Marginalia

When I hear the word “Altar”, I think of religion. The Pope presents the idea that the Baron is somewhat religious by building this Altar to pray for Belinda’s love. The descritption of this altar is extremely […]

Pope uses the sun to compare to Belinda’s behavior. He uses phrases like “rival of his beams”, “bright as the sun, her eyes gazers strike” “and like th sun, they shine on all alike”. Belinda flaunts her beauty or […]

[But trust the Muse — she saw it upward rise] Referencing the muse is another epic convention, and it lends some ironic gravitas to the conclusion of this ridiculous battle.

[Not fierce Othello in so loud a strain Roar’d for the handkerchief that caus’d his pain.] In Othello, the titular character is convinced that his wife Desdemona is cheating on him when a handkerchief that he g […]

In lines 77 and 78, the words that complete the heroic couplet, chagrin and spleen, at least with my American accent, don’t rhyme perfectly. The poem up until this point is almost perfectly sing-songy, so this […]

In humoral theory, the spleen was thought to be the organ that produced black bile, which made a person melancholic. Here, Pope creates the Cave of Spleen, which is probably a place of melancholy.

In lines 45-52, Pope utilizes the mock-epic style to its fullest extent. In these lines, Pope compares the perceivably petty battle between high society individuals of the time period as something comparable to […]

Here, Pope reinforces his mockery of the obsession and superficiality of beauty in high society. In this line, Pope explains that what truly matters is good sense, as beauty may gain these women a lot temporarily, […]

In lines 83-84, the Goddess of Spleen collects the force of “female lungs” which turn out to be sighs, sobs, passions, and the war of tongues. This reinforces a stereotype of the time period where women were […]

Again, Belinda is referred to in a way that has a sexual connotation. Being referred to as a “prude” typically refers to someone overly modest or proper. However, there is also the aspect of Pope mocking Belinda’s […]

This line establishes a pattern from canto II, where Belinda is talked about in an almost predatory way. She is referred to as “The Virgin”, making her “purity” the subject in this line rather than her name or […]

Pope displays a pattern throughout the cantos of this theme of mockery of high society. The mock-epic itself, and then also the way he speaks about high society is satirical and critical. In this line, he refers […]

Belinda is now protected by fifty Sylphs who see the harm that the Baron is trying to cause her, and immediately take action. However, while this is a mock-epic from Pope, it still feels overkill in a way. It […]

There are very specific word choices from Pope in this line, as the line itself is referring to taking a lock of Belinda’s hair. The words “force”, “ravish”, and “fraud” are words that we would normally associate […]

Pope describes a simple card game using the language of war with the players preparing “in arms” and later saying the cards as troops. I think it’s quite interesting how he keeps making ordinary social activities […]

I feel like it’s interesting that Pope puts the Queen taking political “counsel” and drinking tea right next to each other, almost making them sound just as important as each other. This is adding to the pattern […]

I feel Pope is creating a big contrast between spirits who protect entire nations and the Sylphs who protect women’s beauty and looks. It’s kind of interesting that he describes both jobs so seriously, even though […]

Pope describes in these lines how having Belinda’s petticoat is like guarding it on a important military mission. I feel like this creates some sort of humor as if guarding this coat with your life is being described here.

Pope is talking about serious concerns like reputation while also writing about damaged clothing and missed parties. I feel like these comparisons highlight this high society life that seems to consider […]

Pope seems like he’s trying to create progression from the Baron seeing the lock and wanting it, and then deciding he is going to win it. I noticed that he calls the lock a “prize,” which seems to turn Belinda […]