The Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems

by Alexander Pope

to the

Essay on Criticism

, and is admirably illustrated in that poem itself. Its repression of individuality, its insistence upon the necessity of following in the footsteps of the classic poets, and of checking the outbursts of imagination by the rules of common sense, simply incapacitated the poets of the period from producing works of the highest order. And its insistence upon man as he appeared in the conventional, urban society of the day as the one true theme of poetry, its belief that the end of poetry was to instruct and improve either by positive teaching or by negative satire, still further limited its field. One must remember in attempting an estimate of

The Rape of the Lock

that it was composed with an undoubting acceptance of this creed and within all these narrowing limitations. And when this is borne in mind, it is hardly too much to say that the poem attains the highest point possible. In its treatment of the supernatural it is as original as a poem could be at that day. The brilliancy of its picture of contemporary society could not be heightened by a single stroke. Its satire is swift and keen, but never ill natured. And the personality of Pope himself shines through every line. Johnson advised authors who wished to attain a perfect style to give their days and nights to a study of Addison. With equal justice one might advise students who wish to catch the spirit of our so-called Augustan age, and to realize at once the limitations and possibilities of its poetry, to devote themselves to the study of

The Rape of the Lock

.

line	reference	meaning
Dedication	Mrs. Arabella	the title of Mrs. was still given in Pope's time to unmarried ladies as soon as they were old enough to enter society.
	the Rosicrucian doctrine	the first mention of the Rosicrucians is in a book published in Germany in 1614, inviting all scholars to join the ranks of a secret society said to have been founded two centuries before by a certain Christian Rosenkreuz who had mastered the hidden wisdom of the East. It seems probable that this book was an elaborate hoax, but it was taken seriously at the time, and the seventeenth century saw the formation of numerous groups of "Brothers of the Rosy Cross." They dabbled in alchemy, spiritualism, and magic, and mingled modern science with superstitions handed down from ancient times. Pope probably knew nothing more of them than what he had read in Le Comte de Gabalis. This was the work of a French abbé, de Montfaucon Villars (1635-1673), who was well known in his day both as a preacher and a man of letters. It is really a satire upon the fashionable mystical studies, but treats in a tone of pretended seriousness of secret sciences, of elemental spirits, and of their intercourse with men. It was translated into English in 1680 and again in 1714.
Canto I
1-2		Pope opens his mock-epic with the usual epic formula, the statement of the subject. Compare the first lines of the Iliad, the Æneid, and Paradise Lost. In l. 7 he goes on to call upon the "goddess," i.e. the muse, to relate the cause of the rape. This, too, is an epic formula. Compare Æneid, I, 8, and Paradise Lost, I, 27-33.
3	Caryl	see [Introduction]. In accordance with his wish his name was not printed in the editions of the poem that came out in Pope's lifetime, appearing there only as C — — or C — — l.
4	Belinda	a name used by Pope to denote Miss Fermor, the heroine of The Rape of the Lock
12		This line is almost a translation of a line in the Æneid (I, 11), where Virgil asks if it be possible that such fierce passions (as Juno's) should exist in the minds of gods.
13	Sol	a good instance of the fondness which Pope shared with most poets of his time for giving classical names to objects of nature. This trick was supposed to adorn and elevate poetic diction. Try to find other instances of this in The Rape of the Lock.
		Why is the sun's ray called "tim'rous"?
16		It was an old convention that lovers were so troubled by their passion that they could not sleep. In the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (ll. 97-98), Chaucer says of the young squire: So hote he lovede, that by nightertale He sleep namore than dooth a nightingale. Pope, of course, is laughing at the easy-going lovers of his day who in spite of their troubles sleep very comfortably till noon.
17		The lady on awaking rang a little hand-bell that stood on a table by her bed to call her maid. Then as the maid did not appear at once she tapped impatiently on the floor with the heel of her slipper. The watch in the next line was a repeater.
