"The Rape of the Lock"
By
Alexander Pope
Creation of machine-readable version, transcription, correction, editorial
commentary, and markup by Oxford Computing Services and students and staff of the University of
Virginia, John O'Brien, Sara Brunstetter
frontispieceThe frontispiece was
designed by Louis du Guernier (1677-1716) a well-known illustrator of the period; he
also designed the images that appear before each of the five cantos. They were
engraved by Claude du Bosc (1682-1745?); both men had been born in France but moved
to London, probably in pursuit of the good opportunities for skilled engravers in the
London book trade, and worked together on a number of projects for London patrons and
booksellers in these years. Illustrations as detailed as these were very
time-consuming and therefore expensive to produce, and the presence of six
custom-engraved images was a sign that Pope and his publisher Bernard Lintot were
trying to create a particularly impressive and beautiful object. Pope, who was a
talented amateur painter in his own right, almost certainly had a role in designing
the images, although we do not know exactly how he participated. The frontispiece is
a composite of major events in the poem to follow. The "sylphs," spirits of vanity
and erotic desire, float around Belinda, the heroine of the poem, as she puts on her
makeup; they also drop playing cards, alluding to the card game in Canto III, and
point to the shooting star that ascends at the end of Canto V. In the front lower
right of the image, a satyr, with pointed ears and cloven hoofs, holds the kind of
mask that women in the period sometimes wore in public; like many authors in the
period, Pope is playing on the homophone between "satyr," the sexually-aggressive
half-human, half-animals of Greek mythology, and "satire," the literary form of which
"The Rape of the Lock" is an example. Behind the characters is the facade of Hampton
Court Palace, the royal home down the Thames from London where much of the action of
the poem takes place. Pope clearly intended the images and the poem to be read
together, a feature that is not possible in most modern reproductions of the poem,
which rely on the poetic text alone. - [JOB]title
Alexander
Pope’s "The Rape of the Lock" is the most famous poem written in English in
the eighteenth century. Chances are, if a modern reader knows only one poem
from the period, this is the one. Which is a strange thing. The poem’s
subject matter is unusual, even unique: the cutting off of a lock of hair
from the head of a young woman and the aftermath of that event. And the poem
is written in a form, the heroic couplet, that is rarely used today. But
"The Rape of the Lock" has endured because it so fully captured, while also
satirizing, an image of a particular world, a world of aristocratic ease,
but also great anxiety. And it is also an astonishing accomplishment simply
as a poem. No poet of the eighteenth century used the heroic couplet more
deftly than Alexander Pope (depicted here in a contemporary painting by
Charles Jervis; National Portrait Gallery, London), and perhaps nowhere in
his career did he craft couplets and the larger units he built from
them—verse paragraphs, cantos, the entire poem itself—with greater verve and
delicacy.
The poem is based on a true story. At a party one day in 1710 or 1711,
Robert Petre, a young man from an aristocratic family, crept up behind
Arabella Fermor, a young woman also from a prosperous household, and cut off
a lock of her hair. Petre may have thought of this as an amusing, or even a
flirtatious prank, but she was angry, and the two families started snubbing
and sniping at each other. Years later, Pope described what happened next:
“The stealing of Miss Belle Fermor’s hair was taken too seriously, and
caused an estrangement between the two families, though they had lived long
in great friendship before. A common acquaintance and well-wisher to both
desired me to write a poem to make a jest of it, and laugh them together
again. It was in this view that I wrote my Rape of the Lock, which was well
received and had its effect in the two families.” The “common acquaintance”
was John Caryll, a friend of Pope’s who was also close to both the Fermor
and Petre families. Like all of them, Caryll was also a Catholic who faced
persecution in an era when the government of Britain continued to suspect
that Catholics were potentially a subversive force whose loyalties to the
Protestant monarchy could not be assured. And sometimes with reason; Caryll
was a Jacobite, a supporter of the exiled Pretender, the Stuart James III, then living in exile in France.
James continued to claim that he was the true king of Britain, and there were
Jacobites who called for the restoration of the Stuart monarchy until
the movement was finally defeated at the Battle of Culloden in Scotland in 1745. Caryll never
joined in any of the conspiracies that took place in the early part of the
century to restore the Stuart monarchy, but he did secretly give financial support to a Catholic
church in his neighborhood, which was itself illegal. Caryll may have felt that Catholics in Britain
had enough problems without feuding among themselves. Pope, who was at this
point starting work on a massive translation of Homer’s poem The Iliad, seems quickly to have seen the possibility
of re-imagining the incident in epic terms, creating what has been called a
“mock epic” for the way in which it uses the conventions of epic poetry to
describe what is by comparison a trivial event.
Pope’s memory of the happy outcome of the poem was, however, a little rose
colored from time. Pope wrote the first version of "The Rape of the Lock"
quickly—he said it took two weeks; he may have been exaggerating—and it then
circulated among the families and their friends in manuscript for a while.
That version of the poem, which was much shorter than the one that has
ultimately been most read, was published anonymously in 1712, and at this
point things got more complicated. As more and more people read the poem now
that it was in print, the double entendres and erotic implications of Pope’s
work became clearer, and Arabella Fermor—who had initially agreed with
letting the poem be printed—was embarrassed as friends started pointing out
to her where the dirty jokes were. Sir Charles Brown, the original for the
“Sir Plume” of the poem, was also angry at the way he was portrayed (as an
idiot). Pope went back to work, and over the course of the next couple of
years, added the elaborate “machinery” of the poem, the sylphs and fairies
that hover around the action, embedding the original story in a framework of
fantasy that deflects some of the agency of the central characters. (Robert
Petre’s response to the publication of the first version of the poem is, by
the way, unrecorded. Petre married Catherine Walsmeley in 1712, but he died
only a few months later from smallpox.) Pope included a letter of dedication
to Arabella Fermor that aimed to defuse some of her anger. That new edition,
handsomely printed with engravings accompanying each canto, was published as
a separate volume in 1714, and immediately became a best-seller, selling
around 3,000 copies in four days, which even now would be an extraordinary
total for any book, much less a poem in rhyming couplets. It has been
admired, critiqued, and argued with ever since. - [JOB]Heroi-ComicalPope is the inventor of
this term, which first appeared here at the opening of The
Rape of the Lock. He is indicating that he will emulate such epics as
Homer's Iliad or Milton's Paradise
Lost, but in a comic register. - [JOB]nomenThe full
quote, which comes from Book VIII of Ovid's Metamorphoses, should read, "Ciris et, a tonso est hoc nomen adepta
capillo": "She acquired the name from the cutting of the hair." Ovid's story,
first published in 8 CE, goes like this. Nisus was the King of Alcathous and he
had a lock of purple hair on his crown that (somehow) guaranteed the safety of his
kingdom. Scylla, his daughter, fell in love with King Minos, who was conquering
the kingdom, and in order to gain his favor, Scylla cut off the lock of her
father's hair. But, disgusted with her disloyalty, Minos left by ship. As
Scylla swam after Minos, King Nisos, having been transformed into a sea eagle,
attempted to drown her. Instead of drowning, Scylla was turned to a sea bird and
called Ciris, (i.e. "cutter"), being named after the lock that she cut off. See Ovid's
Metamorphoses, translated by Anthony S. Kline,
http://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph8.htm - [UVAstudstaff]ArabellaArabella Fermor
(1696-1737; image credit: Victoria and Albert Museum) 
was from a prominent Catholic family.
She came to public attention in an unwelcome way when Robert Petre, from another
prominent Catholic family, surreptitiously cut off a lock of her hair at a party.
He may have thought it was a good prank, but she was
(justifiably) angry, and the Fermor and Petre families (who may have been in
negotiations to marry the two), became estranged. John Caryll, a friend of Pope's
who was also Robert Petre's guardian, asked Pope to write about the incident in such a
way as to make a joke of it and smooth relations. The Rape of
the Lock is Pope's effort to heal the breach. He did not, however, ask
Arabella Fermor for her approval before publishing the first version of the poem
in 1712, and she was initially unhappy at the poem's double-entendre and the way
that it seemed to compare her situation to raped heroines of antiquity like Helen
of Troy or Lucrece. This letter, published with the much-enlarged 1714 edition of
the poem, can be read in part as Pope's attempt to mollify her. - [JOB]dedicatePope is probably referring to the
Latin epigraph that appeared with the first edition of the poem: "Nolueram,
Belinda, tuos violare capillos, / Sed juvat hoc precibus me tribuisse tuis," by
the Roman poet Martial, in his Epigrams xii, 84, translates as, "I was loathe,
Belinda, to violate your locks, but I am pleased to have granted that much to your
prayers." Pope is insinuating that Arabella Fermor asked for the poem to be
written. This was not the case.machineryRefers to the fairy-like creatures
in the poem: the sylphys, the nymphs, the gnomes, the salamanders. As he
explains in the next line, they are the portrayals of what we would call in the
real world, deities, angels or demons.RosicrucianThe Rosicrusians were an occult movement that emerged in the early seventeenth century in Europe. It was an odd combination of Christian mysticism and other kinds of esoteric teaching, such as the Kabbala, which comes out of the Jewish tradition. There were several Rosicrucian manifestos that laid out theories of mystical knowledge, and the movement had adherents and drew curious thinkers to it throughout Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Pope does not seem to have been a serious adherent, but is here using some of the supernatural apparatus associated with Rosicrucianism to frame his story.LadyIt seems unlikely that Pope is aware how unctuous and condescending he sounds here; or perhaps he is aware and does not mind. It's hard to say with Pope.GabalisThe Count of Gabala was written by Nicolas-Pierre-Henri of Montfaucon de Villars, a French cleric, and published in 1670. It is an odd book. In it, an anonymous narrator encounters the Comte de Gabalis, who teaches the narrator about the occult, including various beliefs associated with the Rosicrucians. The Count introduces such things as the Sylphs of the Air, the Undines of the Water, the Gnomes of the Earth and the Salamanders of Fire. It is entirely possible that de Villars is satirizing occult sciences, which had a vogue in seventeenth century Europe, as absurd or incompatible with orthodox religion. But it is hard to be sure; this may be an example of a satire that does not make its intentions clear enough.novel To an English reader
of 1714, the word "novel" still sounded like a French import, and it would have
denoted a short, perhaps slightly scandalous, love story. The novel was not
understood to be a serious genre, a form of literature. Any reading of a novel for
more than entertainment is a "mistake." Figure_1
caryllJohn Caryll, the mutual friend of Pope and the two families involved in the dispute; he seems to have attempted to mediate between them, in part suggesting that Pope write this poem.BelindaThe heroine of the poem, inspired by
Arabella Fermor.SolSol is Latin for the Sun.ShockBelinda's lapdog.chocolateChocolate, served in this period only
as a drink, was enormously popular, especially among those who could afford it as well
as the sugar to cut the bitterness.slipperBelinda stomps her slippered foot on the
ground to call for her maid.watchesStriking watches indicate the hour
and quarter-hour by means of hammers hitting bells or gongs. The watch rang,
announcing that it was 10 o'clock.sylphsylphs here are imagined as feminine spirits that
stand guard over young womenArielAriel, Belinda's guardian Sylph,
created the dream that she was having.beaua young man dressed up for the Queen's birthday, one of
highlights of the social calendar in this period.TokenFolklore that says that fairies and elves left
silver tokens in rings of dark coarse grass that were supposed to be where
fairies danced. The tokens were supposedly left for humans who were favored by
fairies. Pat Rogers attributes the use to Jonathan Swift's Dryades: Or, the
Nymphs Prophesy, although that probably comes from ancient folklore as well.
Rogers, Pat. "Faery Lore and The Rape of the Lock." Essays on Pope. Cambridge:
Cambridge UP, 1993. Print.militiafairy creatures, imagined here as soldierswingThe creatures are
always present (on the wing meaning in flight) in the places where London's
society is found.boxA ‘box’ in a
theatre or opera-house.ringRing - Charles I created a circular track called the
Ring in Hyde Park where members of the royal court could drive their carriages.
The park was opened to the public in 1637 and it soon became a fashionable
place to visit.equipageHere it refers to a carriage with
horses and attendants, but can also just mean carriage alone.chairtwo servants carrying
a woman in a sedan chairmoldThe fairy creatures
used to be beautiful women like Belinda.transitionPossibly death, or some (magical)
means by which they are transformed from their human selves in to the fairy
creatures.cards After the "transition" spoken of
earlier, a former coquette now turned into a sylph still can see and look at the cards
although she does not play.OmbreA trick-taking card game for three
people using forty cards. A game of ombre is played later on and is described
in detail in Canto III. It is almost certainly no coincidence that the word
ombre is archaic Spanish for "man"; Belinda is literally and figuratively
playing the game of man."ombre,sprightsDifferent kinds of women became transformed into different kinds of spirits. The fiery boisterous women became Salamanders.
The mild demure women became Nymphs. The prudish women became Gnomes. The
flirty girlish women became Sylphs.honourThat is, women's chastity only seems to
be governed by honour; it is really the intervention of the sylphs that sustains chastity.florioNot a reference to any specific
men. Florio, along with Damon, were common names used in early epic poetry to
refer to men in general, the way we use, Tom, Dick, and Harry, today. "The
aristocratic young men of the time were, like the ladies, lacking in any
serious purpose or morality. Florio and Damon are representatives of those
gallants and fops who vie with one another to capture the hearts of the
ladies.mainthe open seabillet-doux a love lettertoileta small dressing tableglassmirroraltarBelinda's "toilet" is likened to an
"altar" at which Belinda and her maid are now left to worship the priestess, or
Belinda's "heav'nly image" as mentioned two lines above this line. By this
point, it has become clear that the vanity nurtured by the Gnomes has set in,
leaving the mortal human beings to worship a new priestess, Belinda's
reflection.worldDuring the 18th century, Britain
became the dominant empire among European trading empires as it became the
first western nation to industrialize. During this time, merchants began
trading with both North America and the West Indies, where colonies had been
established. This granted Britain access to parts of the world and their
amenities that had previously been unbeknownst to them. The ability to interact
with far-off countries such as India and Arabia yielded new luxuries and a new
understanding of the world outside of Europe. The ability for Belinda to have
access to these luxuries further exemplifies her wealth.
spoil"Glitt'ring spoil" refers directly to the spoils of war, "valuables seized by
violence, especially in war," most likely as a result of the colonization of
these foreign lands in pursuit of broadening trade opportunities. casketa. A small box or chest for jewels,
letters, or other things of value, itself often of valuable material and richly
ornamented.gemsSince before recorded history,
India has been a leading source for precious gems, producing some of the finest
gemstones. ArabiaRefers to scented oils or perfumes
from the Arabian Peninsula or the middle east. as it is now known. They came in
elaborate and ornate containers and were very expensive.tortoiseHair combs made
from tortoise shell and ivory from elephant tusks.patches"a small disk of black silk attached
to the face, especially as worn by women in the 17th and 18th centuries for
adornment" (OED) This is essentially an artificial beauty mark. awfularmsArms: (n.) weapons
With the use of militaristic diction as seen in "puts in all its Arms", Pope
has Belinda preparing for battle just as Achilles prepared for the Trojan War in Homer's Iliad.Bettyher maid.Figure_2
etherialOf or relating to heaven, God, or
the gods; heavenly, celestial. Oxford English Dictionaryrivalthat is, BelindanymphsThe other women traveling with her (here not the nymphs
who are the protectors of her chastity).crossThe cross here is stripped of its Christian
meaning; it is Belinda who people are now worshippingnymphBelindaivoryIn likening Belinda's neck
to ivory, imported from Africa, the narrator again associates her beauty with the products of
emergent colonialism and global commerce.sprindgesa snare used for bird-catchingfinneyFinny, adj., "Provided with or
having fins; finned." The "Finny Prey> refers to fish, which are also caught
with a hair-like line, reiterating the comparison of beauty as a deadly trap.
