Machinery as Mere Ornaments in the Rape of the Lock: A Critical Analysis

In his engaging dedicatory letter to Mrs. Arabella Fermor, Alexander Pope writes, “the machinery was entirely wanting to complete it.” That is, he was ‘forced to’ use it as ornaments. When it was first published in 1712 with two cantos, the Rape of the Lock did not have any machinery in it. In the new version of 1713, it included the machinery. In 1717, with the addition of Clarissa’s speech on good humor, the poem assumed its final form. Besides, Pope raised the machinery, “on a very new and odd foundation, the Rosicrucian doctrine of spirits.” In line 5 of the text, Pope decided the style of the poem, “Slight is the subject, but not so the praise.” To make the style grand as an epic, the machinery is used as a decoration. Since an unimportant matter is described in a lofty tone, the purpose of mockery is achieved.