19		All the rest of this canto was added in the second edition of the poem. See pp. 84-86. Pope did not notice that he describes Belinda as waking in I. 14 and still asleep and dreaming in II. 19-116.
20	guardian Sylph	compare ll. 67-78
23	a Birth-night Beau	a fine gentleman in his best clothes, such as he would wear at a ball on the occasion of a royal birthday.
30		The nurse would have told Belinda the old tales of fairies who danced by moonlight on rings in the greensward, and dropped silver coins into the shoes of tidy little maids. The priest, on the other hand, would have repeated to her the legend of St. Cecilia and her guardian angel who once appeared in bodily form to her husband holding two rose garlands gathered in Paradise, or of St. Dorothea, who sent an angel messenger with a basket of heavenly fruits and flowers to convert the pagan Theophilus.
42	militia	used here in the general sense of "soldiery."
44	the box	in the theater.
	the ring	the drive in Hyde Park, where the ladies of society took the air.
46	a chair	a sedan chair in which ladies used to be carried about. Why is Belinda told to scorn it?
50		What is the meaning of "vehicles" in this line?
56	Ombre	the fashionable game of cards in Pope's day. See his account of a game in Canto III and the notes on that passage.
57-67		See [Introduction]
69-70		Compare Paradise Lost, I, 423-431.
79		conscious of their face: proud of their beauty.
81	These	the gnomes who urge the vain beauties to disdain all offers of love and play the part of prudes.
85	garters, stars, and coronets	the garter is the badge of the Knights of the Garter, an order founded by Edward III, to which only noble princes and noblemen of the highest rank were admitted. "Stars" are the jeweled decorations worn by members of other noble orders. "Coronets" are the inferior crowns worn by princes and nobles, not by sovereigns.
86	"Your Grace"	the title bestowed in England on a duchess — The idea in this passage, ll. 83-86, is that the gnomes fill the girls' minds with hopes of a splendid marriage and so induce them to "deny love."
94	impertinence	purposeless flirtation.
97-98	Florio ... Damon	poetic names for fine gentlemen; no special individuals are meant.
100		Why is a woman's heart called a "toy-shop"?
101	Sword-knots	tassels worn at the hilts of swords. In Pope's day every gentleman carried a sword, and these sword-knots were often very gay.
105	who thy protection claim	what is the exact meaning of his phrase?
108	thy ruling Star	the star that controls thy destinies, a reference to the old belief in astrology.
115	Shock	Belinda's pet dog. His name would seem to show that he was a rough-haired terrier.
118		Does this line mean that Belinda had never seen a billet-doux before?
119	Wounds, Charms, and Ardors	the usual language of a love-letter at this time.
124	the Cosmetic pow'rs	the deities that preside over a lady's toilet. Note the playful satire with which Pope describes Belinda's toilet as if it were a religious ceremony. Who is "th' inferior priestess" in l. 127?
131	nicely	carefully.
134	Arabia	famous for its perfumes.
145	set the head	arrange the head-dress.
147	Betty	Belinda's maid.
Canto II
4	Launch'd	embarked
25	springes	snares
26	the finny prey	a characteristic instance of Pope's preference or circumlocution to a direct phrase.
35-36		A regular formula in classical epics. In Virgil (XI, 794-795) Phœbus grants part of the prayer of Arruns; the other part he scatters to the light winds.
38	vast French Romances	these romances were the customary reading of society in Pope's day when there were as yet no English novels. Some of them were of enormous length. Addison found several of them in a typical lady's library, great folio volumes, finely bound in gilt (Spectator, 37).
58	All but the Sylph	so in Homer (1-25), while all the rest of the army is sleeping Agamemnon is disturbed by fear of the doom impending over the Greeks at the hands of Hector.
60	Waft	wave, or flutter.
70	Superior by the head	so in Homer (Iliad, III, 225-227) Ajax is described as towering over the other Greeks by head and shoulders.
73	sylphids	a feminine form of "sylphs."
74		This formal opening of Ariel's address to his followers is a parody of a passage in Paradise Lost, V, 600-601.
75	spheres	either "worlds" or in a more general sense "regions."
79		What are the "wandering orbs," and how do they differ from planets in l. 80?
97	a wash	a lotion for the complexion.
105		Diana, the virgin huntress, was in a peculiar sense the goddess of chastity.
106	China jar	the taste for collecting old china was comparatively new in England at this time. It had been introduced from Holland by Queen Anne's sister, Queen Mary, and was eagerly caught up by fashionable society.
