The Rape Of The Lock

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Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. 

Pope is best known for his satirical and poetry including The Rape of the lock (1712) , The Dunciad and An essay on Criticism (1711) , and for his translation of Homer.

      

1.Who is the protagonist of the poem Clarissa or Belinda? Why?

 The Rape of the Lock was written by Alexander Pope. It was first published in 1712, then reworked and published again in 1714. The poem is a mock-epic that satirizes the upper-class in London at the time. The story focuses on the main character, Belinda, whose lock of hair is cut off at a social gathering..

I think Belinda was main protagonist in the poem. She was The protagonist of the poem, Belinda is a wealthy and beautiful young woman who travels to Hampton Court for a day of socializing and leisure. She is the type of girl one would expect to have "a favorite curl. Her remarkable beauty attracts the attention of the Baron, who snips off a lock of her hair in his infatuation. At the beginning of the narrative, Ariel explains to Belinda through the medium of a dream that as she is a both beautiful and a virgin, it is his task to watch over her and protect her virtue—though as the poem unfolds, it’s unclear if Belinda is really as virtuous as she seems. Despite the fact that Belinda is Pope’s protagonist, she’s actually a bit of a slippery character to come to terms with, as the reader is provided with relatively little access to her inner thoughts, and her actions are often governed by supernatural forces. For instance, it is unclear how much influence Ariel, a sylph, is able to exert over her, and there is some suggestion that he actively toys with her morality. He claims it is her virginity which makes her worthy of guarding but sends her a dream of a handsome young man, “A youth more glitt'ring than a birthnight beau,” tempting her sexuality. Similarly, at the end of the poem, Umbriel, throws over her and Thalestris a bag of “Sighs, sobs and passions” and also empties a vial of “sorrows” over her too, meaning the rage she flies into is not entirely of her own volition. Fundamentally, as her name suggests with its literal meaning of “beautiful”, all readers can really know about Belinda is that she is attractive. The poem states that ,

“If to her share some female errors fall, Look on her face, and you'll forget 'em all”—in other words, she is so beautiful that those around her consider her basically exempt from any moral judgement, allowing Pope to satirize the idea Ariel suggests at the opening of the poem: that beauty and virtue always go hand in hand. Belinda is based on the real-life figure of Arabella Fermor, who also had a lock of her hair cut off by a suitor.

The The Rape of the Lock quotes below are all either spoken by Belinda or refer to Belinda. For each quote, we can also see the other characters and themes related to each other. Pope has presented her in different roles and under different shades, some are satirical . The character of Belinda has created much controversy since the publication of the poem. Some critics consider her treatment fair while others as unfair.We see her in many different lights. We see her as a vamp, an injured innocent, a sweet charmer, a society belle, a rival of the sun, and a murderer of millions. She has a Cleopatra- like variety. However, the reality lies in between these two extremes we can discuss her character as blow.

Firstly, Belinda is the protagonist of the story. It is her character around whom the story of the whole poem is woven. We see her sleeping till noon and her awakening by her lap dog “Shock”. We are present at her toilet and watch the progress of the sacred rites of pride. Then we see her proceeding from the Thames River to the Hampton Court. Then her smiting looks upon the well dressed youths that crowds her.Pope compares Belinda to the sun and suggests that it recognizes in Belinda a rival. Belinda is like the sun not only because of her bright eyes and not only because she dominates her special world. She was as beautiful as every eye was fixed on her alone. She is like the sun in another regard: 

"Bright as the sun, her eyes the gazers strike.

And, like the sun, the shines on all alike."

Belinda’s lovely beauty is enhanced by two curling side locks of hair that charmingly set off her ivory white neck and which she has kept “to the destruction of mankind:”

Secondly, Belinda is a model arid more specifically represents the fashionable, upper-class ladies of Popes age.

Thirdly, Popes attitude to Belinda is very mixed and complicated; mocking and yet tender, admiring and yet critical. The paradoxical nature of Pope’s attitude is intimately related to the paradox of Belinda’s situation. If Belinda is to find her role of woman, she must lose the role of a virgin, and the more graceful her acceptance of loss the greater the victory she achieves through it. Because Pope is dealing with this paradox, his altitude must be mixed and complicated. It is necessary for Pope to stress Belinda’s divinity. At the same time he does not let us forget Belinda’s mortality. The scene at Belinda’s dressing table, where she is both mortal priestess and the goddess worshipped in the mirror, is an example of this device.

