The Rape of the Lock

by

Alexander Pope

The Rape of the Lock Symbols

The Lock

Belinda’s lock of hair comes to symbolize the absurdity of the importance afforded to female beauty in society. Pope offers a hyperbolically metaphorical description of the two locks in Canto II, humorously framing the…

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Playing Cards

In the poem, the playing cards that Belinda, the Baron, and another gentleman use in their game of ombre symbolize the trivial nature of life at court. Pope describes the playing cards in…

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