Posted by gold specks on January 24, 19102 at 22:08:06:

In Reply to: "Pope's of the Lock" posted by blacqbeard on October 09, 19101 at 18:47:26:

: Could someone offer an explanation to the meaning behind the poem " of the Lock" by Alexander Pope for me?
: It's a lovely piece of work but the overwhelming use of myths and metaphors has placed me in an award position in relation to totally comprehending the meaning of it.

Pope was a satirist in most of his work. In this particular piece he was mocking a true event in the area he lived at. A young noble had snipped off a piece of a young lady's hair and refused to give it back. The two families became increasingly hostile towards each other. Pope, on the suggestion of a friend, was urged to write a mock epic about the triviality of the situation. So, throughout the poem, myths and metaphors are used to make a big deal out of something little ("uses a vast force to lift a feather") When you further look into the metaphors, you find they represent simple things. EX: Canto III describes the actual scene in which the cutting of the lock of hair occured. There is a card game going on between the young lady of the poem and the baron that would eventually cut off a piece of hair. The card game is depicted as a battle between armies, and sylphs (sort of like guardians) descend down to protect the participants of the battle (the cards.) This poem does not really have a profound and deep spiritual meaning - it was written entirely to show how ridiculously vain upper society can be. When you really read into the poem, slowly and carefully, you can see the humour in it and what the metaphors really mean. Sorry if this doesn't help you, but it's the best I can really describe it without writing an essay.

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• Re: "Pope's of the Lock" sumaira_ranipk 08:07:57 12/25/103 (0)

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