The Rape of the Lock as a Mock-Heroic Poem - 943 Words

According to Childs and Fowler, (2006:144) in heroic epic, things that are not ordinary and things that are trivial can exist together and be a part of each other. But in mock-epic the author puts less emphasis on concern in broad discourse, the slowly developing balance of epic narration bonds with the awareness of individual satire. As far as mock-epic is concerned, within the plot the representatives of the ritualistic become given to bouts of ill temper, poise and self-respect transforms into vanity and the state of being esteemed is disguised yet visible and known. Mock-epic makes a parody of whole social classes hence their negative experience of certain lack of maturity, which derives from the feeling of false self-fulfilment which†¦show more content†¦In conclusion, The Rape of the Lock visibly unites both mock-heroic poem and comedy. Despite the comedy is not a parody of tragedy it fulfils the purpose similar to the comic discourse. The gap it creates between the fo rm and the main matter is an artistic way of indicating the significant difference between the looks and the reality. It is the main accusation to the social group depicted in the poem. And so, â€Å"if we take Pope’s intention to be the exposure of this contrast, we can see that the parodic discrepancy between apparent subject and form actually brings about the harmonisation of the real subject with its form, in similar manner to the comedy of the time† (Broich 1990: 115). It means a huge progress, as states Broich (1990: 113) â€Å"from the parodic to the truly independent comic epic†, in which comedy is present in the way the author presents the plot as well as in the plot itself. References: Childs, Peter and Fowler, Roger. 2006. The Routledge Dictionary of Literary Terms, p. 144 (entry: mock-epic). New York: Routledge. Broich, Ulrich. 1990. The Eighteenth-Century Mock-Heroic Poem,Show MoreRelatedDiscuss Alexander Popes The Rape Of The Lock as a Mock Heroic Poem.2174 Words   |  9 Pagesof mock heroic poetry in the English language was composed after John Caryll, a friend of Popes, informed the poet of an incident regarding two land owning, Catholic families, the Petres the Fermors. The young lord Petre had cut off a lock of hair from the fashionable society lady Arabella Fermor, and both she and her family had taken offence. Caryll suggested that Pope should write a poem to to make a jest of it, and laugh them together again. The result was the publication of The Rape of theRead MorePope, Swift, and Aristocratic Women Essay1652 Words   |  7 PagesAlexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock and Jonathan Swift’s â€Å"The Lady’s Dressing Room†. In Pope’s mock-heroic verse The Rape of the Lock (1717) what is criticised is a moral fault: mainly, immoderate female moral pride. There are several versions of the poem. 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