes

The poem even begins with an invocation to the Muse to aid in the story telling, as ancient epics do. 

Pope uses this mock heroic device to ridicule and poke fun at social manners and human behavior.

Is "The Rape of the Lock" a mock-epic or a mock-heroic epic?

The short answer is that "The Rape of the Lock" is both mock epic and mock-heroic epic.

Mock epic and Mock-heroic epic are often considered the same thing. Pope's subtitle is "An Heroi-Comical Poem." However, anthologies tend to call it a mock epic. But I think both terms apply. It mocks the epic style. There are gods (Ariel and Umbriel), there is a battle (with teacups), there is a descent into the underworld (the Cave of Spleen) and there are heroes (Belinda and the Baron specifically, but it is a war between the sexes). The apotheosis, a divine glorification of the hero or the hero's deeds, occurs when the lock of hair flies up, becoming a celestial body such as a star. 

Depending on your interpretation, you could say that Belinda and the Baron are heroes, similar (in mocking style) to Hector and Achilles in The Illiad. You might also consider Ariel a supernatural hero since it is his job to protect Belinda. But in epic style, Belinda fits the heroic role more than any other character because the act of putting on her makeup is actually symbolic of putting on armor. She "arms" herself at the end of Canto 1:

Here files of pins extend their shining rows,

Puffs, powders, patches, Bibles, billet-dout.

Now awful Beauty puts on all its arms; (137-39). 

It is generally agreed that the sylphs are the gods and Belinda, the Baron and the other humans are the mock heroes. These heroes don't seem heroic but that is the point; they are being mocked. This is also called bathos; this means to present a common or trivial event in an exalted, epic style. The result is that the characters look ridiculous. 

I suppose if you wanted to differentiate between mock epic and mock-heroic epic, the former would focus most of its mocking on the epic style and the latter (mock-heroic) would focus most of its mocking on the characters: the "heroes." I think "The Rape of the Lock" does both, but since it is a criticism of early 18th century upper-class twits, the people themselves, you could say the focus leans toward criticism of the so-called heroes, so maybe it is slightly more mock-heroic.