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How can you apply Pope's "An Essay On Criticism" to "The Rape of Lock"?

Pope's "An Essay on Criticism" is a manual for literary critics written in verse and has many elements that are applicable to his "Rape of the Lock."


First, Pope urges that his readers justly value the models of antiquity and appreciate their greatness. This means that as a student, even if you find Pope's own writing archaic or difficult, you should put in the effort to read it carefully for yourself; just as Pope learned...

Pope's "An Essay on Criticism" is a manual for literary critics written in verse and has many elements that are applicable to his "Rape of the Lock."


First, Pope urges that his readers justly value the models of antiquity and appreciate their greatness. This means that as a student, even if you find Pope's own writing archaic or difficult, you should put in the effort to read it carefully for yourself; just as Pope learned about human nature and literary form from close study of Homer, so you can learn from reading Pope. 


Next, Pope urges critics not to judge too hastily or negatively and to understand poems in light of what the poet is setting out to accomplish. That means that as you read the "Rape of the Lock", you should focus on its nature as a mock epic and how it effectively satirizes the traditions of heroic epic.


"An Essay on Criticism" also focuses on poetic craft. You can use the "numbers" section to evaluate Pope's use of meter; Pope would suggest that you look at whether he mixes polysyllabic words with monosyllabic ones to avoid having "... ten low words oft creep in one dull line" and whether he uses metrical variations in a way appropriate to his subject matter. 


Pope also argues that it is important to use rhymes effectively. In "Rape of the Lock" he often rhymes the grand terms of traditional epic with trivial ones of everyday life for comic effect, as when he uses an extended (mock) epic simile to compare a game of cards to a war; a good example of this manner of using rhyme can be found in the following lines:



His warlike amazon her host invades,


Th’ imperial consort of the crown of Spades


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