To wind up we can say that Belinda’s portrayal is one of the awesome literary creations ever produced in the History of English literature. Pope seeks to throw light upon the fickle minded fashionable ladies of the 18th century England depicting Belinda as the representative character. She is the embodiment of the coquetry, the art, the artifice and the false pride.

2. What is beauty?? Write your own views on it.

    

Many people define beauty  differently according to their own experiences. Beauty is everything. Beauty pleasure our eyes, Beauty is the state or quality of being beautiful.The definition of beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty has negative and positive influences on mostly people. Beauty is described by the inside and outside of us. We can say that something is a beauty when you think it is very good.The beauties of something are its attractive qualities or features. Beauty is used to describe people, products, and activities that are concerned with making someone look beautiful.

    

Forms of Beauty:-

1.The quality attributed to whatever pleases or satisfies the senses or mind, as by line, color, form, texture, proportion, rhythmic motion, tone, etc., or by behavior, attitude, etc.

2.  A thing having this quality

3.  Good looks

4.  A very good-looking woman

5.  Any very attractive feature 

 have.

Some people can be very beautiful on the outside - be it amber-colored eyes, perfect hair and attractive clothes but if not good in practice, the inner beauty can take away any great looks. We can say that,

    

    

3. Find out a research paper on "The Rape of the Lock".

Here i share a link which was research paper by papermasters. 

https://www.papermasters.com/rape-lock.html

The most powerful tool used by Pope to show his disapproval of so-called aristocratic and civilized mannerism prevailing in his contemporary British society is implied satire. 

Pope also shows the triviality and uselessness of contemporary mannerism and exaggerated decency and politeness in figurative presentation. Pope uses battle imagery to compare a trivial card game between Belinda and the Baron to a great battle scene in a classical epic. By parodying the battle scenes of a great epic poem, Pope implies that the passion once associated with brave and serious purposes is now being used to depict petty trials such as card games and gambling that usually serve as a front for flirtation. In canto five, trivial battles are once again explored, as the belles battle the beaus in a flirtatious attempt to reclaim Belinda’s severed lock from the Baron. The battle between the sexes is a frivolous one for it is fought with smiles, glances and frowns in the place of weapons.

Pope exposes the triviality of his society through a petty battle meant to be derived from the great battles fought in a classical epic. Thalestris “scatters death around from both her eyes”, implies that a woman’s evil looks has the power cause a man to “perish”. There is also a metaphor for death indicating not death on the literal level, which would be a serious topic, but the allegorical death of a male ego from not being able to win a belle’s fancy. Men are able to die and be “revived” by the frowns and smiles of a lady. Pope is thus parodying his society in calling the beau “a hero slain”, for it is obvious that there is nothing heroic in the frivolous flirtations between the men and women Britain’s hipossesses.

Pope compares Belinda’s dressing rituals as being like donning amour, ready for battle. Here files of pins extend their shining rows, Puffs, powders, patches, Bibles. Now awful Beauty puts on all its arms… We see a woman ready to go into a battle of the sexes, and the Baron is her opponent. The Baron feels that Belinda’s beauty is a threat in that it empowers her and means he may have to compete with other men for her affection. The idea of a woman holding power of any sort over a man attacks the male ego. He is Resolved to win, or by fraud betray; For when success a lover’s toil attends, Few ask if fraud or force attained his ends. The Baron will either have her, or if he fails in that, destroy any power she possesse.

 4. Write your views about the significance of hair. Is it symbolic?

Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fine vellus hair.

    

  

The hair on our bodies serves many functions. It helps to protect us from the elements, to regulate our body temperature, and to perceive sensations.

The amount of hair on a person’s head can vary by individual. The average human head has about 100,000 hairs with a similar number of hair follicles.

Womens and beautiful hair:-

A woman's hair is the first most noticeable part of her beauty. It enhances her personality. It's an important part of your appearance and sets the tone for your entire look. A bad hair day is just a bad day.

We aren’t saying your hair style makes you beautiful, but it definitely adds to your natural beauty.

If you’re dressed to impress but your hair doesn’t match your clothes it can ruin your entire look and make you look like a homeless person who stole someone's good clothes.

With a bad hairstyle you come off as a lazy person or someone with really low self-esteem.

A good hairstyle even with a simple dress can make you look glamorous - that’s the power of a good hairstyle.

You will be remembered because of your hair sure, people look at your eyes and your lips, but what they don't forget is how great your hair looked. Good hair is something everyone wants to be remembered by.

Here we see the picture of types of hair.

  

Its appearance changes in differentent hair types.