"finny, adj.1." Oxford English Dictionarytresses" A plait or braid of the hair
of the head, usually of a woman. A long lock of hair (esp. that of a woman),
without any sense of its being plaited or braided; mostly in pl. tresses."
"tress, n." Oxford English DictionarysuccessThe "Success" of a "Lover's Toil"
in this era would be marriage.PhaebusVariant spelling of Phoebus, a
common name for Apollo, god of the sun. Oxford English Dictionarysword-knot"n. a ribbon or tassel tied to the
hilt of a sword (originating from the thong or lace with which the hilt was
fastened to the wrist, but later used chiefly as a mere ornament or badge)."
"sword-knot, n." Oxford English Dictionarybusk"A strip of wood, whalebone, steel,
or other rigid material attached vertically to the front section of a corset so
as to stiffen and support it." "busk, n.3." Oxford English Dictionarybilet-douxlove lettersprostrate"Of a person: lying with the face
to the ground, in token of submission or humility, as in adoration, worship, or
supplication; (hence more generally) lying stretched out on the ground,
typically with the face downwards. Freq. in predicative or quasi-adverbial use,
as in to fall prostrate, to lie prostrate, etc." Oxford English DictionaryPrize"The Prize" refers to Belinda's
lock of hair.Ear"Gave Ear" means that they
(the ambiguous supernatural entities) listened to the Baron.VesselThe "painted Vessel" refers to the
boat gliding across the river Thames, carrying Belinda to Hampton Court.zephyrs"The west wind, esp. as
personified, or the god of the west wind." Oxford English DictionaryDenizensThat is, the other sylphs.lucid"Bright, shining, luminous,
resplendent." Oxford English DictionaryTincture"A colouring matter, dye, pigment;
spec. a dye used as a cosmetic." Oxford English DictionaryDiesVariant spelling of "dyes."Pinions"A bird's wing; esp. (chiefly poet.
and rhetorical) the wing of a bird in flight. Also: the terminal segment of a
bird's wing, bearing the primary flight feathers." Oxford English Dictionary.Azurebright blueChiefThat is, Arial, who goes on to give a speech to the other spirits.orbsCelestial bodies not in a regular orbit, such as comets.BowRainbowglebeSoilFairYoung women, such as BelindaPowderFace-powdervernal"Of, pertaining or belonging to,
the springtime; appropriate to the spring; spring-like: Of weather, scenery,
etc." Oxford English DictionaryFlounce"An ornamental appendage to the
skirt of a lady's dress, consisting of a strip gathered and sewed on by its
upper edge around the skirt, and left hanging and waving.’ Oxford English DictionaryFurbelowVariant spelling of "furbelow: "A
piece of stuff pleated and puckered on a gown or petticoat; a flounce; the
pleated border of a petticoat or gown." Oxford English Dictionary.brightestThat is, Belinda.wrapt"Concealed, covered, hidden."
"wrapped, adj." Oxford English DictionaryDiana"An ancient Roman female divinity,
the moon-goddess, patroness of virginity and of hunting." Oxford English Dictionary "Diana's" law would be the law of chastity or virginity, so to break the law would be to have pre-marital sex.Brocade"A textile fabric woven with a
pattern of raised figures, originally in gold or silver." Oxford English DictionaryZephyrettaThe nymphs' names are invented,
each derived from a word related to the object entrusted to it. "Zephyretta,"
from "zypher" has care of the breeze-producing fan.Brillante"Brillante," from 'brilliant', is
entrusted with Belinda's shining earrings.Momentilla"Momentilla" is the nymph in
charge of the pocket-watch.Crispissa"Crispissa," from "crisp," has
charge of the two precise curls of hair.RibsWhalebone was used to form the ribs in women's corsets and skits.stopt"That is, stopped or blocked.Vials"A vessel of a small or moderate
size used for holding liquids; in later use spec., a small glass bottle" Oxford English Dictionarybodkin"A needle-like
instrument with a blunt knobbed point, having a large (as well as a small) eye,
for drawing tape or cord through a hem, loops, etc." Oxford English Dictionary.pomatums"An ointment for the skin or hair;
= pomade" "pomatum, n." Oxford English DictionarystyptickA "styptic" is a kind of medicine
used to contract organic tissue (for example, to stop a cut bleeding),
frequently made out of "alum," a type of mineral salt. Oxford English DictionaryIxion"Ixion, in Greek legend, murdered
his father-in-law and could find no one to purify him until Zeus did so. Ixion
abused his pardon by trying to seduce Zeus’s wife, Hera. Zeus, to punish him,
bound him on a fiery wheel, which rolled unceasingly through the air or,
according to the more common tradition, in the underworld." "Ixion | Greek
Mythology." Encyclopedia Britannica OnlineMillCompares being trapped in the
grinder of a coffee mill to the mythological figure Ixion, who was fixed to a
fire wheel spinning in the air of the underworld forever.SeaThis is referring to the hot coffee
in the grinder/pot.HeThat is, Arial, the leader of the spirits.NymphThat is, Belinda.thridThat is, the spirits "threaded" her hair.Figure_3
meadsThat is, meadows.Hampton
Hampton Court Palace, a royal palace on the banks of the Thames River, about twelve miles from central London. The palace was originally built by Cardinal Wolsey starting in 1514. He gave it to Henry VIII as a way of trying to get back in Henry's good graces, but it did not work; Wolsey was executed anyway for failing to get Henry the divorce he wanted. Henry built Hampton Court into an enormous royal palace. In the late 1600s, the great architect Christopher Wren built an enormous extension for William III. They tore down part of the earlier palace and added on in what was then the modern style, creating a large Baroque palace designed to emulate the Palace of Versailles in France, at that time the grandest royal palace in Europe. In the early part of the eighteenth century, when this poem takes place, Hampton Court was the most important royal palace in England, where the monarch usually lived, and courtiers like Belinda and the Baron would have flocked there to make their presence known at court. Image: Hampton Court Palace by Andreas Tille, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsAnne
Queen Anne (1665-1714), the last Stuart monarch of Great Britain. She took the throne upon the death of her father, William III in 1702. She died the year that the poem was published. [Image: Queen Anne, painted by Michael Dahl, around 1705 (National Portrait Gallery)].ombreOmbre was a popular three-player
card game similar to the modern game of Bridge. Each game can have nine rounds (“tricks”).
The most straightforward way to win is by taking five tricks (drawing the
highest-ranked card in each round), after which the game ends. The game begins
with an auction to decide the trump suit. The highest-bidding player is the
“ombre” (from the Spanish “hombre” for "man"), and the other two play against her while
trying to ensure their individual successes. The penalty enacted on each of the
two non-ombres is greater if the ombre wins than if the other non-ombre wins.
Similarly, the ombre will lose more if either of the two gains five tricks than
if no one has won five at the end of nine rounds. The game was popular among
the aristocratic class throughout Europe. The joke throughout is that Belinda is
in effect playing the game of "man," both on the card table and in life. The game as
it plays out over the next section of the poem is an entirely plausible game, with each
move following according to the actual rules of ombre. Belinda, for example, wins the starting auction
and becomes the "ombre" for duration of this game. See Alban George Henry Gibbs,
The Game of Ombre. London: privately printed, 1874, 3rd edition (expanded)
1902, upon which we rely in tracing the course of the game.matadoreThe matadores (spadillio, manillio,
and basto) are the three highest-ranking cards in the trump suit. The matadore would be
the ace of spades; the manillio card is the lowest ranking card in the trump suit (the suit would vary
from game to game, identified by the winner of the auction at the start), and the basto is the ace of clubs. Belinda
controls all three.Velvet_PlainThat is, the cloth covering
the three-sided card table on which Belinda and the two men are playing the game. The Kings, Queens, Jacks, and
other cards are imagined as being arranged like soldiers on a battlefieldForceBelinda’s starting
hand is made up of spadillio, manillio, basto: the king of spades, the king and
queen of hearts, and the 5 and 4 of diamonds. The Baron begins the game with
the king of clubs, the jack, 7, 5, and 3 of spades (the trump suit), the king,
queen, and jack of diamonds, and the ace of hearts. Belinda and the Baron both
have extremely strong hands, while the third character has no strong cards.TrumpsHaving won the "auction" at the start of the
game by outbidding the other two players, Belinda chooses the trump suit.SpadeBelinda quickly wins the first five rounds or
"tricks" of the game by playing her cards skilfully.BaronIn the following three stanzas, the Baron
begins to threaten Belinda’s winning streak. He wins tricks five through eight,
tying their scores. His first move is with the Queen of Spades.GlobeThe King of Clubs is often pictured
holding an orb, or globe.CodilleA "codille" would be a loss at the game, if the
Baron were to win the final trick. Belinda must either win trick nine, or hope that
the third player does, in order to avoid losing to the Baron.TrickA trick is a round. As explained
above, a game consists of nine tricks; whoever takes five wins the game. At this
point, with Belinda and the Baron tied with four tricks each, the game is down to
the final round.QueenThe Baron mourns that he has
already played a Queen that could win the round. He plays an Ace; Belinda counters
with a King (which in ombre outranks an Ace) and wins final trick and thus the game.BerriesCoffee beans, which are being ground in a
mill to make fresh coffee. Japan"Japan" was a style of wooden
furniture, highly polished and often decorated in a vaguely Asian style; hence the name. Japan-style
furtniture was expensive,
and therefore fashionable among wealthy people in Europe at this time.ScyllaNisus, king of Megara, was at war
against Crete, but it was decreed by fate that his kingdom would be safe as
long as a purple lock of hair remained on his head. His daughter Scylla fell in
love with the king of Crete, Minos, and cut off her father's purple lock to
give to him. Minos rejected the gift, and both Nisus and Scylla turned into
birds.NosegayA nosegay is a small flower bouquet, worn
like a corsage.ForfexLatin for scissors.AiryA reference to John Milton's
Paradise Lost, where Satan is injured in the war in heaven when a sword
"Passed through him, but th' Ethereal substance closed/ Not long divisible."
MonkeysIn eighteenth-century England, the
wealthy kept many kinds of pets, including monkeys. The lower classes sometimes
kept performing monkeys, which could earn them extra money.WreathsIn ancient Greece, laurel wreaths
were worn as a symbol of victory or honor.AtalantisSecret Memoirs and Manners of
Several Persons of Quality, of Both Sexes, from the New Atalantis, an Island in
the Mediterranean, published in 1709, was a scandalous but very popular work of fiction by Delarivier
Manley. With its salacious details of politicians' private lives, the story
satirizes the corruption of the aristocracy.Figure_4
n165According to the humours theory
of human psychology, which held sway from the middle ages into the early modern period,
a person's temperament was set by the mixture of various fluids--humours--in the body.
The spleen was thought to produce yellow bile, an excess of which would lead to depression.
So by analogy "the spleen" became shorthand for a state of depression, which Belinda
is experiencing in the wake of the theft of her lock of hair. Umbriel's journey through the Cave
of Spleen is analogous to the journeys, fraught with many perils, which Aeneas
(in Vergil's Aeneid) and Odysseus (Homer's Odyssey) made to the
underworld in those epics.DomeThat is, a domed building.Lampoon"Lampooning" in seventeenth and eighteenth
century England was a scathing form of satire that attacked a specific person's
appearance. It originates from the French word "lampons," which means "let's
drink," and Alexander Pope himself lampooned a fellow writer, Joseph Addison,
in his work "An Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot." The form fell into disuse soon after
this time but the term "lampoon" still refers to an insult directed at a
specific person or institution. Werlock, Abby H. P. The Facts on File Companion
to the American Short Story. 2nd ed. New York NY: Facts On File, 2010.
Print.SpiresspiralsElysianA reference to Elysium/Elysian
Fields/Elysian Plain of classical mythology, where mortals favored by the gods for their rectitude
were sent to dwell after they had departed from the land of the living. Elysium
was originally the exclusive province of the heroes who had acquired
immortality from the gods Elysian in the
context of this passage means like "paradise."Pipkin_According to Samuel Johnson's 1755 A pipkin is "A small earthen boiler." TripodThe automatons (or
"tripods"), twenty in all, fashioned with rivets and gold wheels by the lame
god Vulcan in his workshop so that they might be dispatched whenever the gods
congregated at Mt. Olympus, returning to the workshop afterwards to be at the
beck and call of Vulcan. From Book XVIII of Homer's Iliad.Goose-pyeGooseberry pieBranchThe branch of spleenwort, a humble fern,
is a parodic reference to the golden bough bore by Aeneas during his journey, accompanied by the Cumaean Sibyl,
through the underworld. Aeneas, having been guided by a pair of doves to a
place in a forest where the golden bough had been long obscured from the sight
of man, had plucked the golden bough in order to obtain safe passage through
the underworld. He and the Sibyl were ferried to the underworld across the
Acheron River. Spleenwort got its name because it was believed to have medicinal properties,
particularly in treating "spleen" or, in our terms, depression.PettAccording to Samuel Johnson's 1755
Dictionary, "pett" is "A slight
passion; a slight fit of anger."Citron-WatersBrandy based on citrus
wine.Horns"Horns" were associated with
being cuckolded.costiveConstipated.Bag In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus receives a bag of winds from Aeolus, the god of wind.ThalestrisThalestris was a
queen of the Amazons, the mythological race of warrior women.FuriesThree mythological goddesses
of revenge.IreIntense anger.paperIn this period, women used paper, often heated
and shaped with lead, to curl their hair.FilletsA headband, here being used
to shape a hairstyle.LeadLead was heated to curl women's hair.Fops"Fop" was a contemporary slang term for
man overly concerned with his outer appearance to the point that it bothers
other people. It originated in this context in seventeenth-century England to refer to
a generally foolish, effeminate man incapable of engaging in intellectual
conversation. In this line, the definition of a "fop" is exemplified by the
fact that they and ladies are both jealous of Belinda's hair.ToastThe term "toast" originated as a
term for a lady for whose health a group of people dedicated a drink, similar
to how people propose toasts today. This lady's name was seen as adding a
special flavor to the drink in question, similar in function to a spiced toast
that would have been a common feature in alcoholic drinks at the time. Oxford English Dictionary.CircusThe Ring-Road in Hyde Park, at this
time a fashionable area to take a carriage on a nice day to see and be seen
by those who could afford carriages.BellThe bells of St
Mary-le-Bow, a church which was located in the Cheapside district of London. This
was not a fashionable area; it was for a long time traditionally associated with
working-class Cockneys from the East End.Snuff-boxHigh society gentlemen of this time
generally stored their "snuff," or sniffing tobacco, in jeweled boxes
made from precious materials such as porcelain, ebony, and, in this case, amber. Sir Plume is very vain about his fancy snuff-box.CaneA walking stick, perhaps made of
glass or porcelain, and "clouded" in a decorative way.Z---ds"Zounds" is a euphemism for "by God's wounds,"
that is, the wounds that Jesus received when being nailed to the cross. That was
considered blasphemous, so "zounds" became a work-around. In context, a
mild expletive, like "damn."Pox"Pox" refers either to
small-pox or to venereal disease; here it is being used as an expletive without
so specific a meaning.LockThis passage may to a
passage from Homer (Iliad, book 23) in which Achilles cuts off a lock of his own hair to mourn and commemorate the death of Patroclus. Many of his men follow
suit and cut off locks of their own hair, and Achilles then cuts off
another lock of his hair that he had been growing for the river Spercheus to
make his trip home safer. This continues the trend throughout the poem of using
military conquest language to describe the event of cutting off a lock of
Belinda's hair.ChariotMay be a reference to the chariot
driven by Helios (whose identity was later subsumed into that of Apollo), the
god of the sun and a Titan, in order to mark the waxing and waning of daylight.
He was complemented by his sisters, Eos and Selene, who personified the Dawn
and the Moon, respectively. BoheaA black tea that originated in
China's Buyi hills, for which it is named, and was of relatively low quality.
(Oxford English DictionaryPatch-boxA small and rectangular (at times
oval) box with beauty patches, small pieces of class with a sticky side, which were worn by ladies of fashion during the eighteenth century for decorative purposes or to cover a blemish. A patch
box was bejeweled and made of gold, and could also be painted/enameled with
amorous scenes. A patch could have the appearance of a star, an animal, a
insect, a figure, a crescent, or a spot. The location of a patch also
contributed to its signification. "Patch Box." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
http://www.britannica.com/topic/patch-box.China"China" in this context refers to
porcelain dishes that came via trade routes from China. These trade routes
between China and England first began to flourish during the eighteenth century, and
many rich English citizens were obsessed with obtaining as many exotic
Chinese goods as they could to show off their wealth. Chinese porcelain was
much finer and of higher quality than anything that European makers could produce for
a few more decades. Chang, Elizabeth. "The
Chinese Taste in Eighteenth-Century England." Eighteenth-Century Fiction 25
(2012): 248-50. University of Toronto Press. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.PollShort for "Polly," surely the name of
a pet parrot owned by Belinda.Figure_5
JoveJove, also known as Jupiter, was
the king of the Roman gods. He is the roman equivalent to the Greek god Zeus. EarsThat is, the reason that the Baron cannot
hear Belinda's cries is because of the intervention of the gods Fate and Jove. Just as the gods
intervene in the lives of heroic characters from epic, here they interfere in the lives of
trivial British aristocrats.DidoIn the Aeneid by Virgil, Aeneas,
the lover of Dido, queen of Carthage, is told by Zeus he must leave Italy
because of fate. As a last effort Dido sends her sister Anna to persuade him
to stay in Italy, but she fails.WhalebonesWhalebone was used to stiffen women's clothing, such as corsets and hoop skirts.GodsHomer makes the gods fight in his
tales similar to the way Pope forces the characters in the poem to
fight.PallasAthena, the Goddess of WisdomMarsMars was the Roman god of war.LatonaIn Greek mythology, Latona was the mother of
Apollo and Diana and the mistress of Zeus.HermesHermes was the messenger god of Greek mythology, known as Mercury in Roman mythology. SconceA lantern with a handle and a shield, so that
you could carry the light around.sateThat is, perched. Pope adds in a footnote: "Minerva
in like manner, during the Battle of Ulysses with the Suitors in Odyss. perches
on a beam of the roof to behold it."BeauA dandy; a many perhaps overly concerned
with his appearanceWitlingSomeone who aspiring to become a wit (and probably failing at it.DapperwitA character in William Wycherley's 1671 play Love in a Wood.FoplingReference to Sir Fopling Flutter, a
character in George Etherege's 1677 play The Man of Mode.CamillaPope later added a footnote: "The Words of
a Song in the Opera of Camilla" Camilla was a popular opera, first
staged in London in 1706 and frequently revived after that. Unlike many operas of the
period, which were sung in Italian, this was in English, based on an Italian opera by Silvio
Stampiglio.Meanderin Greek Mythology, Meander was both
the name of a river god and for the river that was his home. "Meander" now is a general turn for a bend in a river, or to describe anything or anyone that takes a roundabout route to a destination.
PlumeThe name gives insight to the
character. A plume is an arrangement of feathers used by a bird for display or
worn by a person for ornament. Plume is also used as a verb 'to plume oneself'
synonymous to the action of preening at one's looks. Oxford English DictionarydoughtyBrave, capable, and determined,
also marked by fearless resolution. Oxford English DictionaryscalesJove, the head of the Roman system
of deities, is here responsible for putting the social order back into
balance, and is weighing the contending claims of the men and the women. These lines refer to
a moment in Homer's Iliad where Zeus had used scales to
balance the claims of Hector and Achilles and determined their fates.subsideJove weighs the battle in the men's
favor, but Belinda overcomes this by tossing snuff in the Baron's face.die"to die" is a common euphemism for orgasm. It was a common poetical term in the 16th and 17th centuries. Oxford English DictionarySnuffA fine-ground tobacco, intended for
consumption by being sniffed or snorted into the nose.AtomPope is referring to the ancient theory that
posited the "atom" as an infinitely small piece of matter that could not be further divided.ViragoA man-like, heroic woman. Oxford English Dictionaryn229Pope adds in a footnote: "In
imitation of the progress of Agamemnon's sceptre in Homer" Source: Pope,
Alexander, and Adolphus William Ward. The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope.
London: Macmillan, 1907. Print.seal-ringa finger ring bearing a seal;
signet ring. Oxford English DictionaryGrandamegrandmotherOthelloIn Shakespeare's Othello, the
titular character is tricked into believing his wife Desdemona has been unfaithful by his
ensign Iago. A key piece of evidence is Desdemona's handkerchief, which Iago has planted in the room of Othello's lieutenant, Cassio.Almsgifts of money extended as charityRibanda ribbonCasuistryThick books of meaningless
philosophy through the use of clever but unsound reasoning, especially in
relation to moral questions. Oxford English DictionaryPoeticThat is, Pope's eyes; he is the only person who can "see" what has happened, as the lock of hair has been transformed into a star in the sky. Buried here is the play on words: "coma," the Latin word for hair, is the root for "comet," celestial bodies that were so named because of the long hair-like trail that followed the main body. There is such a comet depicted in the upper-left hand corner of the plate that precedes this canto.RomeIn popular myth and legend, Rome was founded
by Romulus, who ruled for 37 years and then mysteriously disappeared, apparently taken
up to the heavens in a whirlwind. Proculus, a friend of Romulus,
swore that he saw Romulus ascending to heaven.BereniceBerenice II was the wife of Ptolemy
III, the Pharoah of Egypt in the third century BCE. The legend went that Berenice offered to cut off her hair as an offering to the goddess Aphrodite if Ptolemy would return safely home from a dangerous battle. After his safe return, she placed her hair in the temple. But the next morning, the hair had vanished. The court astronomy Conon suggested that the hair had been transformed into a constellation in the night sky, a star cluster that became (and is still) known as the "Coma Berenices," Latin for "Berenice's hair." Beau-mondeHigh society.Mall
A broad, tree-lined promenade in St. James's Park in London, where courtiers and other aristocrats would aim to see and be seen. [ Image: View of the Mall in Saint James, around 1710, by an unknown artist. National Gallery, Public Domain.]
RosamondaRosamonda's Pond was a body of
water in St. James's Park in London, on the site of what is now Buckingham Palace. The pond
was named for Rosamund Clifford, the semi-legendary mistress of Henry II in the twelfth century whose relationship with the king became a byword for doomed love affairs. In the eighteenth century, the Pond was apparently well known as a place for lovers to meet secretly.PartridgeJohn Partridge (1644-c.1714) an
astrologer known for publishing almanacs with (generally incorrect) yearly
predictions of deaths of notable individuals like the King of France (during a
time where France and England were at war).Eyesi.e., the telescope, developed by
Galileo GalileiLouis
Louis XIV (1638-1715), the King of France. He was for a long time the most powerful and feared ruler in Europe. But the threat that Louis and France posed to their neighbors was checked by the Treaty of Utrecht, signed in 1713, and he died the year after this poem was published. His "Fate," then, was very much up in the air at the time that Pope was writing. [Image: Portrait of Louis XIV by Hyacynthe Rigaud, 1701. Wikimedia CommonsMuseThe Muses are the nine Greek goddesses devoted to the arts; they are often imagined as a source of inspiration for a poet.
Alexander
Pope’s "The Rape of the Lock" is the most famous poem written in English in
the eighteenth century. Chances are, if a modern reader knows only one poem
from the period, this is the one. Which is a strange thing. The poem’s
subject matter is unusual, even unique: the cutting off of a lock of hair
from the head of a young woman and the aftermath of that event. And the poem
is written in a form, the heroic couplet, that is rarely used today. But
"The Rape of the Lock" has endured because it so fully captured, while also
satirizing, an image of a particular world, a world of aristocratic ease,
but also great anxiety. And it is also an astonishing accomplishment simply
as a poem. No poet of the eighteenth century used the heroic couplet more
deftly than Alexander Pope (depicted here in a contemporary painting by
Charles Jervis; National Portrait Gallery, London), and perhaps nowhere in
his career did he craft couplets and the larger units he built from
them—verse paragraphs, cantos, the entire poem itself—with greater verve and
delicacy.
The poem is based on a true story. At a party one day in 1710 or 1711,
Robert Petre, a young man from an aristocratic family, crept up behind
Arabella Fermor, a young woman also from a prosperous household, and cut off
a lock of her hair. Petre may have thought of this as an amusing, or even a
flirtatious prank, but she was angry, and the two families started snubbing
and sniping at each other. Years later, Pope described what happened next:
“The stealing of Miss Belle Fermor’s hair was taken too seriously, and
caused an estrangement between the two families, though they had lived long
in great friendship before. A common acquaintance and well-wisher to both
desired me to write a poem to make a jest of it, and laugh them together
again. It was in this view that I wrote my Rape of the Lock, which was well
received and had its effect in the two families.” The “common acquaintance”
was John Caryll, a friend of Pope’s who was also close to both the Fermor
and Petre families. Like all of them, Caryll was also a Catholic who faced
persecution in an era when the government of Britain continued to suspect
that Catholics were potentially a subversive force whose loyalties to the
Protestant monarchy could not be assured. And sometimes with reason; Caryll
was a Jacobite, a supporter of the exiled Pretender, the Stuart James III, then living in exile in France.
James continued to claim that he was the true king of Britain, and there were
Jacobites who called for the restoration of the Stuart monarchy until
the movement was finally defeated at the Battle of Culloden in Scotland in 1745. Caryll never
joined in any of the conspiracies that took place in the early part of the
century to restore the Stuart monarchy, but he did secretly give financial support to a Catholic
church in his neighborhood, which was itself illegal. Caryll may have felt that Catholics in Britain
had enough problems without feuding among themselves. Pope, who was at this
point starting work on a massive translation of Homer’s poem The Iliad, seems quickly to have seen the possibility
of re-imagining the incident in epic terms, creating what has been called a
“mock epic” for the way in which it uses the conventions of epic poetry to
describe what is by comparison a trivial event.
Pope’s memory of the happy outcome of the poem was, however, a little rose
colored from time. Pope wrote the first version of "The Rape of the Lock"
quickly—he said it took two weeks; he may have been exaggerating—and it then
circulated among the families and their friends in manuscript for a while.
That version of the poem, which was much shorter than the one that has
ultimately been most read, was published anonymously in 1712, and at this
point things got more complicated. As more and more people read the poem now
that it was in print, the double entendres and erotic implications of Pope’s
work became clearer, and Arabella Fermor—who had initially agreed with
letting the poem be printed—was embarrassed as friends started pointing out
to her where the dirty jokes were. Sir Charles Brown, the original for the
“Sir Plume” of the poem, was also angry at the way he was portrayed (as an
idiot). Pope went back to work, and over the course of the next couple of
years, added the elaborate “machinery” of the poem, the sylphs and fairies
that hover around the action, embedding the original story in a framework of
fantasy that deflects some of the agency of the central characters. (Robert
Petre’s response to the publication of the first version of the poem is, by
the way, unrecorded. Petre married Catherine Walsmeley in 1712, but he died
only a few months later from smallpox.) Pope included a letter of dedication
to Arabella Fermor that aimed to defuse some of her anger. That new edition,
handsomely printed with engravings accompanying each canto, was published as
a separate volume in 1714, and immediately became a best-seller, selling
around 3,000 copies in four days, which even now would be an extraordinary
total for any book, much less a poem in rhyming couplets. It has been
admired, critiqued, and argued with ever since. - [JOB]Heroi-ComicalPope is the inventor of
this term, which first appeared here at the opening of The
Rape of the Lock. He is indicating that he will emulate such epics as
Homer's Iliad or Milton's Paradise
Lost, but in a comic register. - [JOB]nomenThe full
quote, which comes from Book VIII of Ovid's Metamorphoses, should read, "Ciris et, a tonso est hoc nomen adepta
capillo": "She acquired the name from the cutting of the hair." Ovid's story,
first published in 8 CE, goes like this. Nisus was the King of Alcathous and he
had a lock of purple hair on his crown that (somehow) guaranteed the safety of his
kingdom. Scylla, his daughter, fell in love with King Minos, who was conquering
the kingdom, and in order to gain his favor, Scylla cut off the lock of her
father's hair. But, disgusted with her disloyalty, Minos left by ship. As
Scylla swam after Minos, King Nisos, having been transformed into a sea eagle,
attempted to drown her. Instead of drowning, Scylla was turned to a sea bird and
called Ciris, (i.e. "cutter"), being named after the lock that she cut off. See Ovid's
Metamorphoses, translated by Anthony S. Kline,
http://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph8.htm - [UVAstudstaff]ArabellaArabella Fermor
(1696-1737; image credit: Victoria and Albert Museum) was from a prominent Catholic family.
She came to public attention in an unwelcome way when Robert Petre, from another
prominent Catholic family, surreptitiously cut off a lock of her hair at a party.
He may have thought it was a good prank, but she was
(justifiably) angry, and the Fermor and Petre families (who may have been in
negotiations to marry the two), became estranged. John Caryll, a friend of Pope's
who was also Robert Petre's guardian, asked Pope to write about the incident in such a
way as to make a joke of it and smooth relations. The Rape of
the Lock is Pope's effort to heal the breach. He did not, however, ask
Arabella Fermor for her approval before publishing the first version of the poem
in 1712, and she was initially unhappy at the poem's double-entendre and the way
that it seemed to compare her situation to raped heroines of antiquity like Helen
of Troy or Lucrece. This letter, published with the much-enlarged 1714 edition of
the poem, can be read in part as Pope's attempt to mollify her. - [JOB]dedicatePope is probably referring to the
Latin epigraph that appeared with the first edition of the poem: "Nolueram,
Belinda, tuos violare capillos, / Sed juvat hoc precibus me tribuisse tuis," by
the Roman poet Martial, in his Epigrams xii, 84, translates as, "I was loathe,
Belinda, to violate your locks, but I am pleased to have granted that much to your
prayers." Pope is insinuating that Arabella Fermor asked for the poem to be
written. This was not the case.machineryRefers to the fairy-like creatures
in the poem: the sylphys, the nymphs, the gnomes, the salamanders. As he
explains in the next line, they are the portrayals of what we would call in the
real world, deities, angels or demons.RosicrucianThe Rosicrusians were an occult movement that emerged in the early seventeenth century in Europe. It was an odd combination of Christian mysticism and other kinds of esoteric teaching, such as the Kabbala, which comes out of the Jewish tradition. There were several Rosicrucian manifestos that laid out theories of mystical knowledge, and the movement had adherents and drew curious thinkers to it throughout Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Pope does not seem to have been a serious adherent, but is here using some of the supernatural apparatus associated with Rosicrucianism to frame his story.LadyIt seems unlikely that Pope is aware how unctuous and condescending he sounds here; or perhaps he is aware and does not mind. It's hard to say with Pope.GabalisThe Count of Gabala was written by Nicolas-Pierre-Henri of Montfaucon de Villars, a French cleric, and published in 1670. It is an odd book. In it, an anonymous narrator encounters the Comte de Gabalis, who teaches the narrator about the occult, including various beliefs associated with the Rosicrucians. The Count introduces such things as the Sylphs of the Air, the Undines of the Water, the Gnomes of the Earth and the Salamanders of Fire. It is entirely possible that de Villars is satirizing occult sciences, which had a vogue in seventeenth century Europe, as absurd or incompatible with orthodox religion. But it is hard to be sure; this may be an example of a satire that does not make its intentions clear enough.novel To an English reader
of 1714, the word "novel" still sounded like a French import, and it would have
denoted a short, perhaps slightly scandalous, love story. The novel was not
understood to be a serious genre, a form of literature. Any reading of a novel for
more than entertainment is a "mistake." Figure_1caryllJohn Caryll, the mutual friend of Pope and the two families involved in the dispute; he seems to have attempted to mediate between them, in part suggesting that Pope write this poem.BelindaThe heroine of the poem, inspired by
Arabella Fermor.SolSol is Latin for the Sun.ShockBelinda's lapdog.chocolateChocolate, served in this period only
as a drink, was enormously popular, especially among those who could afford it as well
as the sugar to cut the bitterness.slipperBelinda stomps her slippered foot on the
ground to call for her maid.watchesStriking watches indicate the hour
and quarter-hour by means of hammers hitting bells or gongs. The watch rang,
announcing that it was 10 o'clock.sylphsylphs here are imagined as feminine spirits that
stand guard over young womenArielAriel, Belinda's guardian Sylph,
created the dream that she was having.beaua young man dressed up for the Queen's birthday, one of
highlights of the social calendar in this period.TokenFolklore that says that fairies and elves left
silver tokens in rings of dark coarse grass that were supposed to be where
fairies danced. The tokens were supposedly left for humans who were favored by
fairies. Pat Rogers attributes the use to Jonathan Swift's Dryades: Or, the
Nymphs Prophesy, although that probably comes from ancient folklore as well.
Rogers, Pat. "Faery Lore and The Rape of the Lock." Essays on Pope. Cambridge:
Cambridge UP, 1993. Print.militiafairy creatures, imagined here as soldierswingThe creatures are
always present (on the wing meaning in flight) in the places where London's
society is found.boxA ‘box’ in a
theatre or opera-house.ringRing - Charles I created a circular track called the
Ring in Hyde Park where members of the royal court could drive their carriages.
The park was opened to the public in 1637 and it soon became a fashionable
place to visit.equipageHere it refers to a carriage with
horses and attendants, but can also just mean carriage alone.chairtwo servants carrying
a woman in a sedan chairmoldThe fairy creatures
used to be beautiful women like Belinda.transitionPossibly death, or some (magical)
means by which they are transformed from their human selves in to the fairy
creatures.cards After the "transition" spoken of
earlier, a former coquette now turned into a sylph still can see and look at the cards
although she does not play.OmbreA trick-taking card game for three
people using forty cards. A game of ombre is played later on and is described
in detail in Canto III. It is almost certainly no coincidence that the word
ombre is archaic Spanish for "man"; Belinda is literally and figuratively
playing the game of man."ombre,sprightsDifferent kinds of women became transformed into different kinds of spirits. The fiery boisterous women became Salamanders.
The mild demure women became Nymphs. The prudish women became Gnomes. The
flirty girlish women became Sylphs.honourThat is, women's chastity only seems to
be governed by honour; it is really the intervention of the sylphs that sustains chastity.florioNot a reference to any specific
men. Florio, along with Damon, were common names used in early epic poetry to
refer to men in general, the way we use, Tom, Dick, and Harry, today. "The
aristocratic young men of the time were, like the ladies, lacking in any
serious purpose or morality. Florio and Damon are representatives of those
gallants and fops who vie with one another to capture the hearts of the
ladies.mainthe open seabillet-doux a love lettertoileta small dressing tableglassmirroraltarBelinda's "toilet" is likened to an
"altar" at which Belinda and her maid are now left to worship the priestess, or
Belinda's "heav'nly image" as mentioned two lines above this line. By this
point, it has become clear that the vanity nurtured by the Gnomes has set in,
leaving the mortal human beings to worship a new priestess, Belinda's
reflection.worldDuring the 18th century, Britain
became the dominant empire among European trading empires as it became the
first western nation to industrialize. During this time, merchants began
trading with both North America and the West Indies, where colonies had been
established. This granted Britain access to parts of the world and their
amenities that had previously been unbeknownst to them. The ability to interact
with far-off countries such as India and Arabia yielded new luxuries and a new
understanding of the world outside of Europe. The ability for Belinda to have
access to these luxuries further exemplifies her wealth.
spoil"Glitt'ring spoil" refers directly to the spoils of war, "valuables seized by
violence, especially in war," most likely as a result of the colonization of
these foreign lands in pursuit of broadening trade opportunities. casketa. A small box or chest for jewels,
letters, or other things of value, itself often of valuable material and richly
ornamented.gemsSince before recorded history,
India has been a leading source for precious gems, producing some of the finest
gemstones. ArabiaRefers to scented oils or perfumes
from the Arabian Peninsula or the middle east. as it is now known. They came in
elaborate and ornate containers and were very expensive.tortoiseHair combs made
from tortoise shell and ivory from elephant tusks.patches"a small disk of black silk attached
to the face, especially as worn by women in the 17th and 18th centuries for
adornment" (OED) This is essentially an artificial beauty mark. awfularmsArms: (n.) weapons
With the use of militaristic diction as seen in "puts in all its Arms", Pope
has Belinda preparing for battle just as Achilles prepared for the Trojan War in Homer's Iliad.Bettyher maid.Figure_2etherialOf or relating to heaven, God, or
the gods; heavenly, celestial. Oxford English Dictionaryrivalthat is, BelindanymphsThe other women traveling with her (here not the nymphs
who are the protectors of her chastity).crossThe cross here is stripped of its Christian
meaning; it is Belinda who people are now worshippingnymphBelindaivoryIn likening Belinda's neck
to ivory, imported from Africa, the narrator again associates her beauty with the products of
emergent colonialism and global commerce.sprindgesa snare used for bird-catchingfinneyFinny, adj., "Provided with or
having fins; finned." The "Finny Prey> refers to fish, which are also caught
with a hair-like line, reiterating the comparison of beauty as a deadly trap.
"finny, adj.1." Oxford English Dictionarytresses" A plait or braid of the hair
of the head, usually of a woman. A long lock of hair (esp. that of a woman),
without any sense of its being plaited or braided; mostly in pl. tresses."
"tress, n." Oxford English DictionarysuccessThe "Success" of a "Lover's Toil"
in this era would be marriage.PhaebusVariant spelling of Phoebus, a
common name for Apollo, god of the sun. Oxford English Dictionarysword-knot"n. a ribbon or tassel tied to the
hilt of a sword (originating from the thong or lace with which the hilt was
fastened to the wrist, but later used chiefly as a mere ornament or badge)."
"sword-knot, n." Oxford English Dictionarybusk"A strip of wood, whalebone, steel,
or other rigid material attached vertically to the front section of a corset so
as to stiffen and support it." "busk, n.3." Oxford English Dictionarybilet-douxlove lettersprostrate"Of a person: lying with the face
to the ground, in token of submission or humility, as in adoration, worship, or
supplication; (hence more generally) lying stretched out on the ground,
typically with the face downwards. Freq. in predicative or quasi-adverbial use,
as in to fall prostrate, to lie prostrate, etc." Oxford English DictionaryPrize"The Prize" refers to Belinda's
lock of hair.Ear"Gave Ear" means that they
(the ambiguous supernatural entities) listened to the Baron.VesselThe "painted Vessel" refers to the
boat gliding across the river Thames, carrying Belinda to Hampton Court.zephyrs"The west wind, esp. as
personified, or the god of the west wind." Oxford English DictionaryDenizensThat is, the other sylphs.lucid"Bright, shining, luminous,
resplendent." Oxford English DictionaryTincture"A colouring matter, dye, pigment;
spec. a dye used as a cosmetic." Oxford English DictionaryDiesVariant spelling of "dyes."Pinions"A bird's wing; esp. (chiefly poet.
and rhetorical) the wing of a bird in flight. Also: the terminal segment of a
bird's wing, bearing the primary flight feathers." Oxford English Dictionary.Azurebright blueChiefThat is, Arial, who goes on to give a speech to the other spirits.orbsCelestial bodies not in a regular orbit, such as comets.BowRainbowglebeSoilFairYoung women, such as BelindaPowderFace-powdervernal"Of, pertaining or belonging to,
the springtime; appropriate to the spring; spring-like: Of weather, scenery,
etc." Oxford English DictionaryFlounce"An ornamental appendage to the
skirt of a lady's dress, consisting of a strip gathered and sewed on by its
upper edge around the skirt, and left hanging and waving.’ Oxford English DictionaryFurbelowVariant spelling of "furbelow: "A
piece of stuff pleated and puckered on a gown or petticoat; a flounce; the
pleated border of a petticoat or gown." Oxford English Dictionary.brightestThat is, Belinda.wrapt"Concealed, covered, hidden."
"wrapped, adj." Oxford English DictionaryDiana"An ancient Roman female divinity,
the moon-goddess, patroness of virginity and of hunting." Oxford English Dictionary "Diana's" law would be the law of chastity or virginity, so to break the law would be to have pre-marital sex.Brocade"A textile fabric woven with a
pattern of raised figures, originally in gold or silver." Oxford English DictionaryZephyrettaThe nymphs' names are invented,
each derived from a word related to the object entrusted to it. "Zephyretta,"
from "zypher" has care of the breeze-producing fan.Brillante"Brillante," from 'brilliant', is
entrusted with Belinda's shining earrings.Momentilla"Momentilla" is the nymph in
charge of the pocket-watch.Crispissa"Crispissa," from "crisp," has
charge of the two precise curls of hair.RibsWhalebone was used to form the ribs in women's corsets and skits.stopt"That is, stopped or blocked.Vials"A vessel of a small or moderate
size used for holding liquids; in later use spec., a small glass bottle" Oxford English Dictionarybodkin"A needle-like
instrument with a blunt knobbed point, having a large (as well as a small) eye,
for drawing tape or cord through a hem, loops, etc." Oxford English Dictionary.pomatums"An ointment for the skin or hair;
= pomade" "pomatum, n." Oxford English DictionarystyptickA "styptic" is a kind of medicine
used to contract organic tissue (for example, to stop a cut bleeding),
frequently made out of "alum," a type of mineral salt. Oxford English DictionaryIxion"Ixion, in Greek legend, murdered
his father-in-law and could find no one to purify him until Zeus did so. Ixion
abused his pardon by trying to seduce Zeus’s wife, Hera. Zeus, to punish him,
bound him on a fiery wheel, which rolled unceasingly through the air or,
according to the more common tradition, in the underworld." "Ixion | Greek
Mythology." Encyclopedia Britannica OnlineMillCompares being trapped in the
grinder of a coffee mill to the mythological figure Ixion, who was fixed to a
fire wheel spinning in the air of the underworld forever.SeaThis is referring to the hot coffee
in the grinder/pot.HeThat is, Arial, the leader of the spirits.NymphThat is, Belinda.thridThat is, the spirits "threaded" her hair.Figure_3meadsThat is, meadows.HamptonHampton Court Palace, a royal palace on the banks of the Thames River, about twelve miles from central London. The palace was originally built by Cardinal Wolsey starting in 1514. He gave it to Henry VIII as a way of trying to get back in Henry's good graces, but it did not work; Wolsey was executed anyway for failing to get Henry the divorce he wanted. Henry built Hampton Court into an enormous royal palace. In the late 1600s, the great architect Christopher Wren built an enormous extension for William III. They tore down part of the earlier palace and added on in what was then the modern style, creating a large Baroque palace designed to emulate the Palace of Versailles in France, at that time the grandest royal palace in Europe. In the early part of the eighteenth century, when this poem takes place, Hampton Court was the most important royal palace in England, where the monarch usually lived, and courtiers like Belinda and the Baron would have flocked there to make their presence known at court. Image: Hampton Court Palace by Andreas Tille, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsAnneQueen Anne (1665-1714), the last Stuart monarch of Great Britain. She took the throne upon the death of her father, William III in 1702. She died the year that the poem was published. [Image: Queen Anne, painted by Michael Dahl, around 1705 (National Portrait Gallery)].ombreOmbre was a popular three-player
card game similar to the modern game of Bridge. Each game can have nine rounds (“tricks”).
The most straightforward way to win is by taking five tricks (drawing the
highest-ranked card in each round), after which the game ends. The game begins
with an auction to decide the trump suit. The highest-bidding player is the
“ombre” (from the Spanish “hombre” for "man"), and the other two play against her while
trying to ensure their individual successes. The penalty enacted on each of the
two non-ombres is greater if the ombre wins than if the other non-ombre wins.
Similarly, the ombre will lose more if either of the two gains five tricks than
if no one has won five at the end of nine rounds. The game was popular among
the aristocratic class throughout Europe. The joke throughout is that Belinda is
in effect playing the game of "man," both on the card table and in life. The game as
it plays out over the next section of the poem is an entirely plausible game, with each
move following according to the actual rules of ombre. Belinda, for example, wins the starting auction
and becomes the "ombre" for duration of this game. See Alban George Henry Gibbs,
The Game of Ombre. London: privately printed, 1874, 3rd edition (expanded)
1902, upon which we rely in tracing the course of the game.matadoreThe matadores (spadillio, manillio,
and basto) are the three highest-ranking cards in the trump suit. The matadore would be
the ace of spades; the manillio card is the lowest ranking card in the trump suit (the suit would vary
from game to game, identified by the winner of the auction at the start), and the basto is the ace of clubs. Belinda
controls all three.Velvet_PlainThat is, the cloth covering
the three-sided card table on which Belinda and the two men are playing the game. The Kings, Queens, Jacks, and
other cards are imagined as being arranged like soldiers on a battlefieldForceBelinda’s starting
hand is made up of spadillio, manillio, basto: the king of spades, the king and
queen of hearts, and the 5 and 4 of diamonds. The Baron begins the game with
the king of clubs, the jack, 7, 5, and 3 of spades (the trump suit), the king,
queen, and jack of diamonds, and the ace of hearts. Belinda and the Baron both
have extremely strong hands, while the third character has no strong cards.TrumpsHaving won the "auction" at the start of the
game by outbidding the other two players, Belinda chooses the trump suit.SpadeBelinda quickly wins the first five rounds or
"tricks" of the game by playing her cards skilfully.BaronIn the following three stanzas, the Baron
begins to threaten Belinda’s winning streak. He wins tricks five through eight,
tying their scores. His first move is with the Queen of Spades.GlobeThe King of Clubs is often pictured
holding an orb, or globe.CodilleA "codille" would be a loss at the game, if the
Baron were to win the final trick. Belinda must either win trick nine, or hope that
the third player does, in order to avoid losing to the Baron.TrickA trick is a round. As explained
above, a game consists of nine tricks; whoever takes five wins the game. At this
point, with Belinda and the Baron tied with four tricks each, the game is down to
the final round.QueenThe Baron mourns that he has
already played a Queen that could win the round. He plays an Ace; Belinda counters
with a King (which in ombre outranks an Ace) and wins final trick and thus the game.BerriesCoffee beans, which are being ground in a
mill to make fresh coffee. Japan"Japan" was a style of wooden
furniture, highly polished and often decorated in a vaguely Asian style; hence the name. Japan-style
furtniture was expensive,
and therefore fashionable among wealthy people in Europe at this time.ScyllaNisus, king of Megara, was at war
against Crete, but it was decreed by fate that his kingdom would be safe as
long as a purple lock of hair remained on his head. His daughter Scylla fell in
love with the king of Crete, Minos, and cut off her father's purple lock to
give to him. Minos rejected the gift, and both Nisus and Scylla turned into
birds.NosegayA nosegay is a small flower bouquet, worn
like a corsage.ForfexLatin for scissors.AiryA reference to John Milton's
Paradise Lost, where Satan is injured in the war in heaven when a sword
"Passed through him, but th' Ethereal substance closed/ Not long divisible."
