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  3. 5. The Rape of the Lock
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The Rape of the Lock

  • William Hutchings (author)
Chapter of: ‘Wit’s Wild Dancing Light’: Reading the Poems of Alexander Pope(pp. 59–78)
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Title The Rape of the Lock
ContributorWilliam Hutchings (author)
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0372.06
Landing pagehttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0372/chapters/10.11647/obp.0372.06
Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
CopyrightWilliam Hutchings
PublisherOpen Book Publishers
Published on2023-12-19
Long abstract

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.

Page rangepp. 59–78
Print length20 pages
LanguageEnglish (Original)
Locations
Landing PageFull text URLPlatform
PDFhttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0372/chapters/10.11647/obp.0372.06Landing pagehttps://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0372.06.pdfFull text URLPublisher Website
HTMLhttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0372/chapters/10.11647/obp.0372.06Landing pagehttps://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0372/chapter-5.xhtmlFull text URLPublisher Website
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.

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