The Rape of the Lock

In “The Rape of the Lock,” Alexander Pope addresses fundamental flaws of human nature. Though satiric in its mood and tone, the poem is quite serious in its conviction to portray what Pope believes are two essential truths: humanity’s desire to ascribe significance to daily life and therefore pursue life’s higher meanings. Written with the intent to instruct readers while delighting us with its language, the poem makes claims about society and the purpose of morality.

In Canto 1, Pope begins the poem with its conceit, “What mighty contests rise from trivial things” (Line 2). Line 2 implies that “trivial things” are in fact not trivial at all. This is due to the fact that people often tend to attribute larger meanings to relatively small actions. The poem goes on to explore its first example of human folly: vanity. Ariel attempts to warn Belinda of this fault, but she does not heed his warnings. A love letter she receives is more meaningful than the dream, and she believes her higher purpose is to find love. She proceeds to beautify herself, placing significance in the things of which she makes use.