A Comparison of Societal Chaos in Rape of the Lock and The P
A Comparison of Societal Chaos in Rape of the Lock and The PreludeRomantic writers of the late 18th century into the early 19th century were then thought to be revolutionary authors influencing the world and igniting change in society through their use of poetry and prose. Two such authors of that era approached and affected their times in very dissimilar ways, yet their views on the social order of their day were very much the same. In Alexander Pope?s The Rape of the Lock, the social order of late 18th century England is depicted as stale and confined to manners of gentility and nobility. Pope?s traditional epic (also referred to as a Mock epic) persuades the reader to extend beyond the ordinary confinements of that society. William Wordsworth, in Book 7 of The Prelude, describes in a more serious manner the need for freedom of the individual mind and escape from the oppressiveness of an industrialized structured society. Both Pope and Wordsworth share a common image of the degradation of society, yet portray their disdain, one in a less serious manner than the other. Discussed in this essay will be the compared and contrasted views of a chaotic society in Wordsworth?s The Prelude (Book 7), and Pope?s poem The Rape
Invoking his version of the awesome, beauteous muse, John Caryll, Pope includes an essential element of the classic epic, of a minimized, yet in conservative and common degree: ?I sing ?This verse to Caryll, Muse!?(Canto I, line 3). His straightforward outlook at the calmness and beauty of nature: ?Possession of the faculties?the peace That comes with night; the deep solemnity O nature?s intermediate hours of rest, When the great tide of human life stands still,The business of the day to come?unborn? (Prelude, lines 654-659) Set against the confused masses (society) sets a tone for book 7 that attacks urbanization and the isolation it perpetuates:How oft amid those overflowing streets Have I gone forward with the Crowd, and saidUnto myself, ? The face of every oneThat passes by me is a mystery!?Thus have I looked, nor ceased to look, oppressed By thoughts of what and whiter, when and how?(Prelude, lines 626-631)Wordsworth viewed the chaos of society as coming into focus when we no longer recognized the beauty of nature in each other and ?The whole creative powers of Man asleep!? (Prelude, line 681). Clarissa?s role is perhaps the most revealing and palpable of Pope?s satirical devices; Pope introduces a voice of reason to help electrify his central idea. The wind behind the Baron?s hideous action, shortly after Clarissa hands the scissors to the Baron, she delivers an eye-opening sermon to Belinda and the others. Clarissa is essentially the ?moral of the story?, she drives home Pope?s notion that beauty is the God that the 18th century noble society idolizes, and not rightly so; as such society has become petty and has regressed a great deal (chaotic in a sense): ?Beauties in vain their pretty eyes may roll; Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul?(canto v, lines 33-34). Wordsworth, addressing the confusion and isolation of an urbanized society uses a more serious direct tone, asking the reader to change from within and not so much to trivialize or dismiss the aliments of a chaotic society. The very first demonstration of how Pope trivialized the social order is the very title of Pope?s epic, The Rape of the Lock. He described the break down of society as: Times when half the City shall break outFull of one passion, vengeance, rage, or fear? Similar to Pope, Wordsworth invokes the help of a Muse to bring reason to the disordered masses: ?For once the Muse?s help will we implore?. Through Clarissa, Pope advocates that beauty and vanity are not everlasting, and thus should not be ?praised and honored most? (canto v, line 9). Both used the imagery of nature (or thing of nature) to bring the reader closer to the realization that vanity and isolation are human traits that we all exhibit at time yet we mustn?t let them consume us. His answer to the confused and disillusioned society is to see the whole picture?nature and all of its beauty: ?By nature an unmanageable sight,It is not wholly so to him who looksIn steadiness, who hath among least thingsAn undersense of greatest; sees the partsAs parts, but with a feeling of the whole?The Sprit of Nature was upon me there;The soul of Beauty and enduring life?(Prelude, lines731-768)In The Rape of the Lock Alexander Pope links every element of the contemporary world with a scene or image of the classical epic tradition, trivializing the heart of contemporary society, its vanity and nobility through satirical poetry. In a perfect marriage of the trifling subject matter and the impressive epic form, Alexander Pope?s truthful points are effectively relayed to the reader. In Clarissa, we are introduced to a society that thrives on looks, and who has lost all appreciation for the more permanent, unique and attractive qualities of humanity: thoughts, honor and personality; and Pope?s views on the sheer abhorrence of it. Simply but allowing the heavy word rape to describe the marginal action of Belinda?s dramatized hair cut, reveals that Pope sees the 18th century?s new endeavor, vanity, nobility and gentry in a far less wondrous light than his contemporaries.
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