MonkeysIn eighteenth-century England, the
wealthy kept many kinds of pets, including monkeys. The lower classes sometimes
kept performing monkeys, which could earn them extra money.WreathsIn ancient Greece, laurel wreaths
were worn as a symbol of victory or honor.AtalantisSecret Memoirs and Manners of
Several Persons of Quality, of Both Sexes, from the New Atalantis, an Island in
the Mediterranean, published in 1709, was a scandalous but very popular work of fiction by Delarivier
Manley. With its salacious details of politicians' private lives, the story
satirizes the corruption of the aristocracy.Figure_4n165According to the humours theory
of human psychology, which held sway from the middle ages into the early modern period,
a person's temperament was set by the mixture of various fluids--humours--in the body.
The spleen was thought to produce yellow bile, an excess of which would lead to depression.
So by analogy "the spleen" became shorthand for a state of depression, which Belinda
is experiencing in the wake of the theft of her lock of hair. Umbriel's journey through the Cave
of Spleen is analogous to the journeys, fraught with many perils, which Aeneas
(in Vergil's Aeneid) and Odysseus (Homer's Odyssey) made to the
underworld in those epics.DomeThat is, a domed building.Lampoon"Lampooning" in seventeenth and eighteenth
century England was a scathing form of satire that attacked a specific person's
appearance. It originates from the French word "lampons," which means "let's
drink," and Alexander Pope himself lampooned a fellow writer, Joseph Addison,
in his work "An Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot." The form fell into disuse soon after
this time but the term "lampoon" still refers to an insult directed at a
specific person or institution. Werlock, Abby H. P. The Facts on File Companion
to the American Short Story. 2nd ed. New York NY: Facts On File, 2010.
Print.SpiresspiralsElysianA reference to Elysium/Elysian
Fields/Elysian Plain of classical mythology, where mortals favored by the gods for their rectitude
were sent to dwell after they had departed from the land of the living. Elysium
was originally the exclusive province of the heroes who had acquired
immortality from the gods Elysian in the
context of this passage means like "paradise."Pipkin_According to Samuel Johnson's 1755 A pipkin is "A small earthen boiler." TripodThe automatons (or
"tripods"), twenty in all, fashioned with rivets and gold wheels by the lame
god Vulcan in his workshop so that they might be dispatched whenever the gods
congregated at Mt. Olympus, returning to the workshop afterwards to be at the
beck and call of Vulcan. From Book XVIII of Homer's Iliad.Goose-pyeGooseberry pieBranchThe branch of spleenwort, a humble fern,
is a parodic reference to the golden bough bore by Aeneas during his journey, accompanied by the Cumaean Sibyl,
through the underworld. Aeneas, having been guided by a pair of doves to a
place in a forest where the golden bough had been long obscured from the sight
of man, had plucked the golden bough in order to obtain safe passage through
the underworld. He and the Sibyl were ferried to the underworld across the
Acheron River. Spleenwort got its name because it was believed to have medicinal properties,
particularly in treating "spleen" or, in our terms, depression.PettAccording to Samuel Johnson's 1755
Dictionary, "pett" is "A slight
passion; a slight fit of anger."Citron-WatersBrandy based on citrus
wine.Horns"Horns" were associated with
being cuckolded.costiveConstipated.Bag In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus receives a bag of winds from Aeolus, the god of wind.ThalestrisThalestris was a
queen of the Amazons, the mythological race of warrior women.FuriesThree mythological goddesses
of revenge.IreIntense anger.paperIn this period, women used paper, often heated
and shaped with lead, to curl their hair.FilletsA headband, here being used
to shape a hairstyle.LeadLead was heated to curl women's hair.Fops"Fop" was a contemporary slang term for
man overly concerned with his outer appearance to the point that it bothers
other people. It originated in this context in seventeenth-century England to refer to
a generally foolish, effeminate man incapable of engaging in intellectual
conversation. In this line, the definition of a "fop" is exemplified by the
fact that they and ladies are both jealous of Belinda's hair.ToastThe term "toast" originated as a
term for a lady for whose health a group of people dedicated a drink, similar
to how people propose toasts today. This lady's name was seen as adding a
special flavor to the drink in question, similar in function to a spiced toast
that would have been a common feature in alcoholic drinks at the time. Oxford English Dictionary.CircusThe Ring-Road in Hyde Park, at this
time a fashionable area to take a carriage on a nice day to see and be seen
by those who could afford carriages.BellThe bells of St
Mary-le-Bow, a church which was located in the Cheapside district of London. This
was not a fashionable area; it was for a long time traditionally associated with
working-class Cockneys from the East End.Snuff-boxHigh society gentlemen of this time
generally stored their "snuff," or sniffing tobacco, in jeweled boxes
made from precious materials such as porcelain, ebony, and, in this case, amber. Sir Plume is very vain about his fancy snuff-box.CaneA walking stick, perhaps made of
glass or porcelain, and "clouded" in a decorative way.Z---ds"Zounds" is a euphemism for "by God's wounds,"
that is, the wounds that Jesus received when being nailed to the cross. That was
considered blasphemous, so "zounds" became a work-around. In context, a
mild expletive, like "damn."Pox"Pox" refers either to
small-pox or to venereal disease; here it is being used as an expletive without
so specific a meaning.LockThis passage may to a
passage from Homer (Iliad, book 23) in which Achilles cuts off a lock of his own hair to mourn and commemorate the death of Patroclus. Many of his men follow
suit and cut off locks of their own hair, and Achilles then cuts off
another lock of his hair that he had been growing for the river Spercheus to
make his trip home safer. This continues the trend throughout the poem of using
military conquest language to describe the event of cutting off a lock of
Belinda's hair.ChariotMay be a reference to the chariot
driven by Helios (whose identity was later subsumed into that of Apollo), the
god of the sun and a Titan, in order to mark the waxing and waning of daylight.
He was complemented by his sisters, Eos and Selene, who personified the Dawn
and the Moon, respectively. BoheaA black tea that originated in
China's Buyi hills, for which it is named, and was of relatively low quality.
(Oxford English DictionaryPatch-boxA small and rectangular (at times
oval) box with beauty patches, small pieces of class with a sticky side, which were worn by ladies of fashion during the eighteenth century for decorative purposes or to cover a blemish. A patch
box was bejeweled and made of gold, and could also be painted/enameled with
amorous scenes. A patch could have the appearance of a star, an animal, a
insect, a figure, a crescent, or a spot. The location of a patch also
contributed to its signification. "Patch Box." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
http://www.britannica.com/topic/patch-box.China"China" in this context refers to
porcelain dishes that came via trade routes from China. These trade routes
between China and England first began to flourish during the eighteenth century, and
many rich English citizens were obsessed with obtaining as many exotic
Chinese goods as they could to show off their wealth. Chinese porcelain was
much finer and of higher quality than anything that European makers could produce for
a few more decades. Chang, Elizabeth. "The
Chinese Taste in Eighteenth-Century England." Eighteenth-Century Fiction 25
(2012): 248-50. University of Toronto Press. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.PollShort for "Polly," surely the name of
a pet parrot owned by Belinda.Figure_5JoveJove, also known as Jupiter, was
the king of the Roman gods. He is the roman equivalent to the Greek god Zeus. EarsThat is, the reason that the Baron cannot
hear Belinda's cries is because of the intervention of the gods Fate and Jove. Just as the gods
intervene in the lives of heroic characters from epic, here they interfere in the lives of
trivial British aristocrats.DidoIn the Aeneid by Virgil, Aeneas,
the lover of Dido, queen of Carthage, is told by Zeus he must leave Italy
because of fate. As a last effort Dido sends her sister Anna to persuade him
to stay in Italy, but she fails.WhalebonesWhalebone was used to stiffen women's clothing, such as corsets and hoop skirts.GodsHomer makes the gods fight in his
tales similar to the way Pope forces the characters in the poem to
fight.PallasAthena, the Goddess of WisdomMarsMars was the Roman god of war.LatonaIn Greek mythology, Latona was the mother of
Apollo and Diana and the mistress of Zeus.HermesHermes was the messenger god of Greek mythology, known as Mercury in Roman mythology. SconceA lantern with a handle and a shield, so that
you could carry the light around.sateThat is, perched. Pope adds in a footnote: "Minerva
in like manner, during the Battle of Ulysses with the Suitors in Odyss. perches
on a beam of the roof to behold it."BeauA dandy; a many perhaps overly concerned
with his appearanceWitlingSomeone who aspiring to become a wit (and probably failing at it.DapperwitA character in William Wycherley's 1671 play Love in a Wood.FoplingReference to Sir Fopling Flutter, a
character in George Etherege's 1677 play The Man of Mode.CamillaPope later added a footnote: "The Words of
a Song in the Opera of Camilla" Camilla was a popular opera, first
staged in London in 1706 and frequently revived after that. Unlike many operas of the
period, which were sung in Italian, this was in English, based on an Italian opera by Silvio
Stampiglio.Meanderin Greek Mythology, Meander was both
the name of a river god and for the river that was his home. "Meander" now is a general turn for a bend in a river, or to describe anything or anyone that takes a roundabout route to a destination.
PlumeThe name gives insight to the
character. A plume is an arrangement of feathers used by a bird for display or
worn by a person for ornament. Plume is also used as a verb 'to plume oneself'
synonymous to the action of preening at one's looks. Oxford English DictionarydoughtyBrave, capable, and determined,
also marked by fearless resolution. Oxford English DictionaryscalesJove, the head of the Roman system
of deities, is here responsible for putting the social order back into
balance, and is weighing the contending claims of the men and the women. These lines refer to
a moment in Homer's Iliad where Zeus had used scales to
balance the claims of Hector and Achilles and determined their fates.subsideJove weighs the battle in the men's
favor, but Belinda overcomes this by tossing snuff in the Baron's face.die"to die" is a common euphemism for orgasm. It was a common poetical term in the 16th and 17th centuries. Oxford English DictionarySnuffA fine-ground tobacco, intended for
consumption by being sniffed or snorted into the nose.AtomPope is referring to the ancient theory that
posited the "atom" as an infinitely small piece of matter that could not be further divided.ViragoA man-like, heroic woman. Oxford English Dictionaryn229Pope adds in a footnote: "In
imitation of the progress of Agamemnon's sceptre in Homer" Source: Pope,
Alexander, and Adolphus William Ward. The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope.
London: Macmillan, 1907. Print.seal-ringa finger ring bearing a seal;
signet ring. Oxford English DictionaryGrandamegrandmotherOthelloIn Shakespeare's Othello, the
titular character is tricked into believing his wife Desdemona has been unfaithful by his
ensign Iago. A key piece of evidence is Desdemona's handkerchief, which Iago has planted in the room of Othello's lieutenant, Cassio.Almsgifts of money extended as charityRibanda ribbonCasuistryThick books of meaningless
philosophy through the use of clever but unsound reasoning, especially in
relation to moral questions. Oxford English DictionaryPoeticThat is, Pope's eyes; he is the only person who can "see" what has happened, as the lock of hair has been transformed into a star in the sky. Buried here is the play on words: "coma," the Latin word for hair, is the root for "comet," celestial bodies that were so named because of the long hair-like trail that followed the main body. There is such a comet depicted in the upper-left hand corner of the plate that precedes this canto.RomeIn popular myth and legend, Rome was founded
by Romulus, who ruled for 37 years and then mysteriously disappeared, apparently taken
up to the heavens in a whirlwind. Proculus, a friend of Romulus,
swore that he saw Romulus ascending to heaven.BereniceBerenice II was the wife of Ptolemy
III, the Pharoah of Egypt in the third century BCE. The legend went that Berenice offered to cut off her hair as an offering to the goddess Aphrodite if Ptolemy would return safely home from a dangerous battle. After his safe return, she placed her hair in the temple. But the next morning, the hair had vanished. The court astronomy Conon suggested that the hair had been transformed into a constellation in the night sky, a star cluster that became (and is still) known as the "Coma Berenices," Latin for "Berenice's hair." Beau-mondeHigh society.Mall A broad, tree-lined promenade in St. James's Park in London, where courtiers and other aristocrats would aim to see and be seen. [ Image: View of the Mall in Saint James, around 1710, by an unknown artist. National Gallery, Public Domain.]
RosamondaRosamonda's Pond was a body of
water in St. James's Park in London, on the site of what is now Buckingham Palace. The pond
was named for Rosamund Clifford, the semi-legendary mistress of Henry II in the twelfth century whose relationship with the king became a byword for doomed love affairs. In the eighteenth century, the Pond was apparently well known as a place for lovers to meet secretly.PartridgeJohn Partridge (1644-c.1714) an
astrologer known for publishing almanacs with (generally incorrect) yearly
predictions of deaths of notable individuals like the King of France (during a
time where France and England were at war).Eyesi.e., the telescope, developed by
Galileo GalileiLouisLouis XIV (1638-1715), the King of France. He was for a long time the most powerful and feared ruler in Europe. But the threat that Louis and France posed to their neighbors was checked by the Treaty of Utrecht, signed in 1713, and he died the year after this poem was published. His "Fate," then, was very much up in the air at the time that Pope was writing. [Image: Portrait of Louis XIV by Hyacynthe Rigaud, 1701. Wikimedia CommonsMuseThe Muses are the nine Greek goddesses devoted to the arts; they are often imagined as a source of inspiration for a poet.[Frontispiece]
Frontispiecefrontispiece frontispieceThe frontispiece was
designed by Louis du Guernier (1677-1716) a well-known illustrator of the period; he
also designed the images that appear before each of the five cantos. They were
engraved by Claude du Bosc (1682-1745?); both men had been born in France but moved
to London, probably in pursuit of the good opportunities for skilled engravers in the
London book trade, and worked together on a number of projects for London patrons and
booksellers in these years. Illustrations as detailed as these were very
time-consuming and therefore expensive to produce, and the presence of six
custom-engraved images was a sign that Pope and his publisher Bernard Lintot were
trying to create a particularly impressive and beautiful object. Pope, who was a
talented amateur painter in his own right, almost certainly had a role in designing
the images, although we do not know exactly how he participated. The frontispiece is
a composite of major events in the poem to follow. The "sylphs," spirits of vanity
and erotic desire, float around Belinda, the heroine of the poem, as she puts on her
makeup; they also drop playing cards, alluding to the card game in Canto III, and
point to the shooting star that ascends at the end of Canto V. In the front lower
right of the image, a satyr, with pointed ears and cloven hoofs, holds the kind of
mask that women in the period sometimes wore in public; like many authors in the
period, Pope is playing on the homophone between "satyr," the sexually-aggressive
half-human, half-animals of Greek mythology, and "satire," the literary form of which
"The Rape of the Lock" is an example. Behind the characters is the facade of Hampton
Court Palace, the royal home down the Thames from London where much of the action of
the poem takes place. Pope clearly intended the images and the poem to be read
together, a feature that is not possible in most modern reproductions of the poem,
which rely on the poetic text alone. - [JOB]
![Page [Frontispiece]](https://anthologyassetsdev.lib.virginia.edu/pope-rape-lock/PageImages/Pope-RL:frontispiece.jpg)
Page [Frontispiece]Footnotes
frontispiece_The frontispiece was
designed by Louis du Guernier (1677-1716) a well-known illustrator of the period; he
also designed the images that appear before each of the five cantos. They were
engraved by Claude du Bosc (1682-1745?); both men had been born in France but moved
to London, probably in pursuit of the good opportunities for skilled engravers in the
London book trade, and worked together on a number of projects for London patrons and
booksellers in these years. Illustrations as detailed as these were very
time-consuming and therefore expensive to produce, and the presence of six
custom-engraved images was a sign that Pope and his publisher Bernard Lintot were
trying to create a particularly impressive and beautiful object. Pope, who was a
talented amateur painter in his own right, almost certainly had a role in designing
the images, although we do not know exactly how he participated. The frontispiece is
a composite of major events in the poem to follow. The "sylphs," spirits of vanity
and erotic desire, float around Belinda, the heroine of the poem, as she puts on her
makeup; they also drop playing cards, alluding to the card game in Canto III, and
point to the shooting star that ascends at the end of Canto V. In the front lower
right of the image, a satyr, with pointed ears and cloven hoofs, holds the kind of
mask that women in the period sometimes wore in public; like many authors in the
period, Pope is playing on the homophone between "satyr," the sexually-aggressive
half-human, half-animals of Greek mythology, and "satire," the literary form of which
"The Rape of the Lock" is an example. Behind the characters is the facade of Hampton
Court Palace, the royal home down the Thames from London where much of the action of
the poem takes place. Pope clearly intended the images and the poem to be read
together, a feature that is not possible in most modern reproductions of the poem,
which rely on the poetic text alone.
