... guardians. Perhaps the most striking allusion to the conventions of the epic comes in Umbriel's descent to the Caves of Spleen in Canto IV, which describes Belinda's psychological state following the "rape". The significance of this journey is two-fold; firstly, it mimics the epic formula, being reminiscent of the journeys of both Odysseus in Homer's "Odyssey", and Aeneas in Virgil's "Aeneid", which serves to trivialize the causes of Belinda ... 's "anxious cares" . Secondly, the description of the actual Caves of Spleen is a highly intelligent comment on the maladies and complaints of A...

• Word Count: 2068
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Pope's mock epic is seen through a parody of the structure and language of the classical narratives that had served since the Middle Ages as the models for literature at its grandest. As Russo, John P., author of Alexander Pope: Tradition and Identity (1972), points out Pope begins with an epic statement that echoes the first line of The Aeneid of Virgil: Arma virorumque cano, "Of arms and ... the man I sing O Heavenly Muse!" "What dire offense from am'rous causes springs,/ What mighty contests rise from trivial things,/ I sing."( He establishes immediately ... the fact that the battlef...

• Word Count: 1581
• Approx Pages: 6