In accordance with his wish his name was not
printed in the editions of the poem that came out in Pope's lifetime,
appearing there only as C----or C----l.
printed in the editions of the poem that came out in Pope's lifetime,
appearing there only as C----or C----l.
Alexander Pope
" They dabbled in
alchemy, spiritualism, and magic, and mingled modern science with
superstitions handed down from ancient times. Pope probably knew nothing
more of them than what he had read in 'Le Comte de Gabalis'.
This was the work of a French abbe, de Montfaucon Villars (1635-1673),
who was well known in his day both as a preacher and a man of letters.
It is really a satire upon the fashionable mystical studies, but treats
in a tone of pretended seriousness of secret sciences, of elemental
spirits, and of their intercourse with men. It was translated into
English in 1680 and again in 1714.
CANTO I
Lines '1-2'
Pope opens his mock-epic with the usual epic formula, the statement of
the subject. Compare the first lines of the 'Iliad', the 'AEneid', and
'Paradise Lost'. In l. 7 he goes on to call upon the "goddess," i. e. the
muse, to relate the cause of the rape. This, too, is an epic formula.
Compare 'AEneid', I, 8, and 'Paradise Lost', I, 27-33.
'3 Caryl':
see Introduction, p. 83.
In accordance with his wish his name was not
printed in the editions of the poem that came out in Pope's lifetime,
appearing there only as C----or C----l.
'4 Belinda':
a name used by Pope to denote Miss Fermor, the heroine of 'The Rape of
the Lock'.
'12'
This line is almost a translation of a line in the 'AEneid' (I, 11),
where Virgil asks if it be possible that such fierce passions (as
Juno's) should exist in the minds of gods.
'13 Sol':
a good instance of the fondness which Pope shared with most poets of his
time for giving classical names to objects of nature. This trick was
supposed to adorn and elevate poetic diction. Try to find other
instances of this in 'The Rape of the Lock'.
Why is the sun's ray called "tim'rous"?
'16'
It was an old convention that lovers were so troubled by their passion
that they could not sleep. In the 'Prologue to the Canterbury Tales'
(ll. 97-98), Chaucer says of the young squire:
So hote he lovede, that by nightertale
He sleep namore than dooth a nightingale.
Pope, of course, is laughing at the easy-going lovers of his day who in
spite of their troubles sleep very comfortably till noon.
'17'
The lady on awaking rang a little hand-bell that stood on a table by her
bed to call her maid. Then as the maid did not appear at once she tapped
impatiently on the floor with the heel of her slipper. The watch in the
next line was a repeater.
'19'
All the rest of this canto was added in the second edition of the poem.
See pp.
alchemy, spiritualism, and magic, and mingled modern science with
superstitions handed down from ancient times. Pope probably knew nothing
more of them than what he had read in 'Le Comte de Gabalis'.
This was the work of a French abbe, de Montfaucon Villars (1635-1673),
who was well known in his day both as a preacher and a man of letters.
It is really a satire upon the fashionable mystical studies, but treats
in a tone of pretended seriousness of secret sciences, of elemental
spirits, and of their intercourse with men. It was translated into
English in 1680 and again in 1714.
CANTO I
Lines '1-2'
Pope opens his mock-epic with the usual epic formula, the statement of
the subject. Compare the first lines of the 'Iliad', the 'AEneid', and
'Paradise Lost'. In l. 7 he goes on to call upon the "goddess," i. e. the
muse, to relate the cause of the rape. This, too, is an epic formula.
Compare 'AEneid', I, 8, and 'Paradise Lost', I, 27-33.
'3 Caryl':
see Introduction, p. 83.
In accordance with his wish his name was not
printed in the editions of the poem that came out in Pope's lifetime,
appearing there only as C----or C----l.
'4 Belinda':
a name used by Pope to denote Miss Fermor, the heroine of 'The Rape of
the Lock'.
'12'
This line is almost a translation of a line in the 'AEneid' (I, 11),
where Virgil asks if it be possible that such fierce passions (as
Juno's) should exist in the minds of gods.
'13 Sol':
a good instance of the fondness which Pope shared with most poets of his
time for giving classical names to objects of nature. This trick was
supposed to adorn and elevate poetic diction. Try to find other
instances of this in 'The Rape of the Lock'.
Why is the sun's ray called "tim'rous"?
'16'
It was an old convention that lovers were so troubled by their passion
that they could not sleep. In the 'Prologue to the Canterbury Tales'
(ll. 97-98), Chaucer says of the young squire:
So hote he lovede, that by nightertale
He sleep namore than dooth a nightingale.
Pope, of course, is laughing at the easy-going lovers of his day who in
spite of their troubles sleep very comfortably till noon.
'17'
The lady on awaking rang a little hand-bell that stood on a table by her
bed to call her maid. Then as the maid did not appear at once she tapped
impatiently on the floor with the heel of her slipper. The watch in the
next line was a repeater.
'19'
All the rest of this canto was added in the second edition of the poem.
See pp.
