The Rape of the Lock as a Social Satire. 

Answer

How does Pope censure the tawdry fashion of the contemporary fashionable society in “The Rape of the Lock?”

Or, Consider “The Rape of the Lock” as a social satire.

Or, What picture of the contemporary society of London do you find in “The Rape of the Lock?”

As a writer of the Neoclassical Age, Alexander Pope (1688-1744) mainly focused on moral lessons, social criticism, and classical style. He wrote “The Rape of the Lock” (1712) to show the foolish life of rich people in London. He made fun of their fake manners, love of fashion, and silly quarrels. In the poem, a young man cuts a girl’s hair. This small act becomes a big matter. Pope uses this story to show how people care too much about beauty and clothes. This makes the poem a strong social satire.

Beauty over Religion: Belinda forgets about God in her daily life. She cares more about her beauty than her faith. Her mirror becomes her place of worship. She prays to makeup instead of to God. Even the Bible lies beside her powder and perfumes. This shows that she puts looks above religion. The narrator says,

“First, rob’d in White, the Nymph intent adores 

With Head uncover’d, the cosmetic Pow’rs. 

A heav’nly Image in the Glass appears.”

Here, Belinda is shown as praying to makeup. She looks at her own face in the mirror. The poet makes fun of her love for beauty.

False Importance to Trivial Things: The Baron cuts Belinda’s lock of hair. He does this for fun. But Belinda cries loudly and calls it a great insult. Her friends shout and fight to get the lock back. They forget that it is only a small piece of hair. Pope writes this small event like a big war. The narrator says,

“What dire Offense from am’rous Causes springs, 

What mighty Contests rise from trivial Things.”

These lines start the poem with a big idea. The