The Rape of the Lock

by Alexander Pope Narrated by LibriVox Community

Overview

The Rape of the Lock is a mock-heroic narrative poem written by Alexander Pope, first published anonymously in Lintot's Miscellany in May 1712 in two cantos (334 lines), but then revised, expanded and reissued under Pope's name on March 2, 1714, in a much-expanded 5-canto version (794 lines). The final form was available in 1717 with the addition of Clarissa's speech on good humour. The poem satirizes a petty squabble by comparing it to the epic world of the gods. It was based on an incident recounted by Pope's friend, John Caryll. Arabella Fermor and her suitor, Lord Petre, were both from aristocratic recusant Catholic families at a period in England when under such laws as the Test Act, all denominations except Anglicanism suffered legal restrictions and penalties (for example Petre could not take up his place in the House of Lords as a Catholic). Petre, lusting after Arabella, had cut off a lock of her hair without permission, and the consequent argument had created a breach between the two families. Pope, also a Catholic, wrote the poem at the request of friends in an attempt to "comically merge the two." He utilized the character Belinda to represent Arabella and introduced an entire system of "sylphs," or guardian spirits of virgins, a parodied version of the gods and goddesses of conventional epic. (Summary by Wikipedia)

Editorial Reviews

Booknews

Reprints the text of Pope's classic poem, both the five-canto 1714 version and the facsimile of the original 1712 version, together with a broad selection of documents putting the poem in the social and historical context of Pope's 18th century. Selections include correspondence, poems, broadsides, reviews, and parodies. Documents focus on Pope's life and career as well as on 18th-century poetic traditions and innovations, social habits, historical events, and political implications. Includes a general introduction on historical and cultural background, a chronology of Pope's life, an introduction to each thematic group of documents, headnotes, and b&w illustrations. Distributed by St. Martin's Press. No index. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

From the Publisher

"Brilliant . . . triumphant. Never has so great a poem emerged from so trivial a cause."  —Peter Ackroyd

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169131239
Publisher:	LibriVox
Publication date:	08/25/2014
Sales rank:	1,210,250

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