113	The drops	the diamond earrings.
118	the Petticoat	the huge hoop skirt which had recently become fashionable. Addison, in a humorous paper in the Tatler (No. 116), describes one as about twenty-four yards in circumference.
128	bodkin	a large needle.
133	rivel'd	an obsolete raiment of "obrivelled."
133	Ixion	according to classical mythology Ixion was punished for his sins by being bound forever upon a whirling wheel.
134	Mill	the mill in which cakes of chocolate were ground up preparatory to making the beverage.
138	orb in orb	in concentric circles.
139	thrid	a variant form of "thread."
Canto III
3	a structure	Hampton Court, a palace on the Thames, a few miles above London. It was begun by Wolsey, and much enlarged by William III. Queen Anne visited it occasionally, and cabinet meetings were sometimes held there. Pope insinuates (l. 6) that the statesmen who met in these councils were as interested in the conquest of English ladies as of foreign enemies.
8		Tea was still in Queen Anne's day a luxury confined to the rich. It cost, in 1710, from twelve to twenty-eight shillings per pound.
9	The heroes and the nymphs	the boating party which started for Hampton Court in Canto II.
17		Snuff-taking had just become fashionable at this time. The practice is said to date from 1702, when an English admiral brought back fifty tons of snuff found on board some Spanish ships which he had captured in Vigo Bay. In the Spectator for August 8, 1711, a mock advertisement is inserted professing to teach "the exercise of the snuff-box according to the most fashionable airs and motions," and in the number for April 4, 1712, Steele protests against "an impertinent custom the fine women have lately fallen into of taking snuff."
22	dine	the usual dinner hour in Queen Anne's reign was about 3 P.M. Fashionable people dined at 4, or later. This allowed the fashionable lady who rose at noon time to do a little shopping and perform "the long labours of the toilet."
26	two ... Knights	one of these was the baron, see l. 66.
27	Ombre	a game of cards invented in Spain. It takes its name from the Spanish phrase originally used by the player who declared trumps: "Yo soy l'hombre," i. e. I am the man. It could be played by three, five, or nine players, but the usual number was three as here. Each of these received nine cards, and one of them named the trump and thus became the "ombre," who played against the two others. If either of the ombre's opponents took more tricks than the ombre, it was "codille" (l. 92). This meant that the opponent took the stake and the ombre had to replace it for the next hand. A peculiar feature of ombre is the rank, or value, of the cards. The three best cards were called "matadores," a Spanish word meaning "killers." The first of these matadores was "Spadillio," the ace of spades; the third was "Basto," the ace of clubs. The second, "Manillio," varied according to the suit. If a black suit were declared, Maniilio was the two of trumps; if a red suit, Manillio was the seven of trumps. It is worth noting also that the red aces were inferior to the face cards of their suits except when a red suit was trump. A brief analysis of the game played on this occasion will clear up the passage and leave the reader free to admire the ingenuity with which Pope has described the contest in terms of epic poetry. Belinda declares spades trumps and so becomes the "ombre." She leads one after the other the three matadores; and takes three tricks. She then leads the next highest card, the king of spades, and wins a fourth trick. Being out of trumps she now leads the king of clubs; but the baron, who has actually held more spades than Belinda, trumps it with the queen of spades. All the trumps are now exhausted and the baron's long suit of diamonds is established. He takes the sixth, seventh, and eighth tricks with the king, queen, and knave of diamonds, respectively. Everything now depends on the last trick, since Belinda and the baron each have taken four. The baron leads the ace of hearts and Belinda takes it with the king, thus escaping "codille" and winning the stake.
30	the sacred nine	the nine Muses.
41	succint	tucked up.
54	one Plebeian card	one of Belinda's opponents is now out of trumps and discards a low card on her lead.
61	Pam	a term applied to the knave of clubs which was always the highest card in Lu, another popular game of that day.
74	the globe	the jeweled ball which forms one of the regalia of a monarch. The aspect of playing cards has changed not a little since Pope's day, but the globe is still to be seen on the king of clubs.
