Supernatural Machinery: The Rape of the Lock:
Introduction:
The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope is one of the finest mock-epic poems in English literature, written with the purpose of satirizing the fashionable society of the eighteenth century. The poem is based on a trivial social incident—the cutting of a lock of hair of a beautiful lady, Belinda—but Pope elevates this minor event to the grandeur of an epic through his artistic use of supernatural machinery.
Borrowing the convention of supernatural beings from classical epics such as Homer’s Iliad and Milton’s Paradise Lost, Pope introduces sylphs, gnomes, salamanders, and nymphs as guardian spirits who watch over fashionable men and women. These supernatural beings not only add charm, fantasy, and humor to the poem but also intensify its mock-heroic character. The sylphs, especially Ariel, protect Belinda from social dangers and symbolize the artificiality, vanity, and frivolity of aristocratic life. Thus, the supernatural machinery in The Rape of the Lock serves both decorative and satirical purposes, making the poem lively, imaginative, and artistically perfect.
Pope was a neo-classical poet. He took classical poets for his model. The Rape of the Lock is a mock-heroic epic in which all the epic devices are used in a humorous way. Use of supernatural machinery is an important element of a classical epic. Traditionally mythological gods and goddesses are introduced to take part in the action of the epic. Pope intended to give a humorous turn to the super natural also and introduced a new type of supernatural machinery.
A New Type of Supernatural Machinery:
The first edition of The Rape of the Lock was very short. Its popularity encouraged the poet to extend it. It is the second edition in which Pope introduces the super natural machinery. In this context he draws inspiration from ‘Rosicrucian Doctrine of Spirits’. According to this philosophy four basic elements are the source of four kinds of super natural spirits. When a woman dies with her pride, her soul returns to its basic element: fire, water, earth, and air; according to its nature. Women of violent nature have interest in quarrels. After death their souls return to the element of fire. Spirits of fire are called Salamander. When women of polite nature die, their souls return to the element of water. The spirits of water are called Nymphs. They sip tea with beautiful ladies. The serious-minded women who pretend extreme modesty in sex-matters take interest in making mischief. After death their spirits return to the element of earth and move in search of mischief. The flirts who take interest in playing with and breaking young men’s hearts have a different fate. After death their souls return to the element of air and they take the name of Sylph. They sport and flutter in merriment in the open sky. In this epic only sylphs and gnomes play an active part. In the first half of the poem sylphs dominates but in the second half gnomes become important. Pope shows how sylphs act with positive motives and attempt at preserving happiness among beautiful ladies. Just opposite to them gnomes act with negative attitude and take interest in creating mischief, dispute and quarrel.
Part Played by Sylphs in the Epic:
Arial, Belinda’s guardian sylph appears in her dream. This time she is under the influence of her guardian sylph. Ariel wishes to tell her some important things. Ariel appears as a fashionable handsome youth. Seeing him though in a dream, Belinda blushes. Ariel seems to whisper in her ear that she is the most beautiful girl in the whole mankind. She does not know that thousands of spirits called sylphs fly in the air to take her care. She should believe in this fact if she has ever heard from her maid or a priest tales in her childhood. He tells Belinda how sylphs help beautiful ladies like her.
The Great Importance of Sylphs:
Ariel points out the great importance of Sylphs. They guard chastity of young beautiful girls when these girls are seduced in various ways. He claims whenever a beautiful young girl rejects men she is guided by her guardian Sylph. These spirits are free from restrictions of human world and body. According to him, these spirits can transform themselves into sex and shape of their choice. These spirits guard a girl’s chastity when in dance parties she herself grows willing to surrender her chastity or in dance parties friend grow deceitful enough to seduce her. Ariel points out those circumstances in which any beautiful girl may be seduced to surrender her virginity. A young man impresses by giving a warm welcome, the other by inviting to dance. An imaginary lover named Florio impresses with his way of speaking and the other named Demon impresses with his gentleness. He impresses and diverts her attention by pressing her hand. These girls receive gifts of extraordinary nature brought from different countries by these young men. These girls wear so many ornaments that while walking they look like a toyshop moving from one place to the other. To win the favour of a girl, a young man puts on a better wig the other a better sword, and a lover brings a better carriage to offer lift to the girl. Sylphs guard these girls during such moments.
Arial’s Warning of Misfortune:
Ariel reports Belinda that he has seen some misfortune to fall on her before the sun-set. But he could not know the exact nature, manner, time and place of the coming misfortune. The poet asks Belinda to pay attention to the warning and be careful of all but particularly of the mankind. Just then Belinda’s pet dog Shock feels that she has slept enough to wake up and for that purpose licks his mistress with his tongue. When she opens her eyes, a love letter comes before her eyes first of all. She reads in the letter how her beauty hurts a lover, or her face looks charming and provokes passionate desires for her. Reading this letter, she forgets the warning given by her guardian sylph, Ariel.
Sylphs’ Assistance to Belinda:
Sylphs assist Belinda in many ways. The poet points out the sylphs’ contribution in Belinda’s beautification. Numberless sylphs surround her to help in different matters. They all become busy. Some of them help in setting her head, some in dividing the hair, some in folding her sleeve and some in plaiting her gown. It is a great pity that their hard labour is not recognised and all praise only Betty for getting success in beautifying Belinda. When Belinda is enjoying herself in the sweet company of her friends Arial Belinda’s guardian sylph is worried about her safety. The fear of Belinda’s misfortune makes him sad. Without wasting time, Ariel, the chief sylph calls all the spirits of air called sylphs. Immediately the boat is surrounded with gentle groups of sylphs. From the mast Ariel addresses them in a low tone. Ariel thinks over probable misfortunes that may trouble Belinda. She may lose her virginity or her beloved decorative piece of China clay may get a hard shock or fall on the ground. She may spoil her respect or a new silk dress. She may neglect her religious duties or forget to attend a programme of entertainment. She may fall in love with someone or lose a costly necklace. Ariel fears that gods may be thinking of giving her a greater loss that may be in form of an injury to her pet dog named Shock. Ariel asks all sylphs to be active in the duty given to them. He points out that Zephyretta will take care of Belinda’s fan. Brillante will look after Belinda’s ear-rings. Momentilla has to care for Belinda’s watch while Crispissa will attend her beautiful locks of hair. Ariel himself takes the charge of her pet-dog, Shock. Ariel recognises the great importance of a girl’s virginity and therefore, he posts his best sylphs to guard Belinda’s petticoat. Fifty sylphs of remarkable quality are asked to take care of her petticoat.
To fifty chosen Sylphs, of special Note
We trust th’ important Charge, the Petticoat,
Ariel warns all sylphs to do their duty well otherwise they will get hard punishments. Sylphs perform their duty sincerely. When the Baron takes a pair of scissors just behind Belinda’s neck, a number of sylphs run to attend her. They try to blow back the lock to save it from the scissors. Sylphs try their best to save Belinda’s lock from being cut off. They try to warn her by moving three times the diamond of her ear ring. Three times she turns back and three times the Baron comes near her. Ariel tries to know if she is virgin by thought and feeling. When the bunch of flowers at her breast falls down he gets an opportunity of knowing her feelings. Belinda tries her best to hide her inward feelings but Ariel succeeds in seeing the image of an earthly lover present there. He is utterly surprised and confused with this discovery. He decides to withdraw his army of sylphs leaving Belinda at her own fate. He leaves her with a deep sigh expressing his sorrow. Still an unfortunate sylph tries to obstruct the foul action by coming between the sharp edges of the scissors. Fate directed the scissors and the sylph was divided into two pieces.
Part Played by Gnomes in the Epic:
Arial decides to leave Belinda when he sees the image of an earthly lover in her heart. With a heavy heart he departs. Umbriel, a gnome is a spirit of the earth. It is sad, dark and gloomy. It pollutes the light of day. It visits underground to the centre of the earth which is its favourite place. It is in search of the cave of Spleen. Spleen is the goddess of melancholy. A gnome takes interest in spreading bad temper or ill-nature everywhere. The gnome flutters fast on its black wings and reaches the cave of Spleen in the form of a cloud. The cave is devoid of fresh air and day light. The goddess of Spleen always laments on her sad bed. She is attended by pain and headache. The goddess of Spleen is attended by two maids. They are of equal rank but there is a great difference in their appearance or personality. One of them is called Ill-nature.
