The Rape of Homer: Alexander Pope Mocks the Epic
...tant to elaborate on the different spirits and their origins, but the ways in which they interact with man, in this case the beloved Belinda, should be noted . Belinda’s guardian sylph (part of the machinery ), Ariel, communicates with her via a dream in Canto I (21-22) to warn her of a bad event that is imminent, just as the Greek and Roman gods did in epic tales. In this case, it is the future theft of a lock of her hair. Belinda does not take too much notice to this dream, however. She wakes up and eyes a love letter and begins to prepare for the day without any concern for the warning. Next, Pope describes the situation in which Belinda “arms” herself for the day in great mock-heroic detail. Instead of the traditional warrior arming himself with weapons and armor, Belinda arms herself with cosmetics and jewels. It is not without irony that these things “deck the goddess with the glittering spoil” (I, 132) from the imperial conquests of England, a possible allusion to the spoils won by epic battles. In addition, her dressing table is described as an altar where Belinda pays respect to the Goddess (herself) in the mirror, performing the “sacred rites of pride” (I, 128) before the battle. “Now awful beauty puts on all its arms” (I, 139), the cosmetics and jewels, and Belinda is ready for the flirtatious battles of the afternoon. The parody of epic rituals in the first Canto furthers the mock-heroic motif and invites the reader to laugh along with the supposedly serious events. In Canto II, Belinda begins her odyssey to the Hampton Palace where she will compete in a card game with gentlemen, one of whom being the Baron. The Baron has admired Belinda’s locks and he is “resolved to win the prize” (II, 30-31). Like Achilles or Hector before a battle, he performs a sacrifice of sorts to the gods by burning symbols of his past relationships and prays to them so that he can obtain the prize. Unfortunately for the Baron, his prayer is only half-granted, and he will only win one lock of hair this day. This could allude to the fact that in the epic, winning the approval of the gods is difficult; making friends with one is making enemies with another and it is rare to have prayers wholly answered. Still, it is not as if the Baron is slighted by the powers here. He still manages a lock of hair which is better than no prize at all! Although characters in traditional epics are seemingly subject to divine whims, it should be noted that Belinda is not totally under control of the sylphs in this story. As Ariel explains in Canto I, “whoever fair and chaste rejects mankind, is by some Sylph embraced” (67-68), meaning as long as she is a coquette, a Sylph will be by her side. But later after the Baron cuts her lock, Ariel loses his power with “an earthly lover lurking at her heart” (III, 144). The debate between fate and free will is an important theme in epic poetry and Pope touches upon it in this story with the machinery, albeit it in a lighter way. Three separate situations are parodied into epic battles in The Rape of the Lock. In Canto III, Belinda and the Baron “draw forth to combat on the velvet plain” (44) in their game of ombre, as Pope cleverly parodies the game with wonderful battle language. Next, Clarissa “presents the spear and arms [the Baron] for the fight” (III, 130) after the card game, giving him the ...