Rape of the Lock & Absalom and Achitophel

Both Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock and John Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel are mock epics. Exactly what makes them a mock epic as opposed to epic is the very fact that they satirize the elements of epic poetry like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. A typical epic consisted of a very long narrative poem that offered some grand adventure or tale on a heroic scale. The different episodes of the narrative embody the themes or foundations of a culture or nation. There are many elements in epic works, including but not limited to: the invocation of a deity, divine intervention, interference of the gods, major battles, journeys to the underworld, dreams, grandiose speeches, and so forth. The mock epic, in contrast, is a literary form that satirizes or burlesques the Classical epic. It does so precisely by bringing forth these elements from above BUT concerning a trivial subject like the cutting off of a lock of hair!

Both The Rape of the Lock and Absalom and Achitophel are mock epics and share similarities when it comes to the elements characteristic of Classical epics which they mock. Pope’s The Rape of the Lock uses heroic couplets, highly polished verse, and satire in order to deflate its subject and characters by using epic form to demonstrate them. The Rape of the Lock concerns the antics and fuss that ensue when a lazy young lord cuts a small lack of hair from the head of a young beauty. By using elements

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Muse! Is due; / This, ev’n Belinda may vouchsafe to view: / Slight is the Subject, but not so the Praise, / If She inspire, and He approve, my Lays” (Canto I, 1). Epic speeches are parodied and Pope uses epic similes. We also have a supernatural agent who appears in a dream and other supernatural forces. While in Classical epic these are powerful and terrifying forces like Satan, in The Rape of the Lock we are treated to Sylphs, Nymphs, and Gnomes. In a sense The Rape of the Lock is mocking women because women were considered trivial in this era, certainly not the stuff of epic. In John Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel, we are once again treated to a mock epic. However, John Dryden’s satire which uses the heroic couplet form of Classical epic as did Pope in Rape. Absalom and Achitophel is a political satire as much as it is a mock epic. The poem was written at the suggestion of the king and it is meant to be an attack on the Puritans who did not want the duke of York, the legitimate heir, to ascend to the throne of England because he was a Catholic. Achitophel is a thinly disguised version of the earl of Shaftesbury while Absalom is based on Charles II’s illegitimate son, the duke of Monmouth. While Absalom and Achitophe
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Approximate Word count = 1259
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)