Questions Answers of the Rape of the Lock

Hello, I am Emisha Ravani. Wiring this blog as a response of questions by Vaidehi madam given as a thinking activity. 

1. According to you, who is the protagonist of the poem Clarissa or Belinda? Why? Give your answers with logical reasons. 

Ans: First we will see the definition of protagonist. 

" The leading character or one of the major characters in a play, film, novel etc. "

" A character who pursues the primary goals of the plot of a story. "

Protagonist can be evil because only the thing is that the plot should driven by protagonist. The action, events and settings matter. 

Here we can say that the character of "Belinda" Is the protagonist.  Belinda is a wealthy and beautiful young woman who travels to Hampton Court for a day of socializing and leisure. Her remarkable beauty attracts the attention of the Baron, who snips off a lock of her hair in his infatuation. At the beginning of the narrative, Ariel explains to Belinda through the medium of a dream that as she is a both beautiful and a virgin, it is his task to watch over her and protect her virtue—though as the poem unfolds, it’s unclear if Belinda is really as virtuous as she seems. Despite the fact that Belinda is Pope’s protagonist, she’s actually a bit of a slippery character to come to terms with, as the reader is provided with relatively little access to her inner thoughts, and her actions are often governed by supernatural forces. For instance, it is unclear how much influence Ariel, a sylph, is able to exert over her, and there is some suggestion that he actively toys with her morality. He claims it is her virginity which makes her worthy of guarding but sends her a dream of a handsome young man, “A youth more glitt'ring than a birthnight beau,” tempting her sexuality. Similarly, at the end of the poem, Umbriel, throws over her and Thalestris a bag of “Sighs, sobs and passions” and also empties a vial of “sorrows” over her too, meaning the rage she flies into is not entirely of her own volition. 

Fundamentally, as her name suggests with its literal meaning of “beautiful”, all readers can really know about Belinda is that she is attractive. The poem states that

 “If to her share some female errors fall,

 Look on her face, and you'll forget 'em all”—

in other words, she is so beautiful that those around her consider her basically exempt from any moral judgement, allowing Pope to satirize the idea Ariel suggests at the opening of the poem that beauty and virtue always go hand in hand. Belinda is based on the real-life figure of Arabella Fermor, who also had a lock of her hair cut off by a suitor.

The Rape of the Lock begins with a passage outlining the subject of the poem and invoking the aid of the muse. Then the sun appears to initiate the leisurely morning routines of a wealthy household. Lapdogs shake themselves awake, bells begin to ring, and although it is already noon, Belinda still sleeps. She has been dreaming, and we learn that the dream has been sent by “her guardian Sylph,” Ariel. The dream is of a handsome youth who tells her that she is protected by “unnumber’d Spirits”—an army of supernatural beings who once lived on earth as human women. The youth explains that they are the invisible guardians of women’s chastity, although the credit is usually mistakenly given to “Honour” rather than to their divine stewardship. Of these Spirits, one particular group—the Sylphs, who dwell in the air—serve as Belinda’s personal guardians; they are devoted, lover-like, to any woman that “rejects mankind,” and they understand and reward the vanities of an elegant and frivolous lady like Belinda. Ariel, the chief of all Belinda’s puckish protectors, warns her in this dream that “some dread event” is going to befall her that day, though he can tell her nothing more specific than that she should “beware of Man!” Then Belinda awakes, to the licking tongue of her lapdog, Shock. Upon the delivery of a billet-doux, or love-letter, she forgets all about the dream. She then proceeds to her dressing table and goes through an elaborate ritual of dressing, in which her own image in the mirror is described as a “heavenly image,” a “goddess.” The Sylphs, unseen, assist their charge as she prepares herself for the day’s activities. 

So in this way we can get that how plot incredibly goes well by the protagonist "Belinda".

2. What is beauty? Write your views about it. 

Ans: firstly, we all used to connect this word to the particular community that is "women".even though we all start interpret this word with the concept of women.and also by that ill-thought we start to judge them in the way we only see the beauty by bodies or physical perspective. Either from the our own eyes or sometimes we used to wear other's spectacles to defence our side. 