Two handmaids with the Throne: Alike in Place
But diff’ring far in Figure and in Face.
The other maid attending the goddess of Spleen is Affectation. Umbriel passes through the cave safely that means without being affected by their abnormal imagination. It happens for the gnome has a branch of Spleen-curing plant in its hand. The gnome addresses the goddess of Spleen in proper manner. Still if Umbriel has ever got success in doing a mischief by spoiling the beauty of a young face or raising a pimple on a beautiful face. Umbriel reminds how lemon produces blush on the face of a young girl or spreads paleness on the face when she loses the game. Umbriel makes a husband suspicious of his wife’s character by disarranging the lady’s petticoat or bed; though neither of the husband and wife is faithless. Besides, Umbriel deshapes the scarf of a woman, having or affecting an attitude of extreme propriety or modesty, esp. in sexual matters. When Umbriel makes a lady’s beloved small, slow dog sick it causes tears in the eyes of a happy lady. Umbriel requests the goddess of Spleen to pay attention to his prayer. She should provoke Belinda with anger. No doubt her anger would fill a number of people with melancholy. The goddess of Spleen with the appearance of dissatisfaction pretends to reject the prayer but grants his wish. She binds a wonderful bag to give to her like that bag in which Aeolus, the god of Winds had given foul winds to Ulysses, the King of Ithaca. In this bag the goddess of Spleen collects the quarrelling force of women, the force of their lungs, sighs, laments and anger. Then she fills a bottle with fears that faint, soft sorrows that melt the heart and grief that flow tears from eyes. The gnome accepts these gifts with great joy. Spreading its black wings, Umbriel flies away to the regions of day-light. Umbriel finds beautiful Belinda too much depressed in the arms of her friend, Thalestris. Her eyes are hopeless and her uncared hair is lying open. Umbriel breaks the bag of winds over their heads. Now, all furies come out of the bag. Belinda’s heart burns with the fire of revenge. Her friend Thalestris fans her face but it only increases the fire. While speaking in pride of victory the Baron spreads the lock that he has cut off Belinda’s head after great efforts. Umbriel being a hateful gnome cannot bear it. Umbriel breaks the bottle given by the goddess of spleen to spread sorrow. What a change is there for Belinda appears lamenting. Her tearful eyes are half shut and half open. Her depressed head is hung on her sighing breast and she speaks with a sigh.
Element of High Imagination:
This type of super natural machinery fills the epic with the element of high imagination. Pope points out how these strange creatures called sylphs perform wonderful activities. Some sylphs perform higher duties and regulate the movement of planets. Some inferior sylphs move heavenly bodies in night in the sky. Some sylphs refine the mist of lower regions by sucking its poison while some sylphs dip their wings in the rainbow. Ariel points out that sylphs perform great activities like the raising of terrible tempests in the ocean or causing gentle rains in fields and farms. Some sylphs dominate human activities by watching their behaviour and guiding their actions. They guard the nations and their greatest worry is to guard the British crown. Having discussed the important duties performed by sylphs, Ariel tells about their less important duties. One of them is to look after beautiful girls. This duty is very amusing but it is not important. When the winds are rude, sylphs control them to save powder on the faces of beautiful girls. These girls keep perfume-bottles in their purses. Sylphs keep the lids of these bottles tight to save the perfume. They bring colours from flowers for the skin of ladies. They steal colours of rainbows to save them from being washed by showers. They help the ladies in making their hair curly, cheeks blushing and minds filled with pride. Sylphs suggest them new fashions and designs of borders in a gown or a petticoat. Some critics believe Pope is indebted to Shakespeare’s The Tempest for the character of Arial. Still, it is to be admitted that Pope gives a new concept to supernatural machinery.