79	Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts	these are the losing cards played by Belinda and the third player on the baron's winning diamonds.
99		Pope's old enemy, Dennis, objected to the impropriety of Belinda's filling the sky with exulting shouts, and some modern critics have been foolish enough to echo his objection. The whole scene is a masterpiece of the mock-heroic. The game is a battle, the cards are warriors, and Belinda's exclamations of pleasure at winning are in the same fashion magnified into the cheers of a victorious army.
100	long canals	the canals which run through the splendid gardens of Hampton Court, laid out by William III in the Dutch fashion.
106	The berries crackle	it would seem from this phrase that coffee was at that time roasted as well as ground in the drawing-room. In a letter written shortly after the date of this poem Pope describes Swift as roasting coffee "with his own hands in an engine made for that purpose." Coffee had been introduced into England about the middle of the seventeenth century. In 1657 a barber who had opened one of the first coffeehouses in London was indicted for "making and selling a sort of liquor called coffee, as a great nuisance and prejudice of the neighborhood." In Pope's time there were nearly three thousand coffee-houses in London.
	The mill	the coffee-mill.
107	Altars of Japan	japanned stands for the lamps.
117-118		The parenthesis in these lines contains a hit at the would-be omniscient politicians who haunted the coffee-houses of Queen Anne's day, and who professed their ability to see through all problems of state with their eyes half-shut. Pope jestingly attributes their wisdom to the inspiring power of coffee.
122	Scylla	the daughter of King Nisus in Grecian legends. Nisus had a purple hair and so long as it was untouched he was unconquerable. Scylla fell in love with one of his enemies and pulled out the hair while Nisus slept. For this crime she was turned into a bird. The story is told in full in Ovid's Metamorphoses, Bk. VIII.
127	Clarissa	it does not appear that Pope had any individual lady in mind. We do not know, at least, that any lady instigated or aided Lord Petre to cut off the lock.
144	An earthly Lover	we know nothing of any love affair of Miss Fermor's. Pope mentions the "earthly lover" here to account for Ariel's desertion of Belinda, for he could only protect her so long as she "rejected mankind"; compare Canto I, ll. 67-68.
147	Forfex	a Latin word meaning scissors.
152		Pope borrowed this idea from Milton, who represents the wound inflicted on Satan, by the Archangel Michael as healing immediately: Th' ethereal substance closed Not long divisible. Paradise Lost, VI, 330-331.
165	Atalantis	The New Atalantis, a four-volume "cornucopia of scandal" involving almost every public character of the day, was published by a Mrs. Manley in 1709. It was very widely read. The Spectator found it, along with a key which revealed the identities of its characters, in the lady's library already mentioned (Spectator, No. 37).
166	the small pillow	a richly decorated pillow which fashionable ladies used to prop them up in bed when they received morning visits from gentlemen. Addison gives an account of such a visit in the Spectator, No. 45.
167	solemn days	days of marriage or mourning, on which at this time formal calls were paid.
173	the labour of the gods	the walls of Troy built by Apollo and Neptune for King Laomedon.
178	unresisted	irresistible.
Canto IV
8	Cynthia	a fanciful name for any fashionable lady. No individual is meant.
	manteau	a loose upper garment for women.
16	Spleen	the word is used here as a personification of melancholy, or low spirits. It was not an uncommon affectation in England at this time. A letter to the Spectator, No. 53, calls it "the distemper of the great and the polite."
17	the Gnome	Umbriel, who in accordance with his nature now proceeds to stir up trouble. Compare Canto I, ll. 63-64.
20		The bitter east wind which put every one into a bad humor was supposed to be one of the main causes of the spleen.
23	She	the goddess of the spleen. Compare l. 79.
84	Megrim	headache.
29	store	a large supply.
38	night-dress	the modern dressing-gown. The line means that whenever a fashionable beauty bought a new dressing-gown she pretended to be ill in order to show her new possession to sympathetic friends who called on her.
40	phantoms	these are the visions, dreadful or delightful, of the disordered imagination produced by spleen.
43	snakes on rolling spires	like the serpent which Milton describes in Paradise Lost, IX, 501-502, "erect amidst his circling spires."
