Marginalia

I feel like Pope is using these high society items and clothing as weapons in some type of battle. This makes the fight seem more dramatic and a little humorous. the fact that these fighters are not fighters at […]

I feel like lock is trying to talk about beauty fading as you get older in these lines. Clarissa is talking about how you will lose your beauty in hair no matter how hard you try and maintain it.

Is Belinda comparing herself to roses that bloom where no one can see them? Roses blooming in the desert aren’t an attraction for people to go and see. I feel like this reveals her feelings as she wishes to be […]

I feel like Pope is using the fire to describe Belinda’s anger. Thalestris “fans” this fire to get her more and more angry. This might be showing how a friend or relation’s reaction can make things worse sometimes.

I feel like Pope is criticizing the justice system in these lines. He is creating a world where these officials are living a good life. I think the dine ending works really well. They have a really important […]

It seems to me that Belinda is getting a haircut even though her hair seems “sacred.” I think that the repetition of “for ever” represents the exaggerated loss of her hair. Maybe this shows how beauty and […]

Religion is mentioned a few times throughout the poem such as here, when Belinda wears a cross that the infidels admire, the alters, etc. Pope is using religion in a satirical manner to expose the impious and […]

[Not half so fix’d the Trojan could remain,] The comparison of this story in “The Rape of the Lock” and the history and story of the fall of Troy might be doing more than providing social and political c […]

[ Men prove with child, as pow’rful fancy works,] This line is very interesting. All the other changes involve inanimate objects coming alive and taking on human qualities or with the maids, turning into i […]

[E’er felt such rage, resentment, and despair,/ As thou, sad Virgin! for thy ravish’d Hair.] Here, Pope uses Cynthia to juxtapose Belinda’s reaction and suffering. After the Baron cuts off Belinda’s hair, as p […]

[Few ask, if fraud or force attain’d his ends.] Perhaps Pope is making social commentary on society. After creating the image of an adverse and hostile scene of what the Baron wants to do to Belinda, Pope w […]

[Her lively looks a sprightly mind disclose,/ Quick as her eyes, and as unfix’d as those:/ Favours to none, to all she smiles extends;/ Oft she rejects, but never once offends.] How Pope describes Belinda being […]

These two stanzas containing lines 47-74 describe and dramatize the card game (at least I think so). Pope has personified the cards and game. “Led off two captive trumps, and swept the board.” “Gain’d but […]

[In glitt’ring dust and painted fragments lie!] This stanza is really interesting. It’s contrasting terror with beauty. Pope is making Belinda’s horror and terror seem like “living lightning from her eyes,” ” […]

I was unclear in some of my other comments about what I mean when I use the word “trivial.” With this comment about Othello and others that I made about epic poems or Greek tragedies, I meant to point out examples […]

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 […]