The rape of the lock

The poem is about a young girl, Belinda, who is about to suffer the worst fate of all: she is about to lose one of her locks. Her guardian sylph, Ariel, warned Belinda about what is going to happen to her but Belinda pays little attention to Ariel’s warnings. Ariel realises this and promise Belinda to protect her to the best of her abilities. That day, after Belinda got dressed and put her make up on, she travels to Hampton Court Palace, an ancient royal residence outside of London, where a group of wealthy young mare are gathering for a party. Among them is the Baron, who has already made up his mind to steal a lock of Belinda’s hair. He has risen early to perform and elaborate set of prayers and sacrifices to promote success in this enterprise. When the partygoers arrive at the palace, they enjoy a tense game of cards which is followed by a round of coffee. Then the Baron takes a pair of scissors and manages, on the third try, to cut off the coveted lock of Belinda’s hair. Belinda is furious and wants her curl back. So, she initiates a fight between the ladies and the gentlemen, in which she attempts to recover the severed curl but the lock is lost in the confusion. However; the poet consoles Belinda with the suggestion that it has been taken up into the heavens and immortalized as a constellation.
I chose this poem because, through humor and irony, the writer reveals the what society was like at that time. People paid more attention to appearance than to more important values such as virtue and chastity.

Sun