46	angels in machines	angels coming to help their votaries. The word "machine" here has an old-fashioned technical sense. It was first used to describe the apparatus by which a god was let down upon the stage of the Greek theater. Since a god was only introduced at a critical moment to help the distressed hero, the phrase, "deus ex machina," came to mean a god who rendered aid. Pope transfers it here to angels.
47	throngs	Pope now describes the mad fancies of people so affected by spleen as to imagine themselves transformed to inanimate objects.
51	pipkin	a little jar. Homer (Iliad, XVIII, 373-377) tells how Vulcan had made twenty wonderful tripods on living wheels that moved from place to place of their own accord.
52		Pope in a note to this poem says that a lady of his time actually imagined herself to be a goose-pie.
56	A branch	so Æneas bore a magic branch to protect him when he descended to the infernal regions (Æneid, VI, 136-143).
	Spleenwort	a sort of fern which was once supposed to be a remedy against the spleen.
58	the sex	women.
59	vapours	a form of spleen to which women were supposed to be peculiarly liable, something like our modern hysteria. It seems to have taken its name from the fogs of England which were thought to cause it.
65	a nymph	Belinda, who had always been so light-hearted that she had never been a victim of the spleen.
89	Citron-waters	a liqueur made by distilling brandy with the rind of citrons. It was a fashionable drink for ladies at this time.
71		Made men suspicious of their wives.
82	Ulysses	Homer (Odyssey, X, 1-25) tells how Æolus, the god of the winds, gave Ulysses a wallet of oxhide in which all the winds that might oppose his journey homeward were closely bound up.
89	Thalestris	the name of a warlike queen of the Amazons. Pope uses it here for a friend of Belinda's, who excites her to revenge herself for the rape of her lock. It is said that this friend was a certain Mrs. Morley.
102	loads of lead	curl papers used to be fastened with strips of lead.
105	Honour	female reputation.
109	toast	a slang term in Pope's day for a reigning beauty whose health was regularly drunk by her admirers. Steele (Tatler, No. 24) says that the term had its rise from an accident that happened at Bath in the reign of Charles II. A famous beauty was bathing there in public, and one of her admirers filled a glass with the water in which she stood and drank her health. "There was in the place," says Steele "a gay fellow, half-fuddled, who offered to jump in, and swore though he liked not the liquor, he would have the Toast. He was opposed in his resolution; yet this whim gave foundation to the present honor which is done to the lady we mention in our liquors, who has ever since been called a Toast." To understand the point of the story one must know that it was an old custom to put a bit of toast in hot drinks. In this line in the poem Thalestris insinuates that if Belinda submits tamely to the rape of the lock, her position as a toast will be forfeited.
113-116		Thalestris supposes that the baron will have the lock set in a ring under a bit of crystal. Old-fashioned hair-rings of this kind are still to be seen.
117	Hyde-park Circus	the Ring of Canto I, l. 44. Grass was not likely to grow there so long as it remained the fashionable place to drive.
118	in the sound of Bow	within hearing of the bells of the church of St. Mary le Bow in Cheapside. So far back as Ben Jonson's time (Eastward Ho, I, ii, 36) it was the mark of the unfashionable middle-class citizen to live in this quarter. A "wit" in Queen Anne's day would have scorned to lodge there.
121	Sir Plume	this was Sir George Brown, brother of Mrs. Morley (Thalestris). He was not unnaturally offended at the picture drawn of him in this poem. Pope told a friend many years later that "nobody was angry but Sir George Brown, and he was a good deal so, and for a long time. He could not bear that Sir Plume should talk nothing but nonsense."
124	a clouded cane	a cane of polished wood with cloudlike markings. In the Tatler, Mr. Bickerstaff sits in judgment on canes, and takes away a cane, "curiously clouded, with a transparent amber head, and a blue ribband to hang upon his wrist," from a young gentleman as a piece of idle foppery. There are some amusing remarks on the "conduct" of canes in the same essay.
133		The baron's oath is a parody of the oath of Achilles (Iliad, I, 234).
142		The breaking of the bottle of sorrows, etc., is the cause of Belinda's change of mood from wrath as in l. 93 to tears, 143-144.
155	the gilt Chariot	the painted and gilded coach in which ladies took the air in London.
