Alexander Pope’s The R*pe of The Lock and An Essay on Man (pg. 630) – Flashcards
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Parody
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wring that makes fun of another, more serious work or of its author's style.
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What are some characteristics of parodies?
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Boasting speeches made by heroes and heroines, elaborate descriptions of warriors and their weapons, involvement of gods or goddesses, epic similes, antithesis
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Epic Simile
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intricate comparisons in the style of Homer that sometimes use like, as, or so.
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Antithesis
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rhetorical device in which contrasting words, clauses, sentences, or ideas are placed side by side in parallel grammatical structures
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Stoic
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indifferent to joy, grief, pleasure, or pain
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Disabused
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free from false ideas
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Obliquely
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at a slant; indifferently
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Plebian
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common; not aristocratic
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Destitute
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lacking
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Assignations
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appointments to meet
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What is the background of An Essay on Man?
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It is an examination of human culture, society, and morals. Pope wrote it to caution against being prideful.
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What does Pope say should be the object of man's study?
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To explain the world as God has planned it. (live your life the way God wants you to)
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Why does Pope say "Presume not God to scan"?
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He means to not question God's motives because he has a plan for all of us.
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What prevents man from being skeptic nor stoic?
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Man is too smart for the people who question and too powerless for the people with strength
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What does each "half" of man do?
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Half of man rises, half of man falls
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How can man be both a "lord of all things" and a "prey to all"?
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Man can be powerful, but destructive.
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What happens during the game of cards in The Rape of The Lock?
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The card game is described as an epic battle. Belinda plays fiercely and wins the card game. A sprite whispers in Belinda's ear that something bad is in store for her.
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What does Clarissa help the baron do to Belinda and what struggle results from it?
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Clarissa hands the baron her scissors and he tries to cut her hair. The first time the wind pushes it away from him, the second time she turns but looks back.
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What happens to the lock of hair later on?
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The baron cuts it off as a token to himself (he was in love with her). She demands he put it back. Knowing that couldn't be possible, she blows snuff into his face causing him to tear up as her revenge.
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What is Pope's basic criticism of the rituals described in this poem?
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Pope was making fun of how such trivial problems like these could be so detrimental to the rich, and that they should focus on more important problems in the world.
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What is the background of The Rape of The Lock?
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Pope was hired to write of the true tale between the Petres and the Fermons and how they were in a dispute over a cut lock of hair.
