What is the significance of the Hampton Court setting in Canto 3 of The Rape of the Lock?
In Alexander Pope's eighteenth-century mock-epic, The Rape of the Lock, the main character, Belinda, arrives by boat at an extravagant party held at Hampton Court Palace. Pope writes at the beginning of the third canto:
Close by those Meads for ever crown'd with Flow'rs,
Where Thames with Pride...
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surveys his rising Tow'rs,
There stands a Structure of Majestick Frame,
Which from the neighb'ring Hampton takes its Name.
Here Britain's Statesmen oft the Fall foredoom
Of Foreign Tyrants, and of Nymphs at home;
Here Thou, great Anna! whom three Realms obey,
Dost sometimes Counsel take — and sometimes Tea
(Pope, 3.1-8)
Pope makes several important references to both historical places and figures within these lines, so it is worth taking the time to unpack them. In the above excerpt, Pope is speaking of Hampton Court Palace, an English palace resting near the banks of the Thames River in London. As Pope mentions, Hampton Court Palace is a setting in which political activity regularly occurs. Politicians (as signified by "Britain's statesmen") routinely discuss matters of law in the palace, and the monarch, Queen Anne (referred to as "great Anna"), receives both counsel and tea. We can infer that Queen Anne's power as a ruler is somewhat limited by the fact that members of Parliament are the figures in the poem concerning themselves most with political activity; that is, the statesmen occupy themselves with worrying over the state of Britain and the pressures of international affairs while Queen Anne takes tea (a decidedly relaxed activity) or receives counsel, presumably from both advisors and statesmen. We notice, additionally, that Queen Anne rules over "three Realms" in the excerpt, and these refer to England, Scotland, and Ireland. Understanding the political and historical context of Hampton Court Palace allows it to become far more impressive as a setting. Furthermore, based on the setting, we can safely assume that all persons in attendance at the party will be of a higher social class and accustomed to rather privileged lifestyles.
Primary Source: Pope, Alexander. The Complete Poetical Works, ed. by Henry W. Boynton. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1903; Bartleby.com, 2011. Web.
Further Reading
What is the role of Hampton Court in The Rape of the Lock?
In canto 3 of The Rape of the Lock, the speaker refers to Queen Anne's activities at Hampton Court. The speaker addresses her directly (the literary device known as apostrophe) as "great Anna." The palace at Hampton Court (now a museum) was once the secondary residence of the British monarchy. Located a few miles from London along the River Thames, it grew into importance under the reign of Henry VIII (after it was gifted to him by Cardinal Woolsey) and was often used to entertain foreign dignitaries.
The speaker calls attention to its importance as the place where British "statesmen" conduct important political affairs and where the queen receives the counsel of advisors. He also trivializes her activities by emphasizing that, as well as counsel, she takes "tea."
Belinda travels to Hampton Court for a party. The speaker describes the activities of the elegant young men—such as cards—in serious terms that would be appropriate to the statesmen's affairs. It is there that the Baron carries out his evil plan and cuts the lock of Belinda's hair.