ENG206(S08): ESKIN
Alexander Pope and The Rape of the Lock
Thanks once again to my wonderful students—this time to my ENG 206 sections in Spring 2008—for compiling a useful list of helpful sites for those lost in the heroic couplets of Alexander Pope’s Rape of the Lock. They are listed in no particular order. If you have further suggestions or questions, please contact me.
Spark notes: Rape of the Lock
I am not usually a fan or user of Spark notes but in this particular instance I felt as though this site had the best summary and information regarding the poem The Rape of the Lock. This website divides the information into subcategories with the option of choosing a summary of the entire poem, a list of characters to familiarize yourself, the context of the piece, an analysis of the themes and forms of the work, as well as individual pages devoted to each of the five cantos--providing a summary and explanation of what is occurring in each canto. This website also provides the researcher with a study quiz and review questions which is also helpful.
When I was reading the short summary and background of the work on page 1315, I was able to understand the comedic feel to the poem and why Pope wished to make fun of the love lock that should never have been cut, hence the rape. After reading this introduction, I knew the basis for the story but the text was still difficult to understand fully so reading some of the summaries on this website after reading that corresponding canto helped with my greater understanding of the poem.
-Sarah Mac.
-Mary Rose Heston, Victoria Hahn
Sparknotes includes a lot of beneficial information such as quizzes for studying, key facts for quick information on Alexander Pope, and summaries for each of the cantos. Sparknotes also gives an in-depth analysis for each character to help the reader fully understand the poem. This website is an awesome helping hand for understanding the beautiful work of Alexander Pope; it provides outside sources for other readings on Pope and the poem.
-Taylor Alter
-Whitney Brewer, Jay Bing, Sonya Recupero, Magen Carothers
Helium: Rape of the Lock Literary Analysis
-Vivian Sanchez
Books and Writers: Alexander Pope
It has a complete biographical background on Pope. It talks about his most famous works like An Essay on Criticism, The Rape of The Lock, Imitations on Horace, Essay on Man, Moral Essays, and The Dunciad. It tells about what kind of a person he was, and how he was very sarcastic and suffered from various diseases and conditions. He was also true to what he believed in, especially his religion, and his friends.
--Michael Taveras
This site had some brief descriptions of his life growing up and his parents' status as his father was a linen merchant and his mother belonged to a Yorkshire family. It also has a short description of the poem we read, about a girl who has a lock of hair stolen by a young man. The poem is very dramatic about this simple act, but I suppose that's what is supposed to make it funny. He also talks about the contemporary social world and possibly is using this as an ironical critique with suggestion of reform.
-Lauren Gilmore
The Victorian Web: Introduction to Pope’s Rape of the Lock
-Will Smith
The Literary Encyclopedia’s: Pope’s Rape of the Lock
This web site discusses the background information and elaborates on how this epic is considered a "mock" epic story.
-Jenn Bowers
Cummings Study Guide: Alexander Pope’s Rape of the Lock
I ended up on a web page that gives me great information that was easy to read and understand. In the section of the setting I was able to learned that the story begin at noon, which is the first Canto and where the story shifted in the second Canto was mainly about the boat that was carrying Belinda up the Thames and how her beauty was so amazing to everyone. I was also able to learn that “The Rape of the Lock” is when Baron deliberately cut of one of Belinda’s lock for his own pleasure. This web page also helped me to truly understand why Pope wrote that paragraph to Mrs. Arabella Fermor, It is because one of her lock was cut of in real life, and the story was some what based on that, but with different bits and pieces taken from other previous works by other artists.
-Elsa Brunache
This is basically like a sparknotes site. It has a list of characters, a plot overview; there's even a section that talks about the actual event on which this big ol' poem is based. I found it very helpful because it broke each Canto down and explained the language. A very useful site.
-Seth Spencer
-Patrick Rice
Rape of the Lock Homepage (from 1997, UMass)
This website was good and very helpful. It helped give some background information about Alexander Pope and it made the Canto's easier to read because it offered an annotated version. I interpreted the first canto as the speaker being a guardian of the subject of the poem. It was easier to read because it already included the references in the reading instead of having to look at the bottom of the page. It include a lot more information as well that the book did not about the author.
--Nancy Armenta
This website gives an in-depth look at both Alexander Pope himself and his poetry. It helps with understanding his poetry and links to other helpful sites. The Rape of the Lock is explained closely and was a lot of help!
--Nicolle DiRaimo
Representative Poetry On-line (UToronto): Pope’s Rape of the Lock
This site is a great poetry resource. It acts like the text and gives detailed annotations for the work. This particular entry also gives a brief synopsis and background for the entire "Rape of the Lock," seeing as this is the first canto.
-Seamus Burke
Poet’s Corner: Pope’s Rape of the Lock, A Heroi-Comical Poem
I liked this site because it had the poem and also had a brief synopsis on what it is about. It also breaks down some of the ideas brought up in the poem and how it is a parody of an epic. This site I think is really good.
-Orlando Morales
-Ashley Wilson
e-Zine articles: “A Tribute to the Rape of the Lock” (Tusher Jain)
-Jennifer O’Steen
Alexander Pope’s Homepage: Your Connection to 18th Century Literature, Travel, and Suicide Prevention
This website did a great job of explaining certain lines that may be difficult to the average reader. As I read Canto 3, I honestly did not understand a single thing that i was reading. I had no idea that Ombre was a card game and that numerous lines in the poem was referring to a card game being played. So, this website was of big help.
-Pierre Momplaisir
General Information sites.
Full Online Text
-Patrick Rice
Last updated 2/08