“The Rape of the Lock” portrays Belinda’s concerns for her appearance as a product of nobility that would have taught her, from an early age, to value her beauty above all else. Belinda’s beauty rituals seem to take the shape of some sort of religious preparation, and in a sense, she seems to be worshipping her own beauty. “A heavenly image in the glass appears; / To that she bends, to that he

Through the mock epic “The Rape of the Lock”, Pope creates symmetry between Belinda’s actions and the common beliefs of what was proper for a young woman to concern herself with in the 18th century. Through her looks being most important, to appearance and outer characteristics being valued more than a person’s thoughts and personality, to trivial matters being weighed as heavily as important matters should be, Pope alleviates the blame of Belinda’s frivolity by pointing out that she is just one part of a larger social structure. Women like Belinda were priced and valued based on their chastity, and the type of husband they could secure, it preferably being one of good rank and social standing. Although the taking of the lock seems insignificant, and Belinda’s outrage seems petty, in truth it represents Belinda’s chastity, and worth. Through the form of a poem, Pope’s mock-epic offers a strong condemnation of aristocratic society of the 18th century.

A recurring theme in “The Rape of the Lock” is Pope’s emphasis on the upper class treating trivial matters as exceedingly pressing ones. This is demonstrated constantly, both in terms of Belinda as well as in her environment – the privileged society she belongs to. The poem as a whole expresses Pope’s criticism of an event such as the theft of the lo

Some topics in this essay:
Pride” Canto, Lock” Pope’s, Rape Lock”, Women Belinda, Lock” Pope, Lock” Belinda, “the rape, “the rape lock”, rape lock”, 18th century, , Alexander Pope’s, trivial matters, canto 1, canto 2, attention looks, society lived, mock epic, pope’s mock-epic,