Question: What is the mock-heroic poem? Examine The Rape of the Lock as a mock-heroic poem.
Or, The Rape of the Lock is a masterpiece of the mock-heroic. Elucidate.
Or, Identify the mock-heroic elements in the poem The Rape of the Lock.
Or, Write about the excellence of The Rape of the Lock as a mock-heroic poem.
Answer: Heroic or epic poems are poems like Odyssey, The Aeneid, and Paradise Lost, that deal with man's exalted aspects. Their action is powerful, their personages are dignified and their style is elevated. Following the traditions and devices of a serious epic, mock-epic deals with situations and personage in a serious manner and style, but these situations and personage are trivial and petty. As the result, it produces a humorous effect.
The Rape of the Lock is a mock-heroic epic poem, both in its matter and spirit. The intention is to reject the artificiality and hollowness of the Pope's age. Pope had intelligently used the formula and elevated style of epic poetry but has employed it for something very trivial. The petty and ridiculous cutting of a lock of. hair has been given an epic treatment. As the result, the little is made great and great little. Ultimately, the poem falls in the category of mock-epics.
However, it is impossible to note that The Rape of the Lock is a very complex mock-epic. It is not limited only to comparison and parody; rather it has an instructive purpose too. The mock-heroic effect is achieved at three levels; action, conversation, and style.
At the surface level of the action, the mock-heroic effect is produced by contrasting Belinda's spending of day in trivial»7 activities with heroic adventures and great achievements of heroes and heroines of serious epic. Mockery is also produced by comparing the petty war of sexes – of Belinda and Lord Peter – with the bloody wars of nations. The desired aim is achieved when the reader finds the war of sexes as that of nations.
Similarly, at the social level, the poem gives a picture of the moral condition of people of Pope's age. The world of coaches, snuff boxes, lüp dogs, and lustful eyes is like the elevated world of Homer, Vergil, and Milton. The mock-heroic effect is produced by placing side by side gigantic with the very small and the heroic with the non-heroic.
Therefore, The Rape of the Lock is more than a mere parody of a serious epic. It is also evident from the fact that actually this poem was written to reconcile the two families. It aims at moral reformation. This places The Rape of the Lock in the line of Odyssey, The Aeneid, and The Fairy Queene. The Rape of the Lock resolves around a very serious_theme like Milton's Paradise Lost. But its theme is not only funny but trivial also. As the result, its - action automatically becomes a parody of pure epic.
Almost all the epic starts with the invocation of to muse, god, goddess and God. Having a trivial theme and action Pope invokes a fashionable vain-belle Belinda for help. The use of supernatural machinery is another tradition and distinctive feature of epic poetry. Pope has effectively imitated this feature of the serious epic also. In classical epics, the role of gods and goddesses was very important. In The Rape of the Lock_this role is played by tiny spirits, Sylphs, Nymphs, Genomes, and Salamanders. It_is quite according to the trivial subject and self-exhibiting characters of the poem. Likewise, Umbriel's journey into “the Cave of Spleen” is intentionally designed to make fun of the visits of epic heroes to the underworld.
The weapons used in the war of sexes do not consist of shining swords and mighty shields but hairpins, cosmetics, and amorous looks. Pope creates the same serious atmosphere, that the reader finds in Virgil's “Aenied”. Like Homer and Milton, Pope also uses different similes. He compared Belinda's eyes with a radiant lighting sun. In another place, he ironically compares her with “Queen Dido” and “Helen". The funniest comparison is between Belinda's petticoat and the “Mighty shield” of epic heroes.
Lastly, Pope's elevated style is another source of mock-heroic effect. He uses a number of poetic beauties Jike periphrases, alliteration, long vowel, sounds, and elevated poetic diction. These all devices increase the beauty, charm, and mock-heroic effect of the poem.) Besides, Pope uses a rhetorical style just like serious_epic. Then the use of high-sounding words, signs of exclamation, and interrogation throughout the poem make its style grander. Then there are long speeches like a serious epic.
In the end, it can be said without any doubt that The Rape of the Lock is one of the finest pieces of mock-epic. But it is not just a.--- parody of epic tradition. It gives Pope a position of a great artist and moralist
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