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Rape of the Lock and a Key to the Lock
This is an alternate page count edition of ISBN 1843910926 / 9781843910923.
An ingenious satire of the battle of the sexes and the follies of a self-centred young lady, The Rape of the Lock, together with its mock-interpretation A Key to the Lock, is in fact a subtle commentary on the contemporary social world and high-society preoccupations, and a cleverly veiled proposal for reform. When Belinda awakes from a strange dream and sets about her favorite occupation, her toilette, little does she suspect that a tragedy of Homeric proportions is about to unfold around her. As she walks through the beau monde, admired as a goddess and protected by an entire host of sylphs, she is unaware that evil powers are at work to rob her of a precious lock of hair. Belinda must command all her female guile to protect this lock, for once surrendered, her life will never be the same again. Alexander Pope is the greatest English poet of the 18th century, with The Rape of the Lock universally regarded as his masterpiece.
An ingenious satire of the battle of the sexes and the follies of a self-centred young lady, The Rape of the Lock, together with its mock-interpretation A Key to the Lock, is in fact a subtle commentary on the contemporary social world and high-society preoccupations, and a cleverly veiled proposal for reform. When Belinda awakes from a strange dream and sets about her favorite occupation, her toilette, little does she suspect that a tragedy of Homeric proportions is about to unfold around her. As she walks through the beau monde, admired as a goddess and protected by an entire host of sylphs, she is unaware that evil powers are at work to rob her of a precious lock of hair. Belinda must command all her female guile to protect this lock, for once surrendered, her life will never be the same again. Alexander Pope is the greatest English poet of the 18th century, with The Rape of the Lock universally regarded as his masterpiece.
128 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2004
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About the author
Alexander Pope
2,377 books684 followersPeople best remember
The Rape of the Lock
(1712) and
The Dunciad
(1728), satirical mock-epic poems of English writer Alexander Pope.
Ariel, a sylph, guards the heroine of The Rape of the Lock of Alexander Pope.
People generally regard Pope as the greatest of the 18th century and know his verse and his translation of Homer. After William Shakespeare and Alfred Tennyson, he ranks as third most frequently quoted in the language. Pope mastered the heroic couplet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexand...
Ariel, a sylph, guards the heroine of The Rape of the Lock of Alexander Pope.
People generally regard Pope as the greatest of the 18th century and know his verse and his translation of Homer. After William Shakespeare and Alfred Tennyson, he ranks as third most frequently quoted in the language. Pope mastered the heroic couplet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexand...
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 30, 2023
4/5⭐️
“Not Cynthia when her Manteau's pinn'd awry, E'er felt such Rage, Resentment, and Despair, As Thou, sad Virgin! for thy ravish'd Hair.”
I must say if some guy came to a ball and chopped off my hair it would take a lot more than it being turned into a constellation to dissuade my rage.
That being said this was fun and I’m glad I decided to give it a read after learning about it in AP Lit this year. Reading this also allowed me to learn that rape didn’t always mean rape in the modern sense but also used to be used as a way to talk about abduction. That aside I really liked the Homer references and I found the fact that this was a poem based on real events to be incredibly entertaining. Who knew that hair chopping was such a crime?
“Not Cynthia when her Manteau's pinn'd awry, E'er felt such Rage, Resentment, and Despair, As Thou, sad Virgin! for thy ravish'd Hair.”
I must say if some guy came to a ball and chopped off my hair it would take a lot more than it being turned into a constellation to dissuade my rage.
That being said this was fun and I’m glad I decided to give it a read after learning about it in AP Lit this year. Reading this also allowed me to learn that rape didn’t always mean rape in the modern sense but also used to be used as a way to talk about abduction. That aside I really liked the Homer references and I found the fact that this was a poem based on real events to be incredibly entertaining. Who knew that hair chopping was such a crime?
February 25, 2014
Tendo a obra sido "encomendada" a Pope pelo seu amigo John Caryll, o poema relata o crime de Lord Petre que, apaixonado por Miss Arabella Fermor, teve a audácia de lhe cortar um canudo de cabelo (à laia de talismã) provocando, com essa acção, um afastamento gélido entre a sua família e a da sua amada. Assim, e a pedido do seu amigo, Alexander Pope escreveu o poema mostrando quão ridícula era a contenda familiar, ao mesmo tempo que aproveita para parodiar os poemas épicos.
Assim, e de acordo com a obra, vemos que o canudo de cabelo tem "presença própria" e que o seu roubo foi permitido e, mesmo, instigado por seres, espíritos e entidades sobrenaturais que asseguravam a segurança e castidade não só do canudo bem como da sua proprietária. E, para provar o lado divino do objecto de culto capilar, vemos como este, no final do livro, sobe aos céus, tornando-se uma constelação!!!
No fundo é como se Pope procurasse desculpar Lord Petre afirmando que as acções tomadas por este último lhe foram impostas por terceiros e que, para o apaixonado, o motivo de discórdia é um objecto de culto e adoração.
Assim, e de acordo com a obra, vemos que o canudo de cabelo tem "presença própria" e que o seu roubo foi permitido e, mesmo, instigado por seres, espíritos e entidades sobrenaturais que asseguravam a segurança e castidade não só do canudo bem como da sua proprietária. E, para provar o lado divino do objecto de culto capilar, vemos como este, no final do livro, sobe aos céus, tornando-se uma constelação!!!
No fundo é como se Pope procurasse desculpar Lord Petre afirmando que as acções tomadas por este último lhe foram impostas por terceiros e que, para o apaixonado, o motivo de discórdia é um objecto de culto e adoração.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews