Project Gutenberg 2006-01-01 Public domain in the USA. 3549 Pope, Alexander 1688 1744 Barnivelt, Esdras The Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rape_of_the_Lock Produced by Clytie Siddall, Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. "The Rape of the Lock" by Alexander Pope is a celebrated poem that exemplifies the mock-epic genre, written in the early 18th century. The work is based on a real incident involving a young lady, Arabella Fermor, and her suitor, Lord Petre, but takes a humorous and satirical approach to explore themes of vanity, honor, and social relationships among the aristocracy of Pope's time. It is notable for its use of elaborate language and its critical examination of contemporary social norms and behaviors. The beginning of the poem introduces us to its protagonist, Belinda, who is depicted as a quintessential young lady of high society. She awakens to the worship of her guardian Sylphs, who protect her virtue and beauty, but soon becomes embroiled in a series of events that lead to the author's exploration of the trivial yet intense social conflicts characteristic of the upper classes. Central to this opening portion is the whimsical and fantastical portrayal of the Sylphs, who provide a comical backdrop to the impending "dire offense" that unfolds, which is the baron's audacious attempt to steal Belinda's prized lock of hair. The introduction sets the tone for the poem's light yet critical narrative as it juxtaposes the seemingly trivial subject matter with the elevated style of epic poetry. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 74.8 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en English poetry -- 18th century Young women -- Poetry Catholics -- England -- Poetry PR Text Category: Poetry Category: Humour Category: Classics of Literature Category: British Literature 485770 2025-07-04T09:46:50.857935 text/html 432487 2020-12-26T21:00:06 text/html 277351 2025-07-04T09:47:05.033853 application/epub+zip 283105 2025-07-04T09:46:55.107875 application/epub+zip 231945 2025-07-04T09:46:53.208932 application/epub+zip 758666 2025-07-04T09:47:09.982823 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 697671 2025-07-04T09:47:03.117844 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 404028 2022-08-05T04:58:32.549683 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 368976 2025-07-04T09:46:48.575981 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 368869 2020-12-26T21:00:06 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 368888 2020-12-26T21:00:06 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 20912 2025-07-04T09:47:10.137812 application/rdf+xml 15510 2025-07-04T09:46:53.773889 image/jpeg 3687 2025-07-04T09:46:53.488904 image/jpeg 146459 2020-12-26T21:00:06 application/octet-stream application/zip 198499 2020-12-26T21:00:06 application/octet-stream application/zip 146409 2020-12-26T21:00:06 application/octet-stream application/zip 282056 2025-07-04T09:46:50.892914 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia