Justify Pope’s the Rape of Lock as a social satire

The word ‘satire’ is derived from  the Latin word ‘satira’ which is a literary attack on the follies and vices of an  individual or a society with a view to correcting them through laughter and ridicule written either in prose or verse. As Shakespeare is the poet of man, Alexander Pope is a poet of society. The Rape of the Lock is a social document because it mirrors satire, too. Pope paints about England in the 18^th century. The whole panorama of the Rape the Lock revolves around the false standard of the 18^th century. Pope satirizes the young boys, girls, aristocratic women and men, their free time, activities, nature of husbands and wives, the professionals. Pope clearly depicts the absurdities and the frivolities of the fashionable circle of 18^th century England. The world of Belinda is a world of fashion or a trivial world. The whole life of Belinda is confined to sleeping, make- up, enjoyment and alluring the affection, malice, coquetry, yielding and submissive nature, violent and unruly nature, infidelity, cheapness, trivialities and frivolities. Belinda represents all the fashion struck women, busy in such stupidities.

          In this poem, Pope represents the aristocratic gallants of the age. Pope satirises man’s nature that is always weak at beauty. Man sacrifices everything at the alter of beauty and even the most intelligent man behaves foolishly when he falls a victim of  beauty.

“With tender Billet-doux he lights the pyre, And breathes three am’rous Sighs to raise the Fire, Then prostrate falls, and begs with ardent Eyes soon to obtain, and long process the prize.’’

          In order to make his satire sharper, Pope uses supernatural elements, which facilitates the satire. Through this weapon, he satirises women who are interested in fashionable life and it pursuits and who go on exercising their evil influence even after their death. He satirises women of fiery, coquettish mischievous and yielding nature and gives them different play toy with them.

          Pope also satirises the husbands and wives of the day. Husbands always think that their wives have been marry-making with their lovers. On the other hand, wives are also not virtuous at all. They love their lap dog more than their husbands. And the death of husbands is not more shocking than the death of a lap dog or the breakage of a china vessel: “not louder shrieks to pitying Heave are cast, when husbands, or when lopdogs breathe their last’’.

          So through the medium of satire, Pope paints a picture of 18^th century fashionable English society. His satire is didactic and impersonal. It is not inflicted against the society and that, too, owing to some moral faults. He is dissatisfied with the society around which he wants to reform. But there are several allied subjects too, on which he inflicts his satire. For example, he satirised the judges who make hasty decisions.

          “The hungry judges soon the sentence sign, And wretches hang that jurymen may dire’’. He also satirised those friends whose friendship is but last, those politicians who do not have a deeper insight and cannot see beyond the shows and take steps just for their own interests.

          To sum up, the poem is a reflection of this artificial and hollow life, painted with a humorous and delicate satire. Pope introduces us with the world of frivolous-dressing, flirting, card-laying, driving in Hyde park, visiting theatres, writing love letters and so on. Their whole day’s program seems to be nothing but a waste. Pope’s satire is unique, intellectual and full of wit and epigram. Lowell rightly says

“Pope stands by himself in English verse as an intellectual observer and describer of personal weakness’’.