Pope’s Heroic Couplet:
Introduction:
Alexander Pope is one of the greatest masters of the heroic couplet in English literature, and The Rape of the Lock stands as a brilliant example of his poetic craftsmanship. In this mock-epic poem, Pope uses the heroic couplet with remarkable precision, elegance, wit, and musical harmony. The balanced structure, epigrammatic style, and polished expression of the couplets perfectly suit the satirical tone of the poem. Through these rhyming lines, Pope not only narrates the trivial incident of the stolen lock of hair but also exposes the artificiality, vanity, and superficial manners of the eighteenth-century aristocratic society. Thus, Pope’s mastery of the heroic couplet gives The Rape of the Lock its artistic beauty, clarity, and enduring charm.
Couplet is a popular stanza in English poetry. A verse in two lines is called a couplet. It is rhymed and complete in its meaning. Therefore, it was firstly used in heroic epics. From there, it got its name Heroic Couplet. Pope is a classical poet and shows his great skill in using heroic couplet for his poetic use. The Rape of the Lock is regarded as the best master-piece of heroic couplets.
Pope’s Use of Heroic Couplets in Mock Heroic Style:
In The Rape of the Lock, Pope uses the mock-heroic style. In this style, the great is placed with the small as well as the important with the unimportant. For example, Pope has used ‘mighty contests’ with ‘trivial things’ in the following lines:
What dire offence from amorous Causes springs,
What mighty Contests rise form trivial Things,
But the best example of mock-heroic style appears when 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 entertainment. She may fall in love with someone or lose a costly necklace. Ariel fears that a greater loss may be in form of an injury to her pet dog named Shock. It suggests that for a girl the breaking of a China jar is as important as the loss of her chastity. Another example of this style appears when the poet accounts for the importance of a hair. Belinda’s beautiful locks of hair are like a labyrinth, a complex arrangement. It is difficult to come out of it. The passion of love succeeds in enslaving the young men by winning their hearts with the help of the beloved’s beautiful hair. Great warriors are imprisoned in bright hair of a beautiful girl. Sharp eyed birds are betrayed by a net woven of thin hair. The clever fish are caught in a hook attached to a thin hair. Beautiful hair enslave kings and emperors. It is the attraction of a lady’s beautiful hair that men follow her.
Pope’s Use of Heroic Couplets for Satire on Fair Sex:
In The Rape of the Lock, Pope passes satire on the fair sex by using heroic couplets. The poem begins with a satire on their credulity. 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 claims mostly learned people suffer from a sense of pride and doubt the existence of all those things that are not known to them. Therefore, many important facts are not told to them. These facts are told to young girls and children for they easily believe in them. He asks Belinda not to believe that death ends all. When a woman dies with her pride, her soul returns to its basic element: fire, water, earth, and air; according to its nature. Pope passes satire on beautiful women for being loose on character. It is easy to seduce them. He claims that sylphs prevent them from being seduced. The youth, Ariel who appears in Belinda’s dreams 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. 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. He knows that even seven folded petticoat fail in guarding the chastity of a lady when she becomes loose in character. Iron-rings or ribs of whales are used to keep the lower part of the petticoat stiff and the decoration is made with a silver-wire there to keep safe the lower border from being attacked. Yet all these precautions prove useless.
Pope’s Use of Heroic Couplets for Satire on Romantic Youths:
Pope passes satire on the youths of contemporary society by using heroic couplets. They pass their whole time only in flattering beautiful ladies and making attempts at seducing them. In order to impress beautiful girls, they use various devices. 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. The poet points out that Belinda with other youths in a boat in the middle of the river Thames is looking brighter than the rays of the sun rising over the ocean. There are a number of well-dressed youths but all eyes are fixed only on Belinda. Among those young men who have been looking at Belinda attentively, there is a daring lord who praises her locks very much. He decides to possess them. He begins to think about the way how to get success in it. He wants to get possession of the beautiful bright locks hanging behind ivory white neck of fair Belinda. He wants to get it done by fair or foul means. He knows success is important. Nobody thinks if it is got by honest or dishonest means. First of all, he attempts at pleasing the gods. For it he gets up before the sun-rise and begins to worship all gods and goddesses.
Pope’s Use of Heroic Couplets for Strange Descriptions:
Pope uses heroic couplets for narrating strange experiences. He passes satire on strange imagination of abnormal people. People imagine strangely that their bodies are changed to different shapes. One man imagines that his body is changed into a tea pot. He extends one arm and bends the other arm. He claims the bent arm is the handle of the teapot and the extended arm is the spout to pour out tea. Under effect of melancholy people imagine strangely that their bodies are changed to different shapes. One person claims to be an earthen pot while the other claims to be a stool with three legs and walks strangely. Homer, the great epic poet refers to such things in ‘Iliad’. A person imagines to be a jar and takes a long sigh of grief. One imagines to be a roasted bird and talks like that. It is super that men imagine that they are pregnant. It all happens under illusion based on strong imagination. There are girls who claim to be bottles. They shout to be corked.
A Pipkin there, like Homer’s Tripad, Walks;
Here sighs a Jar, and there a Goose-pye talks;
Men prove with Child, as powerful Fancy works,
And Maids, turn’d Bottles, call aloud for Corks.
Conclusion:
Thus The Rape of the Lock is a perfect satire. It exposes Pope’s masterly use of heroic couplets.