Alexander Pope is the only important writer of his generation who was solely a man of letters. Because he could not, as a Roman Catholic, attend a university, vote, or hold public office, he was excluded from the sort of patronage that was bestowed by statesmen on many writers during the reign of Anne. Pope was the
first English writer to build a lucrative, lifelong career by publishing his works.The Rape of the Lock, “a heroi-comical poem” (that is, a comic poem that treats trivial material in an epic style).
The Rape of the Lock is based on an actual episode that provoked a quarrel between two prominent Catholic families. Pope’s friend John Caryll suggested that Pope write it, in the hope that a little laughter might serve to soothe ruffled tempers. Lord Petre had cut off a lock of hair from the head of the lovely Arabella Fermor (often spelled “Farmer” and doubtless so pronounced), much to the indignation of the lady and her relatives. In its original version of two cantos and 334 lines, published in 1712, The Rape of the Lock was a great success. In 1713 a new version was undertaken against the advice of Addison, who considered the poem perfect as it was first written. Pope greatly expanded the earlier version, adding the delightful “machinery” of the Sylphs, Belinda’s toilet, the card game, and the visit to the Cave of Spleen in canto 4. In 1717, with the addition of Clarissa’s speech on good humor, the poem assumed its final form.
