The Rape of the Lock: Genre and Style -

The Rape of the Lock: Genre and Style - Alexander Pope, in his mock epic The Rape of the Lock, satires English aristocratic mores of his time. The humorous epic poem's success depends largely on Pope's treatment of the genre and of the methods of execution of pre-existing epics, from which the style is borrowed. Though when read alone it is clear why Pope's Rape of the Lock was so successful in its time (and is still successful today), comparison with an existing epic and an existing satire further and more lucidly shows Pope's genius in his treatment of the genre. And what better epic with which to compare The Rape of the

Lock than the first known English (albeit Old English) epic, Beowulf? And what better English social satire in existence than Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales would provide as excellent a base for comparison to The Rape of the Lock? Though Beowulf is not necessarily thought the standard for English epic, that it is the first known and is highly respected and studied makes it genuinely useful to compare with The Rape of the Lock, and as far as The Canterbury Tales is concerned, one would be hard pressed to find a more cogent and engaging narrative poem with which to compare The Rape of the Lock. By studying older, classical examples of epic and satire, it is easy to see how Pope manages to pack such a punch with his mockery of English high society.
One can not discuss English satire without mention of Geoffrey Chaucer, who, during the 14^th century wrote in Middle English his still-celebrated caricature of society. Pope, following in Chaucer's centuries-old footsteps, hurls his own sharp and erudite barbs at the silliness of the blue-blooded upper class of his day in his own poem, but the similarities don't stop there. Both of these masters of language, and probably not by accident, chose to accomplish their ends in the form of a narrative poem, rhymed by using heroic couplets-because, in addition to rhythm, heroic couplets afford a poem a certain importance. It is Chaucer's weapon of choice against the avarice of the Pardoner, the fickleness of the Wife of Bath, and the perverseness of the Miller in each respective prologue and tale, and, indeed, for every other character whom he satires throughout the course of his poem. Pope, also recognizing the flexibility and power of these couplets, puts them to use in The Rape of the Lock, elevating in style the utterly ridiculous to emphasize his points.
However, while The Canterbury Tales is epic in scope, it is not so by definition, and therein lies an important difference. The Canterbury Tales, incomplete in its daunting task to tell too many tales, is not set up like The Rape of the Lock, which does not promise a journey of entertainment supplied by pilgrims, but an epic story of loss, courage, and deception. So, while the two poets set out to satire society, each takes a markedly different course in terms of genre. This difference points to the poets' respective preferences in achieving their ultimate goal-satire. Chaucer's satire, which touched nearly every level of English society, very much broad in its compass, is decidedly broad in its method of satire-a pilgrimage in which twenty plus travelers reveal their character through tales. Pope, on the other hand, content with only bashing the upper-crust, chose not a travelogue-esque form but a mock epic, a useful genre to blow up trivial events to expose their pettiness.
However, the style of mock epic is not far removed from its predecessor, epic. The most obvious similarity between the two is the elevated style in which they are written, although this elevated diction and syntax is used for two opposing goals. In Beowulf, an epic, the following lines show the extent of elevation: ". . .So he overcame the foe,/brought down the hell-brute. Broken and bowed,/ outcast from all sweetness, the enemy of mankind/ made for his death-den. . ." (Heaney 61) and "The warriors' protector, prince of the hall-troop, /ordered a marvelous all-iron shield/ from his smithy works. He well knew/ that linden boards would let him down/ and timber burn. . . ." (Heaney 83). Instead of merely stating that Beowulf bested the monster Grendel in battle, the poet gives an elaborate description of Grendel's brokenness, his exile from "sweetness,"-hardly using common speech or word order to get his point across. This style is used to elicit a certain response from the reading audience-one of awe. The poet seems to be pounding at the importance of Beowulf, the hero, and his actions. This elevation of diction and syntax is certainly used to elevate the hero and his actions. Pope, using a similar elevated style, though in couplets, perverts this purpose and manages to achieve the opposite of reverence: derision.
If the title itself was not enough to indicate that The Rape of the Lock is satire, a few lines from the mock epic illustrate this fact vividly: "What dire offense from amorous causes springs,/ What mighty contests rise from trivial things" (Pope 2515) and "When bold Sir Plume had drawn Clarissa down,/ Chloe stepped in, and killed him with a frown" (Pope 2530). The first line, the opening line of the mock epic, is a direct hint (if not complete explication) that satirical verse is to follow. The second, an excerpt from Canto 5 that relates the "battle" of the social elites after Belinda's lock has been "raped," is simply bursting with over-elevation. One can only laugh at a world where frowns have the power to kill, and this is Pope's very intention. By describing such things in florid language and complex syntax, much as Haney did when transcribing Beowulf, it serves to heighten the ludicrousness of the whole ordeal, for who can take seriously a battle over a snipping of a curl? So, by using identical techniques, the poets achieve drastically different ends for their respective poems.
The subjects of The Canterbury Tales and Beowulf have little or nothing in common with The Rape of the Lock. However, critical analysis of the poignantrelationships of genre and style of the two in comparison with Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock exposes not only the poetical techniques of the those authors to achieve their goals in verse, but is insightful to understanding Pope's processes of creation and execution.