THE RAPE OF THE LOCK- ALEXANDER POPE

1.      Famous mock-epic.

2.      Published in its first version in 1712, when Pope was only 23 years old.

3.      It has 5 cantos

4.      He used Roscicurian Machinery.

5.      The inspiration of the poem was an actual incident among Pope’s acquaintances in which Robert, Lord Petre, cut off a lock of Arabella Fermor’s hair, and the young people’s families fell into strife as a result.

6.      John Caryll, another member of this same circle of prominent Roman Catholics, asked Pope to write a light poem that would put the episode into a humorous perspective and reconcile the two families.

7.      The poem was originally published in a shorter version, which Pope later revised. In this later version, he added the “machinery”, the retinue of supernaturals who influence the action as well as the moral of the tale.

8.      After the publication of The Rape of the Lock, Pope spent many years translating the works of Homer.

9.      Original and pseudonym characters: Arabella Fermor as Belinda, Robert, Lord Petre as The Baron, John Caryll as Caryl, Gertrude Morley as Thalestris, Sir George Browne as Sir Plume.

10.  Ariel – Belinda’s guardian sylph, Goddess of air,

11.  Genomes- Devil

12.  Salamander- Lizard like animal lives in fire

13.  Spleen- Goddess of blood.

14.  Shock – Belinda’s lapdog.

15.  Umbriel – The chief gnome who travels to the cave of spleen.

16.  Brillante- guard for Belinda’s earrings.

17.  Momentilla- guard for Belinda’s watch

18.  Crispissa- guard for Belinda’s favourite Lock.

19.  Clarissa – a woman in attendance at the Hampton Court Party. She lends the Baron the pair of scissors.

20.  Thalestris – Belinda’s friend, named for the Queen of the Amazons.

21.  Sir Plume – Thalestris’s “beau”.

22.  Canto I- Ariel warns Belinda about midday noon dream that some one cuts her lock.

23.  Canto II- Belinda sails to Hampton court and plays Ombre with Baron, Baron decides to cut off her locks, Ariel tells Belinda “O men may be lost of chastity, breaking of China ware”.

24.  Canto III – in Ombre game she won 4 times, Baron cuts of her hair.

25.  Canto IV- Umriel takes her to cave of spleen and prays to wipe sorrow of Belinda, but blessed with bag full of melancholy, Thalastris, friend of Belinda curses all men for Barons action.

26.  Canto V- Belinda request Baron to cut off remaining hair is compared to Dido’s request to Aneas to stay in Italy at Trojan war, Belinda attacks Baron with a pinch of snuff. Belinda hair became star in sky like Benerice hair (sister to Ptolemy III, loves Venus and cuts her locks to keep venus in temple during war).

27.  Baron misses 2 times and cuts her lock in 3 times.

28.  "What ____ Offence from am'rous Causes spring".  –dire

29. 

"Say what strange Motive, Goddess! cou'd compel/A well-bred _____ t'assault a gentle _____?"? -Lord, Belle

30.  "_____ still her downy Pillow prest/Her Guardian Sylph prolong'd the balmy Rest"?- Belinda

31.  Sylph -a magic creature

32.  "Know then, unnumber'd _____ round thee fly/The light Militia of the lower Sky"?-Spirits

33.  In the game of Ombre, what suit does Belinda declare as "trumps" (i.e., the most powerful)? Spades

34.  How does Belinda successfully bring the Baron to his knees? She tosses snuff in his face

35.  When the Baron prays to his Altar of Love, how do we know he'll only walk away with one of Belinda's locks and not both? The poem tells us that half of his prayer is just empty air

36.  What was one of the previous forms taken by Belinda's bodkin? It was her grandmother's baby whistle

37.  What, in the end, is Belinda's real victory? Lasting immortality in the poem

38.  Why does the Queen of Spleen live in a dark grotto? Because she has a horrific migraine headache

39.  What herb do you need to bring with you to the Cave of Spleen so that you won't catch a splenetic malady? Spleenwort

40.  What kind of men might you find in the Cave of Spleen? Pregnant men

41.  Women inflicted with the spleen might pray, go into hysterics, be mean to their friends, go to the doctor, or what else? Scribble plays and poetry

42.  Women's sighs, cries, and sobs, we're told, are as strong as what? The four winds

43.  The Rape of the Lock is a parody of which epic poem? The Iliad

44.  Arabella Fermor was the historical inspiration for which character? Belinda]

45.  Robert, Lord Petre was the historical inspiration for which character? The Baron

46.  Who asked Pope to write a comic poem about the historical incident between Arabella Fermor and Lord Petre in order to reconcile their families? John Caryll