This idea should be changed. If women start to separate their physical appearance or we can say they stop to wear this definition then it can be changed. Or whole idea can be changed , in term of iquality. 

Secondly, beauty is connected to happiness. How wide your vision is! In that frequency you can be happy universally.Universe is a river.Our bodies are mortal waves. They're not the truth.Bodies can be change. you need to be value to this river in order to survive.

Thirdly, beauty is confidence I feel , when a girl can win the miss world competition by the confidence only. Our confidence can make us believe in a way of beautiful. 

Fourthly, I can say that there are two kind of sources. One is Internal source and another is External source. If we are believe to be beautiful by internal source, then the entire world can be beautiful to us because of our wide vision.But if we believe in the other direction that is outer flow ( it can be a person or a thing). When we relying upon outer sources then they are not immortal. Rightly we are getting inner peace by those outer sources but might they are not getting or they are not at that stage where we are! Then it can be a magnificent reason for our unhappiness to be beautiful. 

Fifthly, at one stage the geometry matters to the beauty. When you see them in joyful conditions they're always beautiful or if you are in a certain state everything looks beautiful that's different.geometric harmony should be there whether it can applying to anything like a human being, animal, machine or things. 

3. Find out a research paper on "The Rape of the Lock". Give the details of the paper and write down in brief what does it say about the poem by Alexander Pope. 

Ans: 

 

Here I found a research paper named as " Depiction of Contemporary Life in The Rape of the Lock" By Dr. George Kolanchery, Bayan College, USA. 

In this research paper we can get the idea of comparison between the times. Abstractly he covered up 'Age of Pope',' certain section of English society in the eighteenth century','Ethos of aristocratic society'. 

Keywords: Alexander Pope, The Rape of Lock, Contemporary life, Fashionable society. 

Further we can find in his paper he tries to make us realize the incident in a way. Then he explain how the word 'Rape' refered at that time and in the contemporary time. Then he tells very briefly about the story in a single paragraph only. Like, 

Two years earlier, at a very fancy party just outside of London, the young Lord Petre had snuck up behind a young lady, Belle Fermor, and  snipped off a lock of her hair (literally seizing it by force) without her consent. That actually happened. Neither Belle nor her parents appreciated this  assault  on  her  hairstyle,  especially  since  they  had  been  considering  Lord  Petre  as  a potential husband for her. Yeah, that marriage didn't exactly pan out. Instead, the two families fell out hard with each other. 

Then he tagged this work as a mirror of the Age. That how society was affected by the people and goes on and on. there further point is, The Frivolities of Womenfolk. It portrayed that typicality of 

Fashionable ladies of that time. 

The toilet, in  fact,  is the  great  business  of her life  and  the  right adjustment of  her hair,  the decoration  of her  face and  the  chief employment  of  her  time.   Behind  all  these fascinating descriptions, there is a pervading sense of vanity and emptiness.  Pope’s satirical gift is shown at his best  when he shows the  outward charms and the  inward frivolity of fashionable ladies.  “Their hearts are toy-shops.  They reverse the relative importance of things; the little with them is great and the great little”.

Then he talks about Hollowness of the Gentlemen of the Day. 

Lavity was  the  prominent  feature  of the  women  and  men  of  this  age.   Their  manners  and behaviour  were  artificial  and  effected.   The  very  Hampton  Court,  the palace  of  the  English Queen was resorted by the ladies and lords to talk about society scandals.    

 Here thou, great Annal whom three realms     Dost sometimes counsel take and obey……..  

The serious and the frivolous are mentioned in one breath.  The poem reflects the confusion of values as well.   Mr. Elwin points out the relative importance  of things “the  little with them is great and the great little.”  They attach as much importance to a China jar as to their honour, as much to religion as to dances and masquerades, as much to their lap-dogs as to husbands.

Here he uses original lines even to prove his point. 

In the conclusion, he talks about the fashionable society and upper class people of the age. And also their activities and he says that how age was brilliantly empty. 

Click here to go to research paper 

Words: 1667

Reference: researchgate

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