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Supernatural Machinery in ,”The Rape of the Lock”

Introduction:-

Alexander pope occupies a unique place in the history of 18 th century littérateur. He was

recognized as the poet of a great nation for a gestation. He was born in 1688 the year of

the glorious revaluating the Augustan age of literature pope is the representative kaput of

the classical age. Its literarily merits and defects are alike conscious in his verse, and he

versifiers who may be said to belong to his school pope has been regard, the leader to the

classical school of poetry which extend from the restoration to the French revolution the

age of pope has been called the classical age in a restricted and limited sense.

Every national literature has at last one period in which an unusual number of grate

writes are producing books, and this is called to classic period of a nations literature thus

the reign of Augustus is the classic or golden age of Rome. The gestation of Dante is the

classic age of Italian literature and the age of Louis xiv is the fresh classic age. Of it is

inters sense that the age of England. It was the age of great writes in pros, poetry and

drama. Knee we have read names to adore Addison, swift, richer dons, ;fielding, ;smallest

sterna, goldsmith dr. Johnson burke, gibbon an Alexander pope to name only farfel to the

great luminaries of the age. In this sense it is called the classical age.

An epic or heroic poem tells the story of hero whose actions have the national

importance. It is a long narrative poem written in an elevated style. Homer’s ‘Iliad’ and

odyssey’ are the best known example of epic. Alexander pope wrote the theme of the

rape of the lock is the cutting off a lock of a lady’s hair this subject is too trivial and too

low to find any epical of a heroic treatment what is there to be heroically about me
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cutting off a lady’s hair? And yet pope gives to this absurdly ladinorous subject the

dignity and exaltation of epic treatment. Out of this trivial them, pope spills out in a

mock-heroic style a poem which Hazlet called. The perfection of the supernatural

machinery.

The use of supernatural machinery is one of the salient features an epic and naturally.

A mock epic too must have a machinery various epic poets have presented the

supernatural beings under various names. Virgil land devils. In his mock epic. The rape

of the lock, pope has used aerial sprits. Pope has given vital role to the supernatural

machinery which can be discussed as follows.

Use of supernatural machinery:-

The use of supernatural machinery is the common feature of the epic of homer and

vigil. Pope introduced aerial spirits in the rape of the lock. His supernatural machinery

is suitable to his mock heroic style. The aerial spirits are there to tend guard and protect

Belinda from any danger. There are four elements sylph, nymphs, gnomes and

salamanders. The sylphs live in the air.

Pope tells us n the first can to that beautiful women return after their death. Violent

tempered women become salamanders of spirits of fire. Women of pleasant and pleasing

nature become nymphs or water sprits proud women become gnomes or earth sprits.

Light hearted coquettes are changed in to sylphs or spirits of the air.

Sylphs protect the young ladies from male. They guard and save the chastity of

maidens who are willing to surrender to their lovers. The earth spirits (gnomes) fill the
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minds of the proud maidens with foolish ideas Ariel is the chief of the sprits. He foresees

some calamity waiting for Belinda. He warns her in dream to beware of men.

The word machinery has been defined by pope in dedication to Mrs. Arabella former

in the following way, “the machinery. Madam is a term invented by the critics to signify

that part which the deities, angels, or demons are made to act in a poem. “It was

traditional with all the epic poets of the past to introduce certain supernatural agents such

as foods and goddesses to en home the appeal of their epic. Homer and Virgil have their

gods and goddesses and tacos his angles in Milton the machinery gains supervene

importance and the human figures are reduces to the position of insignificant creatures

acting at the behest’s of god Stan, and other Angels.

In the first version of the first version of the rape did not introduce any supernatural

machinery in the second version of the poem which was published in 1714 in pope’s

name. There was the introduction of supernatural machinery. George Holden writs. “It

is pope use of this machinery moreover, which, more than any other singles feature made

the poem the single success that it is”.

Pope’s object in introducing the machinery of sylphs and gnomes was to heighten the

mock-heroic effect of the poem and at the same times reader it more impersonal in tone

and so less distasteful to me fervor family. Pope was right in his judgment because by the

introduction of the supernatural machinery in the mock heroic poem he converted a mere

squib, which was too free and personal into a masterly and playful satire upon the follies

and frivolities of the fashionable young ladies of his times.

Pope confesses that he came across this machinery in a French poem called come he

goblins written by the be de mention de villas and published in 1970. In the book pope
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found the mention of the Rosicrucian doctrine of spirits the Rosicrucian’s were a sect of

mediaeval philosophers who appeared in Germany in the beginning of the 17 century.

Alluring to them the four elements fire water earth and air were inhabited by four kinds

of points salamander nymphs gnomes and sylphs respectively they had their origin from

the elements of nature and their temperaments were suited to their elements. They were

of both sexes but did take lively interest in the affairs of human beings.

Pope adopted the Rosicrucian doctrine of spirits and introduced the sylphs and

gnomes as the supernatural machinery in the poem. The gross and mysterious origin of

the spirits. He rather imported the platonic conception of the existence of the human

souls in another state after the loss of the human bodies and made the spirits lineal

descendants of the souls of women continuing their old passions in their mew aerial

forms. He sub divided the spirits into various classes according to his needs some

worked in the region of the upper air “the fields of purest enter” while others worked in

the lower region of hell, and still others were employed to tend the fair for the gnomes, he

invented equally novel factions and gave then a different character. He combined the

factions of the gnomes and sylphs with those of the allies and fairies of popular

imagination “pope says Warburton “brought in a new race of beings (not the old classical

gods) with powers and passions proportionate to their operations the sylphs and gnomes

to act at the toilet and the tea table what more terrible and what more terrific phantoms

perform on the stormy ocean or the fields of battle. They give proper help and do the

proper mischief”.

The sylphs and gnomes play a very significant and useful part in the scheme of the

story. They cannot be mingled with unseen protectors or mischi8ef makers to women.
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They help Belinda in her fascination. They preside over the toilet save the powder from

too rude a gale steal from rainbows a brighter wash curl their waving hair petticoat aerial

is in charge and it is the function of aerial to protect the lap dog from harm. The gnomes

also perform their part unburies gives. The vapors to Belinda. The bag of signs sobs and

passions is poured over her and then he breaks the vial whence the sorrow flow thus the

gnomes and sylphs do not play any vital role in human affairs they are simply the

protectors of human beings beyond such delicate interventions thy do not affect the action

of the poem.

The machinery of the rape of the lock allowed pope to give his imagination a full

play. It gave him UN unrivalled opportunity of indulging his descriptive powers. The

passage in which pope describe the sylphs in the II canto is a true piece of description.

The sylphs inhabit the air and the air is the elements which colors every line of the

description.

He summons strait his denizens of air,

The lucid squadrons round the sails repair,

The machinery of the rape of the lock happy as it is was severely criticized by denials.

The criticism certainly hits some minor defects in pope’s poem. The author of the rape,

writes Dennis has run counter to this practice of the ancients and moderns. He has not

taken his machinery from the religion of the ancients and moderns. He has not taken his

machines from the religion of his country nor from any religion nor from morality his

machines contradict the doctrines of the Christian religion contradict all sound morality
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there is no allegorical nor sensible meaning in then, and for these reasons they give no

instructions make no impression at all upon the mind of the sensible reader. Instead of

making the action wonderful and delightful. They render it extravagant absurd and

incredible they do not in the least influence that action they neither prevent the dinger to

Belinda nor pronto it nor retard. It unless, perhaps it may be said for one moment which

is ridiculous and if it be here objected that the author designed only to entertain and

amuse to that answer that for that very reason he ought to have taken the utmost care to

write his poem probable other defects in the machinery pointed out by Dennis are that

there is no opposition of the machines to one another there is not just proportion between

their functions the spirits which he intends for benign once are malignant and those which

he designs for malignant use beneficent to mankind the gnomes he intends for malignant

and the sylphs for beneficent spirit now the sylphs in the poem promote that female

vanity which the gnomes mortify.

“the last defect that I shall take notice of is that the machines in this poem are not

taken from one system but are sylphs and gnomes and salamanders which are

Rosicrucian visions in the second we net with fairies genii and demons beings which are

unknown to those fanatic with splitters in the fourth and sure of a separate system. And

fate and Jove which we find in the fifth canto belong to the heathen religion.

Whatever may be the criticism of the machinery be denials it cannot be denied that by

interdicting the sylphs and goners pope had vine to his mock heroic poem a beauty of its

own and without the supernatural machinery the rape of the licked would have rennined

dull and cannon place account of at petty quarrel and not a fine mock heroic poem that it

is.
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Detailed description:-

Pope gives a detailed description of the race of the supernatural beings and their

relationship to human beings. This is done through the tow mock heroic speeches of

Ariel. The spirits hover in the sky. They are invisible to human beings but always guide

their destiny. Their chief function is to protect the virgins from being spelt by lusty

men. The sports were once the women of the world. After the death of the women their

souls joins the spirits. Pope, though Ariel, reveals that the spirits of the vain glorious and

fashionable women only become he legitimate denizens of the air. The spirits of the

puritanical women go to the down worked and become the miscues sports. Pops calls

them gnomes while he calls the spirits of the light heated flirts as sylphs all the spirits live

in the atmosphere close to the earth and protect the virgin maidens.

The power to acquire any shape:-

It is the special characteristic of the spirits that they can acquire any shape and any sex

which they like fly anywhere but are always in the serve of the young virgins. They have

strange ways of protecting the young won. For example if a man desires to dance with a

woman in order to seduce her the spirits send another more handsome man with more

alluring offer and the former man is thus rejected. Ariel is the head of these spirits. He

within his fore knowledge of the futures warns Belinda to be careful about the impending

disaster. We see Ariel ordering the various sylphs to protect Belinda form the future

calamity.

Their function:-
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In the second canto Ariel elaborates the comic function of the various spirits. The

spirits have been assigned various functions to perform. Some of them are highest up in

the pure region of ether. These spirits control the movements of the stars the moon and

other planets. Others guide shooting star and control the rainbows. They also control the

storm and the destiny of the human race. Ariel himself belongs to that group of spirits

who have the charge of protecting the fashionable and beautiful young women.

Conclusion:-

In this way we can say that, “The rape of the lock” is a mock heroic epic. Canto I

begin with invocation to the muse. The supernatural machinery is introduced in this

canto. Arial describes the four different categories of spirits. Salamander’s nymph’s

gnomes and sylphs. The toilet scene is one of the most poetic passages in the poem. In

this canto pope satirists some of the features of aristocratic life in the eighteenth century