The Rape of the Lock (Pope) Summary
Alexander Pope

The Rape of the Lock (Pope) Overview

"The Rape of the Lock" is a satirical mock-epic by Alexander Pope. The poem was first authored as a two-canto piece in 1712, but Pope republished it as a longer five-canto poem two years later. Pope called "The Rape of the Lock" "an heroic-comical poem." It satirizes romantic and epic poetry by treating the theft of a lock of hair with as much seriousness as epic poetry usually receives.