Copyright
William HutchingsPublished On
2023-12-19Page Range
pp. 59–78Language
- English
Print Length
20 pages
5. The Rape of the Lock
- William Hutchings (author)
Chapter of: ‘Wit’s Wild Dancing Light’: Reading the Poems of Alexander Pope(pp. 59–78)
Chapter 5 charts how The Rape of the Lock evolved from a limited ‘occasional’ poem into a complex and finely structured five-canto work. Male aggression and female vulnerability are balanced within the genre of mock-heroic, where satire and comedy are held in suspension. In the final canto, a strong female voice and a concluding metamorphosis combine to ensure the triumph of comedy.
Contributors
William Hutchings
(author)Honorary Research Fellow at University of Manchester
William Hutchings was formerly Senior Lecturer in English Literature and Director of the Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning at the University of Manchester, UK and he is presently Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures at that university. He now lectures regularly to public groups locally and nationally. He has a wealth of teaching experience on English Literature courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and is the editor of Andrew Marvell: Selected Poems, the author of The Poetry of William Cowper, and Literary Criticism: A Practical Guide for Students.