"The Rape of Lock" by Alexander Pope is the most perfect example of mock-epic genre. ... Pope's way of satirizing the fashionable society and its non-serious values is represented in the style of an epic poem, through the use of familiar epic devices. ... Pope describes scissors as the weapon which is another type of mock-epic. In the end, Pope emphasizes the journey into the underworld where a gnome named Umbriel takes the place instead of Ariel and goes to the cave of Spleen. ... Pope sees the society as a struggle of a man's mind and heart; he wants to show and to prove that hypo...

• Word Count: 775
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Alexander Pope began "The Rape of the Lock" in 1711 after an incident involving two families he knew. ... Pope and with the two families involved in the dispute, suggested to Mr. ... Pope decided to revise it, adding the sylphs and three more cantos in 1712. ... Pope had previous experience with epic poetry, having translated many classic Greek and Roman epics into English,. ... By the time Pope decided to write The Rape of the Lock he had plenty of experience with epic language from which to draw. ...

• Word Count: 1460
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School