title_Alexander
Pope’s "The Rape of the Lock" is the most famous poem written in English in
the eighteenth century. Chances are, if a modern reader knows only one poem
from the period, this is the one. Which is a strange thing. The poem’s
subject matter is unusual, even unique: the cutting off of a lock of hair
from the head of a young woman and the aftermath of that event. And the poem
is written in a form, the heroic couplet, that is rarely used today. But
"The Rape of the Lock" has endured because it so fully captured, while also
satirizing, an image of a particular world, a world of aristocratic ease,
but also great anxiety. And it is also an astonishing accomplishment simply
as a poem. No poet of the eighteenth century used the heroic couplet more
deftly than Alexander Pope (depicted here in a contemporary painting by
Charles Jervis; National Portrait Gallery, London), and perhaps nowhere in
his career did he craft couplets and the larger units he built from
them—verse paragraphs, cantos, the entire poem itself—with greater verve and
delicacy.
The poem is based on a true story. At a party one day in 1710 or 1711,
Robert Petre, a young man from an aristocratic family, crept up behind
Arabella Fermor, a young woman also from a prosperous household, and cut off
a lock of her hair. Petre may have thought of this as an amusing, or even a
flirtatious prank, but she was angry, and the two families started snubbing
and sniping at each other. Years later, Pope described what happened next:
“The stealing of Miss Belle Fermor’s hair was taken too seriously, and
caused an estrangement between the two families, though they had lived long
in great friendship before. A common acquaintance and well-wisher to both
desired me to write a poem to make a jest of it, and laugh them together
again. It was in this view that I wrote my Rape of the Lock, which was well
received and had its effect in the two families.” The “common acquaintance”
was John Caryll, a friend of Pope’s who was also close to both the Fermor
and Petre families. Like all of them, Caryll was also a Catholic who faced
persecution in an era when the government of Britain continued to suspect
that Catholics were potentially a subversive force whose loyalties to the
Protestant monarchy could not be assured. And sometimes with reason; Caryll
was a Jacobite, a supporter of the exiled Pretender, the Stuart James III, then living in exile in France.
James continued to claim that he was the true king of Britain, and there were
Jacobites who called for the restoration of the Stuart monarchy until
the movement was finally defeated at the Battle of Culloden in Scotland in 1745. Caryll never
joined in any of the conspiracies that took place in the early part of the
century to restore the Stuart monarchy, but he did secretly give financial support to a Catholic
church in his neighborhood, which was itself illegal. Caryll may have felt that Catholics in Britain
had enough problems without feuding among themselves. Pope, who was at this
point starting work on a massive translation of Homer’s poem The Iliad, seems quickly to have seen the possibility
of re-imagining the incident in epic terms, creating what has been called a
“mock epic” for the way in which it uses the conventions of epic poetry to
describe what is by comparison a trivial event.
Pope’s memory of the happy outcome of the poem was, however, a little rose
colored from time. Pope wrote the first version of "The Rape of the Lock"
quickly—he said it took two weeks; he may have been exaggerating—and it then
circulated among the families and their friends in manuscript for a while.
That version of the poem, which was much shorter than the one that has
ultimately been most read, was published anonymously in 1712, and at this
point things got more complicated. As more and more people read the poem now
that it was in print, the double entendres and erotic implications of Pope’s
work became clearer, and Arabella Fermor—who had initially agreed with
letting the poem be printed—was embarrassed as friends started pointing out
to her where the dirty jokes were. Sir Charles Brown, the original for the
“Sir Plume” of the poem, was also angry at the way he was portrayed (as an
idiot). Pope went back to work, and over the course of the next couple of
years, added the elaborate “machinery” of the poem, the sylphs and fairies
that hover around the action, embedding the original story in a framework of
fantasy that deflects some of the agency of the central characters. (Robert
Petre’s response to the publication of the first version of the poem is, by
the way, unrecorded. Petre married Catherine Walsmeley in 1712, but he died
only a few months later from smallpox.) Pope included a letter of dedication
to Arabella Fermor that aimed to defuse some of her anger. That new edition,
handsomely printed with engravings accompanying each canto, was published as
a separate volume in 1714, and immediately became a best-seller, selling
around 3,000 copies in four days, which even now would be an extraordinary
total for any book, much less a poem in rhyming couplets. It has been
admired, critiqued, and argued with ever since.
Alexander
Pope’s "The Rape of the Lock" is the most famous poem written in English in
the eighteenth century. Chances are, if a modern reader knows only one poem
from the period, this is the one. Which is a strange thing. The poem’s
subject matter is unusual, even unique: the cutting off of a lock of hair
from the head of a young woman and the aftermath of that event. And the poem
is written in a form, the heroic couplet, that is rarely used today. But
"The Rape of the Lock" has endured because it so fully captured, while also
satirizing, an image of a particular world, a world of aristocratic ease,
but also great anxiety. And it is also an astonishing accomplishment simply
as a poem. No poet of the eighteenth century used the heroic couplet more
deftly than Alexander Pope (depicted here in a contemporary painting by
Charles Jervis; National Portrait Gallery, London), and perhaps nowhere in
his career did he craft couplets and the larger units he built from
them—verse paragraphs, cantos, the entire poem itself—with greater verve and
delicacy.
The poem is based on a true story. At a party one day in 1710 or 1711,
Robert Petre, a young man from an aristocratic family, crept up behind
Arabella Fermor, a young woman also from a prosperous household, and cut off
a lock of her hair. Petre may have thought of this as an amusing, or even a
flirtatious prank, but she was angry, and the two families started snubbing
and sniping at each other. Years later, Pope described what happened next:
“The stealing of Miss Belle Fermor’s hair was taken too seriously, and
caused an estrangement between the two families, though they had lived long
in great friendship before. A common acquaintance and well-wisher to both
desired me to write a poem to make a jest of it, and laugh them together
again. It was in this view that I wrote my Rape of the Lock, which was well
received and had its effect in the two families.” The “common acquaintance”
was John Caryll, a friend of Pope’s who was also close to both the Fermor
and Petre families. Like all of them, Caryll was also a Catholic who faced
persecution in an era when the government of Britain continued to suspect
that Catholics were potentially a subversive force whose loyalties to the
Protestant monarchy could not be assured. And sometimes with reason; Caryll
was a Jacobite, a supporter of the exiled Pretender, the Stuart James III, then living in exile in France.
James continued to claim that he was the true king of Britain, and there were
Jacobites who called for the restoration of the Stuart monarchy until
the movement was finally defeated at the Battle of Culloden in Scotland in 1745. Caryll never
joined in any of the conspiracies that took place in the early part of the
century to restore the Stuart monarchy, but he did secretly give financial support to a Catholic
church in his neighborhood, which was itself illegal. Caryll may have felt that Catholics in Britain
had enough problems without feuding among themselves. Pope, who was at this
point starting work on a massive translation of Homer’s poem The Iliad, seems quickly to have seen the possibility
of re-imagining the incident in epic terms, creating what has been called a
“mock epic” for the way in which it uses the conventions of epic poetry to
describe what is by comparison a trivial event.
Pope’s memory of the happy outcome of the poem was, however, a little rose
colored from time. Pope wrote the first version of "The Rape of the Lock"
quickly—he said it took two weeks; he may have been exaggerating—and it then
circulated among the families and their friends in manuscript for a while.
That version of the poem, which was much shorter than the one that has
ultimately been most read, was published anonymously in 1712, and at this
point things got more complicated. As more and more people read the poem now
that it was in print, the double entendres and erotic implications of Pope’s
work became clearer, and Arabella Fermor—who had initially agreed with
letting the poem be printed—was embarrassed as friends started pointing out
to her where the dirty jokes were. Sir Charles Brown, the original for the
“Sir Plume” of the poem, was also angry at the way he was portrayed (as an
idiot). Pope went back to work, and over the course of the next couple of
years, added the elaborate “machinery” of the poem, the sylphs and fairies
that hover around the action, embedding the original story in a framework of
fantasy that deflects some of the agency of the central characters. (Robert
Petre’s response to the publication of the first version of the poem is, by
the way, unrecorded. Petre married Catherine Walsmeley in 1712, but he died
only a few months later from smallpox.) Pope included a letter of dedication
to Arabella Fermor that aimed to defuse some of her anger. That new edition,
handsomely printed with engravings accompanying each canto, was published as
a separate volume in 1714, and immediately became a best-seller, selling
around 3,000 copies in four days, which even now would be an extraordinary
total for any book, much less a poem in rhyming couplets. It has been
admired, critiqued, and argued with ever since.Heroi-Comical_Pope is the inventor of
this term, which first appeared here at the opening of The
Rape of the Lock. He is indicating that he will emulate such epics as
Homer's Iliad or Milton's Paradise
Lost, but in a comic register.
nomen_The full
quote, which comes from Book VIII of Ovid's Metamorphoses, should read, "Ciris et, a tonso est hoc nomen adepta
capillo": "She acquired the name from the cutting of the hair." Ovid's story,
first published in 8 CE, goes like this. Nisus was the King of Alcathous and he
had a lock of purple hair on his crown that (somehow) guaranteed the safety of his
kingdom. Scylla, his daughter, fell in love with King Minos, who was conquering
the kingdom, and in order to gain his favor, Scylla cut off the lock of her
father's hair. But, disgusted with her disloyalty, Minos left by ship. As
Scylla swam after Minos, King Nisos, having been transformed into a sea eagle,
attempted to drown her. Instead of drowning, Scylla was turned to a sea bird and
called Ciris, (i.e. "cutter"), being named after the lock that she cut off. See Ovid's
Metamorphoses, translated by Anthony S. Kline,
http://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph8.htm
Arabella_Arabella Fermor
(1696-1737; image credit: Victoria and Albert Museum) was from a prominent Catholic family.
She came to public attention in an unwelcome way when Robert Petre, from another
prominent Catholic family, surreptitiously cut off a lock of her hair at a party.
He may have thought it was a good prank, but she was
(justifiably) angry, and the Fermor and Petre families (who may have been in
negotiations to marry the two), became estranged. John Caryll, a friend of Pope's
who was also Robert Petre's guardian, asked Pope to write about the incident in such a
way as to make a joke of it and smooth relations. The Rape of
the Lock is Pope's effort to heal the breach. He did not, however, ask
Arabella Fermor for her approval before publishing the first version of the poem
in 1712, and she was initially unhappy at the poem's double-entendre and the way
that it seemed to compare her situation to raped heroines of antiquity like Helen
of Troy or Lucrece. This letter, published with the much-enlarged 1714 edition of
the poem, can be read in part as Pope's attempt to mollify her.
was from a prominent Catholic family.
She came to public attention in an unwelcome way when Robert Petre, from another
prominent Catholic family, surreptitiously cut off a lock of her hair at a party.
He may have thought it was a good prank, but she was
(justifiably) angry, and the Fermor and Petre families (who may have been in
negotiations to marry the two), became estranged. John Caryll, a friend of Pope's
who was also Robert Petre's guardian, asked Pope to write about the incident in such a
way as to make a joke of it and smooth relations. The Rape of
the Lock is Pope's effort to heal the breach. He did not, however, ask
Arabella Fermor for her approval before publishing the first version of the poem
in 1712, and she was initially unhappy at the poem's double-entendre and the way
that it seemed to compare her situation to raped heroines of antiquity like Helen
of Troy or Lucrece. This letter, published with the much-enlarged 1714 edition of
the poem, can be read in part as Pope's attempt to mollify her.dedicatePope is probably referring to the
Latin epigraph that appeared with the first edition of the poem: "Nolueram,
Belinda, tuos violare capillos, / Sed juvat hoc precibus me tribuisse tuis," by
the Roman poet Martial, in his Epigrams xii, 84, translates as, "I was loathe,
Belinda, to violate your locks, but I am pleased to have granted that much to your
prayers." Pope is insinuating that Arabella Fermor asked for the poem to be
written. This was not the case.
machinery_Refers to the fairy-like creatures
in the poem: the sylphys, the nymphs, the gnomes, the salamanders. As he
explains in the next line, they are the portrayals of what we would call in the
real world, deities, angels or demons.
Rosicrucian_The Rosicrusians were an occult movement that emerged in the early seventeenth century in Europe. It was an odd combination of Christian mysticism and other kinds of esoteric teaching, such as the Kabbala, which comes out of the Jewish tradition. There were several Rosicrucian manifestos that laid out theories of mystical knowledge, and the movement had adherents and drew curious thinkers to it throughout Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Pope does not seem to have been a serious adherent, but is here using some of the supernatural apparatus associated with Rosicrucianism to frame his story.
Lady_It seems unlikely that Pope is aware how unctuous and condescending he sounds here; or perhaps he is aware and does not mind. It's hard to say with Pope.
Gabalis_The Count of Gabala was written by Nicolas-Pierre-Henri of Montfaucon de Villars, a French cleric, and published in 1670. It is an odd book. In it, an anonymous narrator encounters the Comte de Gabalis, who teaches the narrator about the occult, including various beliefs associated with the Rosicrucians. The Count introduces such things as the Sylphs of the Air, the Undines of the Water, the Gnomes of the Earth and the Salamanders of Fire. It is entirely possible that de Villars is satirizing occult sciences, which had a vogue in seventeenth century Europe, as absurd or incompatible with orthodox religion. But it is hard to be sure; this may be an example of a satire that does not make its intentions clear enough.
novel_ To an English reader
of 1714, the word "novel" still sounded like a French import, and it would have
denoted a short, perhaps slightly scandalous, love story. The novel was not
understood to be a serious genre, a form of literature. Any reading of a novel for
more than entertainment is a "mistake."
caryll_John Caryll, the mutual friend of Pope and the two families involved in the dispute; he seems to have attempted to mediate between them, in part suggesting that Pope write this poem.
