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Examples Of Mock Epic And Rape Of The Lock

Decent Essays

Mock epic is a narrative poem which aims at mockery and laughter by using almost all the characteristic features of an epic but for a trivial subject. In the “The Rape of the Lock” there is an invocation to Muses, proposition of subject, battles, supernatural machinery, and journey on water, underworld journey, long speeches, feasts (coffee house), Homeric similes and grand style but all for a simple family dispute instead of a national struggle. The grand action of a low subject produces comical laughter and makes the story more absurd. The subject matters in both of the epic poems are grand. Like the epic poems, the poem “The Rape of the Lock” opens with the proposition of the subject matter and invocation to the Muses to help him create …show more content…

The ritual sacrifices the Baron performs in the pre-dawn hours are another mock epic element of the poem, mimicking the epic tradition of sacrificing to the gods before an important battle or journey. The fact that he discards all his other love tokens in these preparations reveals his untrustworthiness as a lover. An epic poem must contain episodes also. In the poem Rape of the Lock, Pope has introduced the episodes of the game of Omber which suggests the powerful battle and the cards involve the soldiers described in great detail. There is also the battle between lords and ladies just like the battle in epic poem. But in mock epic this battle is fought with fans and snuff instead of with swords and spears. There are single fight between Belinda and Baron and between Clarissa and Sir Plume. Another vital element of an epic is the active participation of supernatural machinery like god and goddesses. In The Rape of the Lock, there are sylphs and gnomes. These aerial spirits are small and insignificant things and are therefore, exactly in keeping with the triviality of the

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