47.  From which Shakespeare play does Pope take the name "Ariel?" The Tempest

48.  Which character is named for an Amazonian Queen in Greek mythology? Thalestris

49.  In Canto I, which character warns Belinda in a dream that some dire disaster will befall her that day? Ariel

50.  According to Pope's depiction of the supernatural sprites, what do termagants (scolds) become? Salamanders

51.  According to Pope's depiction of the supernatural sprites, what do indecisive women become? Nymphs

52.  According to Pope's depiction of the supernatural sprites, what do prudes become? Gnomes

53.  According to Pope's depiction of the supernatural sprites, what do coquettes become? Sylphs

54.  With what are the four types of sprites associated? The four elements

55.  During Belinda's dream, Ariel explains that the Sylphs are charged with protecting which type of woman? Virgins

56.  To what does the term "billet-doux" refer? A love letter

57.  How does Pope figure Belinda's toilette? A sacred rite

58.  From what do Pope's "mighty contests" arise (I.2)? "Trivial things"

59.  Pope's reference to "mighty rage" is an allusion to the fury of which epic hero in Homer's The Iliad? Achilles

60.  The "goddess" for whom Belinda performs her sacred rites is actually whom or what? Belinda's reflection in the mirror

61.  How does Belinda's toilette function within the poem? It establishes the poem's mock-heroic motifs.

62.  To where does Belinda travel in Canto II? Hampton Court Palace

63.  How does she get there? By boat on the Thames River

64.  Why does the Baron get up early? To build an altar to Love

65.  What kind of necklace does Belinda wear? A cross

66.  What does Pope specify is the primary function of Belinda's ringlets? To attract men

67.  To where does Ariel deploy most of his army of Sylphs? Belinda's petticoat

68.  In Pope’s The Rape of the Lock, the baron obtains the “fatal engine” from Clarissa.

69.  Then flashed the living lightning from her eyes.” This line from Pope’s The Rape of the Lock illustrates the use of alliteration.

70.  In The Rape of the Lock, Pope satirizes preoccupation with upper-class trivialities

71.  In The Rape of the Lock, the “airy band” refers to the sylphs assigned to protect Belinda.

72.  At the end of Pope’s The Rape of the Lock, the lock is turned into a star.

73.  “True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,

As those move easiest who have learned to dance.

’Tis not enough no harshness gives offense—

The sound must seem an echo to the sense.”

In these lines, Pope makes use of heroic couplet.

74.  “Not fierce Othello in so loud a strain

Roared for the handkerchief that caused his pain.”

These lines from The Rape of the Lock  illustrate the use of
allusion.

75.  A common feature of the mock epic is an inflated tone.

76.  Who is Shock?  Belinda’s lapdog

77.  At what time do “sleepless lovers” awake in this poem?   Noon

78.  Who inspires Belinda’s dream in the first canto?   Ariel

79.  To what are Belinda’s eyes repeatedly compared?  The sun

80.  To what do the four types of supernatural beings correspond?  Earth, air, fire, and water

81.  What does Belinda wear around her neck?  A cross

82.  Where is the party held?  Hampton Court Palace

83.  Who wins the hand of ombre?   Belinda

84.  What beverage is served after the card game ends?    Coffee

85.  Who arms the Baron with a pair of scissors?  Clarissa

86.  Who gets accidentally cut by the scissors?  One of the Sylphs

87.  Whither does Umbriel journey?  The Cave of Spleen

88.  What does Thalestris think the Baron will do with the lock?  Show it off to all their friends & Have it set into a ring

89.  What effect does Sir Plume’s speech have on the Baron?   It has no effect

90.  What happens to the lock of hair at the end of the poem?  It is turned into a constellation

91.  The overall feeling that Pope meant to convey in The Rape of the Lock?  affectionately mocking

92.  A characteristic of a true epic? elevated style

93.  In The Rape of the Lock, when the baron cries out that the glorious prize is his, he refers to the hairs he has snipped from Belinda's head

94.  The point Pope makes in The Rape of the Lock?  The rich have too much time on their hands and not enough to think about.

95.  In The Rape of the Lock, with what weapon does Belinda defeat the baron? a large pinch of snuff

96.  A central theme of The Rape of the Lock is the pettiness of the nobility.

97.  The word desist means to stop

98.  Alexander Pope's purpose for writing The Rape of the Lock was to poke fun at the spoiled upper classes.

99.  Pope was the master of heroic couplet.

100.                      Belinda was repeatedly compared to The Sun.

101.                      Beffy assisted Belinda in her makeup and dressing.

102.                      Belinda picked out the most brilliant gem from India.

103.                      The Baron offers his prayers to Phoetus to win.

104.                      When Belinda smiles, all the world was happy.

105.                      The river on which Belinda sails on her boat is Thames.

106.                      Great Anne refers Queen Anne.

107.                      Thalestries requested Sir Plume to recover the precious hairs from the Baron.

108.                      Who called Clarissa a Prude? Thalestris.

109.                      Belinda cried “Restore the Lock” – compared to Othello’s cry for Handkerchief.

110.                      Addison calls this poem merum sal (Pure wit).

111.                      Twelve French Romance, Three Garter and Half a Pair of Goves are presented by      the Baron to the God of Love.

112.                      Regarding the use of super natural machinery Pope was influenced by the Compte Grabale which was written by Abbe Montfancon Villars.

113.                    'Le Comte de Gobolis' is a French Book.
114. Pope says that he would mention the Rape of Lock with Reverence..
115. How many Sylphs are selectd to guard Belinda's petticoat?   50
116. who calls The Rape of Lock 'the most attractive of all Ludicrous Compositions'?  Swift.
117. Who is very fond of snuff?   Sir Plume.
118. The man who committed the Rape of Lock was George.
119. Which character is fond of coffee?   Baron
120. Belinda is a Late riser.