Belinda_The heroine of the poem, inspired by
Arabella Fermor.
Sol_Sol is Latin for the Sun.
Shock_Belinda's lapdog.
chocolate_Chocolate, served in this period only
as a drink, was enormously popular, especially among those who could afford it as well
as the sugar to cut the bitterness.
slipper_Belinda stomps her slippered foot on the
ground to call for her maid.
watches_Striking watches indicate the hour
and quarter-hour by means of hammers hitting bells or gongs. The watch rang,
announcing that it was 10 o'clock.
sylph_sylphs here are imagined as feminine spirits that
stand guard over young women
Ariel_Ariel, Belinda's guardian Sylph,
created the dream that she was having.
beau_a young man dressed up for the Queen's birthday, one of
highlights of the social calendar in this period.
Token_Folklore that says that fairies and elves left
silver tokens in rings of dark coarse grass that were supposed to be where
fairies danced. The tokens were supposedly left for humans who were favored by
fairies. Pat Rogers attributes the use to Jonathan Swift's Dryades: Or, the
Nymphs Prophesy, although that probably comes from ancient folklore as well.
Rogers, Pat. "Faery Lore and The Rape of the Lock." Essays on Pope. Cambridge:
Cambridge UP, 1993. Print.
militia_fairy creatures, imagined here as soldiers
wing_The creatures are
always present (on the wing meaning in flight) in the places where London's
society is found.
box_A ‘box’ in a
theatre or opera-house.
ring_Ring - Charles I created a circular track called the
Ring in Hyde Park where members of the royal court could drive their carriages.
The park was opened to the public in 1637 and it soon became a fashionable
place to visit.
equipage_Here it refers to a carriage with
horses and attendants, but can also just mean carriage alone.
chair_two servants carrying
a woman in a sedan chair
mold_The fairy creatures
used to be beautiful women like Belinda.
transition_Possibly death, or some (magical)
means by which they are transformed from their human selves in to the fairy
creatures.
cards_ After the "transition" spoken of
earlier, a former coquette now turned into a sylph still can see and look at the cards
although she does not play.
Ombre_A trick-taking card game for three
people using forty cards. A game of ombre is played later on and is described
in detail in Canto III. It is almost certainly no coincidence that the word
ombre is archaic Spanish for "man"; Belinda is literally and figuratively
playing the game of man."ombre,
sprights_Different kinds of women became transformed into different kinds of spirits. The fiery boisterous women became Salamanders.
The mild demure women became Nymphs. The prudish women became Gnomes. The
flirty girlish women became Sylphs.
honour_That is, women's chastity only seems to
be governed by honour; it is really the intervention of the sylphs that sustains chastity.
florio_Not a reference to any specific
men. Florio, along with Damon, were common names used in early epic poetry to
refer to men in general, the way we use, Tom, Dick, and Harry, today. "The
aristocratic young men of the time were, like the ladies, lacking in any
serious purpose or morality. Florio and Damon are representatives of those
gallants and fops who vie with one another to capture the hearts of the
ladies.
main_the open sea
billet-doux_ a love letter
toilet_a small dressing table
glass_mirror
altar_Belinda's "toilet" is likened to an
"altar" at which Belinda and her maid are now left to worship the priestess, or
Belinda's "heav'nly image" as mentioned two lines above this line. By this
point, it has become clear that the vanity nurtured by the Gnomes has set in,
leaving the mortal human beings to worship a new priestess, Belinda's
reflection.
world_During the 18th century, Britain
became the dominant empire among European trading empires as it became the
first western nation to industrialize. During this time, merchants began
trading with both North America and the West Indies, where colonies had been
established. This granted Britain access to parts of the world and their
amenities that had previously been unbeknownst to them. The ability to interact
with far-off countries such as India and Arabia yielded new luxuries and a new
understanding of the world outside of Europe. The ability for Belinda to have
access to these luxuries further exemplifies her wealth.
spoil_"Glitt'ring spoil" refers directly to the spoils of war, "valuables seized by
violence, especially in war," most likely as a result of the colonization of
these foreign lands in pursuit of broadening trade opportunities.
casket_a. A small box or chest for jewels,
letters, or other things of value, itself often of valuable material and richly
ornamented.
gems_Since before recorded history,
India has been a leading source for precious gems, producing some of the finest
gemstones.
Arabia_Refers to scented oils or perfumes
from the Arabian Peninsula or the middle east. as it is now known. They came in
elaborate and ornate containers and were very expensive.
tortoise_Hair combs made
from tortoise shell and ivory from elephant tusks.
patches_"a small disk of black silk attached
to the face, especially as worn by women in the 17th and 18th centuries for
adornment" (OED) This is essentially an artificial beauty mark.
awful_
arms_Arms: (n.) weapons
With the use of militaristic diction as seen in "puts in all its Arms", Pope
has Belinda preparing for battle just as Achilles prepared for the Trojan War in Homer's Iliad.
Betty_her maid.
etherial_Of or relating to heaven, God, or
the gods; heavenly, celestial. Oxford English Dictionary
rival_that is, Belinda
nymphs_The other women traveling with her (here not the nymphs
who are the protectors of her chastity).
crossThe cross here is stripped of its Christian
meaning; it is Belinda who people are now worshipping
nymph_Belinda
ivory_In likening Belinda's neck
to ivory, imported from Africa, the narrator again associates her beauty with the products of
emergent colonialism and global commerce.
sprindges_a snare used for bird-catching
finney_Finny, adj., "Provided with or
having fins; finned." The "Finny Prey> refers to fish, which are also caught
with a hair-like line, reiterating the comparison of beauty as a deadly trap.
"finny, adj.1." Oxford English Dictionary
tresses_" A plait or braid of the hair
of the head, usually of a woman. A long lock of hair (esp. that of a woman),
without any sense of its being plaited or braided; mostly in pl. tresses."
"tress, n." Oxford English Dictionary
successs_The "Success" of a "Lover's Toil"
in this era would be marriage.
Phaebus_Variant spelling of Phoebus, a
common name for Apollo, god of the sun. Oxford English Dictionary
sword-knot_"n. a ribbon or tassel tied to the
hilt of a sword (originating from the thong or lace with which the hilt was
fastened to the wrist, but later used chiefly as a mere ornament or badge)."
"sword-knot, n." Oxford English Dictionary
busk_"A strip of wood, whalebone, steel,
or other rigid material attached vertically to the front section of a corset so
as to stiffen and support it." "busk, n.3." Oxford English Dictionary
bilet_doux_love letters
prostrate_"Of a person: lying with the face
to the ground, in token of submission or humility, as in adoration, worship, or
supplication; (hence more generally) lying stretched out on the ground,
typically with the face downwards. Freq. in predicative or quasi-adverbial use,
as in to fall prostrate, to lie prostrate, etc." Oxford English Dictionary
Prize_"The Prize" refers to Belinda's
lock of hair.
Ear_"Gave Ear" means that they
(the ambiguous supernatural entities) listened to the Baron.
Vessel_The "painted Vessel" refers to the
boat gliding across the river Thames, carrying Belinda to Hampton Court.
zephyrs_"The west wind, esp. as
personified, or the god of the west wind." Oxford English Dictionary
Denizens_That is, the other sylphs.
lucid_"Bright, shining, luminous,
resplendent." Oxford English Dictionary
Tincture_"A colouring matter, dye, pigment;
spec. a dye used as a cosmetic." Oxford English Dictionary
Dies_Variant spelling of "dyes."
Pinions"A bird's wing; esp. (chiefly poet.
and rhetorical) the wing of a bird in flight. Also: the terminal segment of a
bird's wing, bearing the primary flight feathers." Oxford English Dictionary.
Azure_bright blue
Chief_That is, Arial, who goes on to give a speech to the other spirits.
orbs_Celestial bodies not in a regular orbit, such as comets.
Bow_Rainbow
glebe_Soil
Fair_Young women, such as Belinda
Posder_Face-powder
vernal_"Of, pertaining or belonging to,
the springtime; appropriate to the spring; spring-like: Of weather, scenery,
etc." Oxford English Dictionary
Flounce_"An ornamental appendage to the
skirt of a lady's dress, consisting of a strip gathered and sewed on by its
upper edge around the skirt, and left hanging and waving.’ Oxford English Dictionary
Furbelow_Variant spelling of "furbelow: "A
piece of stuff pleated and puckered on a gown or petticoat; a flounce; the
pleated border of a petticoat or gown." Oxford English Dictionary.
brightest_That is, Belinda.
wrapt_"Concealed, covered, hidden."
"wrapped, adj." Oxford English Dictionary
Diana_"An ancient Roman female divinity,
the moon-goddess, patroness of virginity and of hunting." Oxford English Dictionary "Diana's" law would be the law of chastity or virginity, so to break the law would be to have pre-marital sex.
Brocade_"A textile fabric woven with a
pattern of raised figures, originally in gold or silver." Oxford English Dictionary
Zephyretta_The nymphs' names are invented,
each derived from a word related to the object entrusted to it. "Zephyretta,"
from "zypher" has care of the breeze-producing fan.
Brillante_"Brillante," from 'brilliant', is
entrusted with Belinda's shining earrings.
Momentilla"Momentilla" is the nymph in
charge of the pocket-watch.
Crispissa_"Crispissa," from "crisp," has
charge of the two precise curls of hair.
Ribs_Whalebone was used to form the ribs in women's corsets and skits.
stopt_"That is, stopped or blocked.
Vials_"A vessel of a small or moderate
size used for holding liquids; in later use spec., a small glass bottle" Oxford English Dictionary
bodkin_"A needle-like
instrument with a blunt knobbed point, having a large (as well as a small) eye,
for drawing tape or cord through a hem, loops, etc." Oxford English Dictionary.
pomatums_"An ointment for the skin or hair;
= pomade" "pomatum, n." Oxford English Dictionary
styptick_A "styptic" is a kind of medicine
used to contract organic tissue (for example, to stop a cut bleeding),
frequently made out of "alum," a type of mineral salt. Oxford English Dictionary
Ixion_"Ixion, in Greek legend, murdered
his father-in-law and could find no one to purify him until Zeus did so. Ixion
abused his pardon by trying to seduce Zeus’s wife, Hera. Zeus, to punish him,
bound him on a fiery wheel, which rolled unceasingly through the air or,
according to the more common tradition, in the underworld." "Ixion | Greek
Mythology." Encyclopedia Britannica Online
Mill_Compares being trapped in the
grinder of a coffee mill to the mythological figure Ixion, who was fixed to a
fire wheel spinning in the air of the underworld forever.
Sea_This is referring to the hot coffee
in the grinder/pot.
He_That is, Arial, the leader of the spirits.
Nymph_That is, Belinda.
thrid_That is, the spirits "threaded" her hair.
meads_That is, meadows.
Hampton_Hampton Court Palace, a royal palace on the banks of the Thames River, about twelve miles from central London. The palace was originally built by Cardinal Wolsey starting in 1514. He gave it to Henry VIII as a way of trying to get back in Henry's good graces, but it did not work; Wolsey was executed anyway for failing to get Henry the divorce he wanted. Henry built Hampton Court into an enormous royal palace. In the late 1600s, the great architect Christopher Wren built an enormous extension for William III. They tore down part of the earlier palace and added on in what was then the modern style, creating a large Baroque palace designed to emulate the Palace of Versailles in France, at that time the grandest royal palace in Europe. In the early part of the eighteenth century, when this poem takes place, Hampton Court was the most important royal palace in England, where the monarch usually lived, and courtiers like Belinda and the Baron would have flocked there to make their presence known at court. Image: Hampton Court Palace by Andreas Tille, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hampton Court Palace, a royal palace on the banks of the Thames River, about twelve miles from central London. The palace was originally built by Cardinal Wolsey starting in 1514. He gave it to Henry VIII as a way of trying to get back in Henry's good graces, but it did not work; Wolsey was executed anyway for failing to get Henry the divorce he wanted. Henry built Hampton Court into an enormous royal palace. In the late 1600s, the great architect Christopher Wren built an enormous extension for William III. They tore down part of the earlier palace and added on in what was then the modern style, creating a large Baroque palace designed to emulate the Palace of Versailles in France, at that time the grandest royal palace in Europe. In the early part of the eighteenth century, when this poem takes place, Hampton Court was the most important royal palace in England, where the monarch usually lived, and courtiers like Belinda and the Baron would have flocked there to make their presence known at court. Image: Hampton Court Palace by Andreas Tille, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsAnne_Queen Anne (1665-1714), the last Stuart monarch of Great Britain. She took the throne upon the death of her father, William III in 1702. She died the year that the poem was published. [Image: Queen Anne, painted by Michael Dahl, around 1705 (National Portrait Gallery)].
Queen Anne (1665-1714), the last Stuart monarch of Great Britain. She took the throne upon the death of her father, William III in 1702. She died the year that the poem was published. [Image: Queen Anne, painted by Michael Dahl, around 1705 (National Portrait Gallery)].ombre_Ombre was a popular three-player
card game similar to the modern game of Bridge. Each game can have nine rounds (“tricks”).
The most straightforward way to win is by taking five tricks (drawing the
highest-ranked card in each round), after which the game ends. The game begins
with an auction to decide the trump suit. The highest-bidding player is the
“ombre” (from the Spanish “hombre” for "man"), and the other two play against her while
trying to ensure their individual successes. The penalty enacted on each of the
two non-ombres is greater if the ombre wins than if the other non-ombre wins.
Similarly, the ombre will lose more if either of the two gains five tricks than
if no one has won five at the end of nine rounds. The game was popular among
the aristocratic class throughout Europe. The joke throughout is that Belinda is
in effect playing the game of "man," both on the card table and in life. The game as
it plays out over the next section of the poem is an entirely plausible game, with each
move following according to the actual rules of ombre. Belinda, for example, wins the starting auction
and becomes the "ombre" for duration of this game. See Alban George Henry Gibbs,
The Game of Ombre. London: privately printed, 1874, 3rd edition (expanded)
1902, upon which we rely in tracing the course of the game.
matadore_The matadores (spadillio, manillio,
and basto) are the three highest-ranking cards in the trump suit. The matadore would be
the ace of spades; the manillio card is the lowest ranking card in the trump suit (the suit would vary
from game to game, identified by the winner of the auction at the start), and the basto is the ace of clubs. Belinda
controls all three.
Velvet_Plain_That is, the cloth covering
the three-sided card table on which Belinda and the two men are playing the game. The Kings, Queens, Jacks, and
other cards are imagined as being arranged like soldiers on a battlefield
Force_Belinda’s starting
hand is made up of spadillio, manillio, basto: the king of spades, the king and
queen of hearts, and the 5 and 4 of diamonds. The Baron begins the game with
the king of clubs, the jack, 7, 5, and 3 of spades (the trump suit), the king,
queen, and jack of diamonds, and the ace of hearts. Belinda and the Baron both
have extremely strong hands, while the third character has no strong cards.
Trumps_Having won the "auction" at the start of the
game by outbidding the other two players, Belinda chooses the trump suit.
Spade_Belinda quickly wins the first five rounds or
"tricks" of the game by playing her cards skilfully.
Baron_In the following three stanzas, the Baron
begins to threaten Belinda’s winning streak. He wins tricks five through eight,
tying their scores. His first move is with the Queen of Spades.
Globe_The King of Clubs is often pictured
holding an orb, or globe.