156	Bohea	tea, the name comes from a range of hills in China where a certain kind of tea was grown.
162	the patch-box	the box which held the little bits of black sticking-plaster with which ladies used to adorn their faces. According to Addison (Spectator, No. 81), ladies even went so far in this fad as to patch on one side of the face or the other, according to their politics.
Canto V
5	the Trojan	Æneas, who left Carthage in spite of the wrath of Dido and the entreaties of her sister Anna.
7-36		Pope inserted these lines in a late revision in 1717, in order, as he said, to open more clearly the moral of the poem. The speech of Clarissa is a parody of a famous speech by Sarpedon in the Iliad, XII, 310-328.
14		At this time the gentlemen always sat in the side boxes of the theater; the ladies in the front boxes.
20		As vaccination had not yet been introduced, small-pox was at this time a terribly dreaded scourge.
23		In the Spectator, No. 23, there is inserted a mock advertisement, professing to teach the whole art of ogling, the church ogle, the playhouse ogle, a flying ogle fit for the ring, etc.
24		Painting the face was a common practice of the belles of this time. The Spectator, No. 41, contains a bitter attack on the painted ladies whom it calls the "Picts."
37	virago	a fierce, masculine woman, here used for Thalestris.
45		In the Iliad (Bk. XX) the gods are represented as taking sides for the Greeks and Trojans and fighting among themselves. Pallas opposes Ares, or Mars; and Hermes, Latona.
48	Olympus	the hill on whose summit the gods were supposed to dwell, often used for heaven itself.
50	Neptune	used here for the sea over which Neptune presided.
53	a sconce's height	the top of an ornamental bracket for holding candles.
61		Explain the metaphor in this line.
64		The quotation is from a song in an opera called Camilla.
65		The Mæander is a river in Asia Minor. Ovid (Heroides, VII, 1-2) represents the swan as singing his death-song on its banks.
68		Chloe: a fanciful name. No real person is meant.
71		The figure of Jove weighing the issue of a battle in his scales is found in the Iliad, VIII, 69-73. Milton imitated it in Paradise Lost, IX, 996-1004. When the men's wits mounted it showed that they were lighter, less important, than the lady's hair, and so were destined to lose the battle.
89-96		This pedigree of Belinda's bodkin is a parody of Homer's account of Agamemnon's scepter (Iliad, II, 100-108).
105-106		In Shakespeare's play Othello fiercely demands to see a handkerchief which he has given his wife, and takes her inability to show it to him as a proof of her infidelity.
113		the lunar sphere: it was an old superstition that everything lost on earth went to the moon. An Italian poet, Ariosto, uses this notion in a poem with which Pope was familiar (Orlando Furioso, Canto XXXIV), and from which he borrowed some of his ideas for the cave of Spleen.
122		Why does Pope include "tomes of casuistry" in this collection?
125		There was a legend that Romulus never died, but had been caught up to the skies in a storm. Proculus, a Roman senator, said that Romulus had descended from heaven and spoken to him and then ascended again (Livy, I, 16).
129	Berenice's Locks	: Berenice was an Egyptian queen who dedicated a lock of hair for her husband's safe return from war. It was said afterward to have become a constellation, and a Greek poet wrote some verses on the marvel.
132		Why were the Sylphs pleased?
133	the Mall	the upper side of St. James's park in London, a favorite place at this time for promenades.
136	Rosamonda's lake	a pond near one of the gates of St. James's park, a favorite rendezvous for lovers.
137	Partridge	an almanac maker of Pope's day who was given to prophesying future events. Shortly before this poem was written Swift had issued a mock almanac foretelling that Partridge would die on a certain day. When that day came Swift got out a pamphlet giving a full account of Partridge's death. In spite of the poor man's protests, Swift and his friends kept on insisting that he was dead. He was still living, however, when Pope wrote this poem. Why does Pope call him "th' egregious wizard"?
138	Galileo's eyes	the telescope, first used by the Italian astronomer Galileo.
140		Louis XIV of France, the great enemy of England at this time.
	Rome	here used to denote the Roman Catholic Church.
143	the shining sphere	an allusion to the old notion that all the stars were set in one sphere in the sky. Belinda's lost lock, now a star, is said to add a new light to this sphere.
147		What are the "fair suns"?

So hote he lovede, that by nightertale
He sleep namore than dooth a nightingale.

Th' ethereal substance closed
Not long divisible.