Codille_A "codille" would be a loss at the game, if the
Baron were to win the final trick. Belinda must either win trick nine, or hope that
the third player does, in order to avoid losing to the Baron.
Trick_A trick is a round. As explained
above, a game consists of nine tricks; whoever takes five wins the game. At this
point, with Belinda and the Baron tied with four tricks each, the game is down to
the final round.
Queen_The Baron mourns that he has
already played a Queen that could win the round. He plays an Ace; Belinda counters
with a King (which in ombre outranks an Ace) and wins final trick and thus the game.
Berries_Coffee beans, which are being ground in a
mill to make fresh coffee.
Japan"Japan" was a style of wooden
furniture, highly polished and often decorated in a vaguely Asian style; hence the name. Japan-style
furtniture was expensive,
and therefore fashionable among wealthy people in Europe at this time.
Scylla_Nisus, king of Megara, was at war
against Crete, but it was decreed by fate that his kingdom would be safe as
long as a purple lock of hair remained on his head. His daughter Scylla fell in
love with the king of Crete, Minos, and cut off her father's purple lock to
give to him. Minos rejected the gift, and both Nisus and Scylla turned into
birds.
Nosegay_A nosegay is a small flower bouquet, worn
like a corsage.
Forfex_Latin for scissors.
Airy_A reference to John Milton's
Paradise Lost, where Satan is injured in the war in heaven when a sword
"Passed through him, but th' Ethereal substance closed/ Not long divisible."
Monkeys_In eighteenth-century England, the
wealthy kept many kinds of pets, including monkeys. The lower classes sometimes
kept performing monkeys, which could earn them extra money.
Wreaths_In ancient Greece, laurel wreaths
were worn as a symbol of victory or honor.
Atalantis_Secret Memoirs and Manners of
Several Persons of Quality, of Both Sexes, from the New Atalantis, an Island in
the Mediterranean, published in 1709, was a scandalous but very popular work of fiction by Delarivier
Manley. With its salacious details of politicians' private lives, the story
satirizes the corruption of the aristocracy.
a165According to the humours theory
of human psychology, which held sway from the middle ages into the early modern period,
a person's temperament was set by the mixture of various fluids--humours--in the body.
The spleen was thought to produce yellow bile, an excess of which would lead to depression.
So by analogy "the spleen" became shorthand for a state of depression, which Belinda
is experiencing in the wake of the theft of her lock of hair. Umbriel's journey through the Cave
of Spleen is analogous to the journeys, fraught with many perils, which Aeneas
(in Vergil's Aeneid) and Odysseus (Homer's Odyssey) made to the
underworld in those epics.
Dome_That is, a domed building.
Lampoon_"Lampooning" in seventeenth and eighteenth
century England was a scathing form of satire that attacked a specific person's
appearance. It originates from the French word "lampons," which means "let's
drink," and Alexander Pope himself lampooned a fellow writer, Joseph Addison,
in his work "An Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot." The form fell into disuse soon after
this time but the term "lampoon" still refers to an insult directed at a
specific person or institution. Werlock, Abby H. P. The Facts on File Companion
to the American Short Story. 2nd ed. New York NY: Facts On File, 2010.
Print.
Spires_spirals
Elysian_A reference to Elysium/Elysian
Fields/Elysian Plain of classical mythology, where mortals favored by the gods for their rectitude
were sent to dwell after they had departed from the land of the living. Elysium
was originally the exclusive province of the heroes who had acquired
immortality from the gods Elysian in the
context of this passage means like "paradise."
Pipkin_According to Samuel Johnson's 1755 A pipkin is "A small earthen boiler."
Tripod_The automatons (or
"tripods"), twenty in all, fashioned with rivets and gold wheels by the lame
god Vulcan in his workshop so that they might be dispatched whenever the gods
congregated at Mt. Olympus, returning to the workshop afterwards to be at the
beck and call of Vulcan. From Book XVIII of Homer's Iliad.
Goose-pye_Gooseberry pie
Branch_The branch of spleenwort, a humble fern,
is a parodic reference to the golden bough bore by Aeneas during his journey, accompanied by the Cumaean Sibyl,
through the underworld. Aeneas, having been guided by a pair of doves to a
place in a forest where the golden bough had been long obscured from the sight
of man, had plucked the golden bough in order to obtain safe passage through
the underworld. He and the Sibyl were ferried to the underworld across the
Acheron River. Spleenwort got its name because it was believed to have medicinal properties,
particularly in treating "spleen" or, in our terms, depression.
Pett_According to Samuel Johnson's 1755
Dictionary, "pett" is "A slight
passion; a slight fit of anger."
Citron-Waters_Brandy based on citrus
wine.
Horns_"Horns" were associated with
being cuckolded.
costive_Constipated.
Bag_ In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus receives a bag of winds from Aeolus, the god of wind.
ThalestrisThalestris was a
queen of the Amazons, the mythological race of warrior women.
Furies_Three mythological goddesses
of revenge.
Ire_Intense anger.
paper_In this period, women used paper, often heated
and shaped with lead, to curl their hair.
Fillets_A headband, here being used
to shape a hairstyle.
Lead_Lead was heated to curl women's hair.
Fops_"Fop" was a contemporary slang term for
man overly concerned with his outer appearance to the point that it bothers
other people. It originated in this context in seventeenth-century England to refer to
a generally foolish, effeminate man incapable of engaging in intellectual
conversation. In this line, the definition of a "fop" is exemplified by the
fact that they and ladies are both jealous of Belinda's hair.
Toast_The term "toast" originated as a
term for a lady for whose health a group of people dedicated a drink, similar
to how people propose toasts today. This lady's name was seen as adding a
special flavor to the drink in question, similar in function to a spiced toast
that would have been a common feature in alcoholic drinks at the time. Oxford English Dictionary.
Circus_The Ring-Road in Hyde Park, at this
time a fashionable area to take a carriage on a nice day to see and be seen
by those who could afford carriages.
Bell_The bells of St
Mary-le-Bow, a church which was located in the Cheapside district of London. This
was not a fashionable area; it was for a long time traditionally associated with
working-class Cockneys from the East End.
Snuff-box_High society gentlemen of this time
generally stored their "snuff," or sniffing tobacco, in jeweled boxes
made from precious materials such as porcelain, ebony, and, in this case, amber. Sir Plume is very vain about his fancy snuff-box.
Cane_A walking stick, perhaps made of
glass or porcelain, and "clouded" in a decorative way.
Z---ds_"Zounds" is a euphemism for "by God's wounds,"
that is, the wounds that Jesus received when being nailed to the cross. That was
considered blasphemous, so "zounds" became a work-around. In context, a
mild expletive, like "damn."
Pox_"Pox" refers either to
small-pox or to venereal disease; here it is being used as an expletive without
so specific a meaning.
Lock_This passage may to a
passage from Homer (Iliad, book 23) in which Achilles cuts off a lock of his own hair to mourn and commemorate the death of Patroclus. Many of his men follow
suit and cut off locks of their own hair, and Achilles then cuts off
another lock of his hair that he had been growing for the river Spercheus to
make his trip home safer. This continues the trend throughout the poem of using
military conquest language to describe the event of cutting off a lock of
Belinda's hair.
Chariot_May be a reference to the chariot
driven by Helios (whose identity was later subsumed into that of Apollo), the
god of the sun and a Titan, in order to mark the waxing and waning of daylight.
He was complemented by his sisters, Eos and Selene, who personified the Dawn
and the Moon, respectively.
Bohea_A black tea that originated in
China's Buyi hills, for which it is named, and was of relatively low quality.
(Oxford English Dictionary
Patch-box_A small and rectangular (at times
oval) box with beauty patches, small pieces of class with a sticky side, which were worn by ladies of fashion during the eighteenth century for decorative purposes or to cover a blemish. A patch
box was bejeweled and made of gold, and could also be painted/enameled with
amorous scenes. A patch could have the appearance of a star, an animal, a
insect, a figure, a crescent, or a spot. The location of a patch also
contributed to its signification. "Patch Box." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
http://www.britannica.com/topic/patch-box.
China_"China" in this context refers to
porcelain dishes that came via trade routes from China. These trade routes
between China and England first began to flourish during the eighteenth century, and
many rich English citizens were obsessed with obtaining as many exotic
Chinese goods as they could to show off their wealth. Chinese porcelain was
much finer and of higher quality than anything that European makers could produce for
a few more decades. Chang, Elizabeth. "The
Chinese Taste in Eighteenth-Century England." Eighteenth-Century Fiction 25
(2012): 248-50. University of Toronto Press. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.
Poll_Short for "Polly," surely the name of
a pet parrot owned by Belinda.
Jove_Jove, also known as Jupiter, was
the king of the Roman gods. He is the roman equivalent to the Greek god Zeus.
Ears_That is, the reason that the Baron cannot
hear Belinda's cries is because of the intervention of the gods Fate and Jove. Just as the gods
intervene in the lives of heroic characters from epic, here they interfere in the lives of
trivial British aristocrats.
Dido_In the Aeneid by Virgil, Aeneas,
the lover of Dido, queen of Carthage, is told by Zeus he must leave Italy
because of fate. As a last effort Dido sends her sister Anna to persuade him
to stay in Italy, but she fails.
Whalebones_Whalebone was used to stiffen women's clothing, such as corsets and hoop skirts.
Gods_Homer makes the gods fight in his
tales similar to the way Pope forces the characters in the poem to
fight.
Pallas_Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom
Mars_Mars was the Roman god of war.
Latona_In Greek mythology, Latona was the mother of
Apollo and Diana and the mistress of Zeus.
Hermes_Hermes was the messenger god of Greek mythology, known as Mercury in Roman mythology.
Sconce_A lantern with a handle and a shield, so that
you could carry the light around.
sate_That is, perched. Pope adds in a footnote: "Minerva
in like manner, during the Battle of Ulysses with the Suitors in Odyss. perches
on a beam of the roof to behold it."
Beau_A dandy; a many perhaps overly concerned
with his appearance
Witling_Someone who aspiring to become a wit (and probably failing at it.
Dapperwit_A character in William Wycherley's 1671 play Love in a Wood.
Fopling_Reference to Sir Fopling Flutter, a
character in George Etherege's 1677 play The Man of Mode.
Camilla_Pope later added a footnote: "The Words of
a Song in the Opera of Camilla" Camilla was a popular opera, first
staged in London in 1706 and frequently revived after that. Unlike many operas of the
period, which were sung in Italian, this was in English, based on an Italian opera by Silvio
Stampiglio.
Meander_in Greek Mythology, Meander was both
the name of a river god and for the river that was his home. "Meander" now is a general turn for a bend in a river, or to describe anything or anyone that takes a roundabout route to a destination.
Plume_The name gives insight to the
character. A plume is an arrangement of feathers used by a bird for display or
worn by a person for ornament. Plume is also used as a verb 'to plume oneself'
synonymous to the action of preening at one's looks. Oxford English Dictionary
doughty_Brave, capable, and determined,
also marked by fearless resolution. Oxford English Dictionary
scales_Jove, the head of the Roman system
of deities, is here responsible for putting the social order back into
balance, and is weighing the contending claims of the men and the women. These lines refer to
a moment in Homer's Iliad where Zeus had used scales to
balance the claims of Hector and Achilles and determined their fates.
subside_Jove weighs the battle in the men's
favor, but Belinda overcomes this by tossing snuff in the Baron's face.
die_"to die" is a common euphemism for orgasm. It was a common poetical term in the 16th and 17th centuries. Oxford English Dictionary
Snuff_A fine-ground tobacco, intended for
consumption by being sniffed or snorted into the nose.
Atom_Pope is referring to the ancient theory that
posited the "atom" as an infinitely small piece of matter that could not be further divided.
Virago_A man-like, heroic woman. Oxford English Dictionary
a229Pope adds in a footnote: "In
imitation of the progress of Agamemnon's sceptre in Homer" Source: Pope,
Alexander, and Adolphus William Ward. The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope.
London: Macmillan, 1907. Print.
seal-ring_a finger ring bearing a seal;
signet ring. Oxford English Dictionary
Grandame_grandmother
Othello_In Shakespeare's Othello, the
titular character is tricked into believing his wife Desdemona has been unfaithful by his
ensign Iago. A key piece of evidence is Desdemona's handkerchief, which Iago has planted in the room of Othello's lieutenant, Cassio.
Alms_gifts of money extended as charity
Riband_a ribbon
Casuistry_Thick books of meaningless
philosophy through the use of clever but unsound reasoning, especially in
relation to moral questions. Oxford English Dictionary
Poetic_That is, Pope's eyes; he is the only person who can "see" what has happened, as the lock of hair has been transformed into a star in the sky. Buried here is the play on words: "coma," the Latin word for hair, is the root for "comet," celestial bodies that were so named because of the long hair-like trail that followed the main body. There is such a comet depicted in the upper-left hand corner of the plate that precedes this canto.
Rome_In popular myth and legend, Rome was founded
by Romulus, who ruled for 37 years and then mysteriously disappeared, apparently taken
up to the heavens in a whirlwind. Proculus, a friend of Romulus,
swore that he saw Romulus ascending to heaven.
Berenice_Berenice II was the wife of Ptolemy
III, the Pharoah of Egypt in the third century BCE. The legend went that Berenice offered to cut off her hair as an offering to the goddess Aphrodite if Ptolemy would return safely home from a dangerous battle. After his safe return, she placed her hair in the temple. But the next morning, the hair had vanished. The court astronomy Conon suggested that the hair had been transformed into a constellation in the night sky, a star cluster that became (and is still) known as the "Coma Berenices," Latin for "Berenice's hair."
Beau-monde_High society.
Mall_ A broad, tree-lined promenade in St. James's Park in London, where courtiers and other aristocrats would aim to see and be seen. [ Image: View of the Mall in Saint James, around 1710, by an unknown artist. National Gallery, Public Domain.]
A broad, tree-lined promenade in St. James's Park in London, where courtiers and other aristocrats would aim to see and be seen. [ Image: View of the Mall in Saint James, around 1710, by an unknown artist. National Gallery, Public Domain.]
RosamondaRosamonda's Pond was a body of
water in St. James's Park in London, on the site of what is now Buckingham Palace. The pond
was named for Rosamund Clifford, the semi-legendary mistress of Henry II in the twelfth century whose relationship with the king became a byword for doomed love affairs. In the eighteenth century, the Pond was apparently well known as a place for lovers to meet secretly.
Partridge_John Partridge (1644-c.1714) an
astrologer known for publishing almanacs with (generally incorrect) yearly
predictions of deaths of notable individuals like the King of France (during a
time where France and England were at war).
Eyes_i.e., the telescope, developed by
Galileo Galilei
Louis_Louis XIV (1638-1715), the King of France. He was for a long time the most powerful and feared ruler in Europe. But the threat that Louis and France posed to their neighbors was checked by the Treaty of Utrecht, signed in 1713, and he died the year after this poem was published. His "Fate," then, was very much up in the air at the time that Pope was writing. [Image: Portrait of Louis XIV by Hyacynthe Rigaud, 1701. Wikimedia Commons
Louis XIV (1638-1715), the King of France. He was for a long time the most powerful and feared ruler in Europe. But the threat that Louis and France posed to their neighbors was checked by the Treaty of Utrecht, signed in 1713, and he died the year after this poem was published. His "Fate," then, was very much up in the air at the time that Pope was writing. [Image: Portrait of Louis XIV by Hyacynthe Rigaud, 1701. Wikimedia CommonsMuse_The Muses are the nine Greek goddesses devoted to the arts; they are often imagined as a source of inspiration for a poet.