Anniversary Essays on Alexander Pope's 'The Rape of the Lock'

by Don Nichol (Editor)

Overview

Alexander Pope’s heroi-comical, mock-epic poem, The Rape of the Lock, continues to sparkle after three hundred years as a peerless gem in the canon of English literature. In celebration of its tercentenary, this collection brings together ten eminent scholars with new perspectives on the poem. Their approaches reflect the vast range of interpretation of Pope’s text, from discussions of religion, gender, and eighteenth-century biological science to an interview with Sophie Gee about her novelization of the poem in The Scandal of the Season. These stimulating analyses will be essential reading for students and teachers of The Rape of the Lock and a valuable resource for investigating eighteenth-century culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442669680
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	01/27/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	20 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Donald W. Nichol is a professor in the Department of English at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction: The Rape of the Lock After 300 Years (J. Paul Hunter)

1. Courtliness, Courtship, and Court Cards: Fractals as a Compositional Device in The Rape of the Lock (Pat Rogers)

2. Gallantry and The Rape of the Lock Reconsidered (Louise Curran)

3. Making the Perfect Woman: Female Automata from Pandora to Belinda (Glynis Ridley)

4. “Charms strike the Sight, but Merit wins the Soul”: Female Spirituality and The Rape of the Lock (Katherine M. Quinsey)

5. Catholic Society and Commercial Idolatry in The Rape of the Lock (Nicholas Hudson)

6. “Hairs less in sight”: Pope, Biology, and Culture (Raymond Stephanson)

7. Death and the Object: The Abuse of Things in The Rape of the Lock (Barbara M. Benedict)

8. It Narratives, Thing Theory, and “trivial Things”: Sophie Gee’s The Scandal of the Season and The Rape of the Lock (Kate Scarth)

9. Of Words and Things: Image, Page, Text, and The Rape of the Lock (Allison Muri)

10. From “Trivial Things” to “trivial things”: Pope, Lintot, and The Rape of the Lock (Donald W. Nichol)

What People are Saying About This

Cynthia Wall

“Anniversary Essays on Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock is a worthy and timely tribute to a beloved and ever-intriguing poem. It really is a pleasure to read ten essays by ten interesting scholars on the same poem – every essay contributes something new and worthy to scholarship on The Rape of the Lock.”

Editorial Reviews

‘Donald W. Nichol’s edition of collected essays on Alexander Pope’s brilliant satire, The Rape of the Lock, is a timely and intelligent celebration of a literary masterpiece…. This collection brings new and original interpretations to a classic work of eighteenth-century literature.’

—Ileana Baird, SHARP News August 21, 2016

‘The editor’s preface provides a valuable account of the poem’s somewhat complicated publication history, which is also treated thoughtfully and with illuminating effect by contributors.’

—Jenny Davidson, Studies in English Literature vol 56:03:2016

‘The essays collected here offer significant re-readings of Pope’s masterful Rape of the Lock and cumulatively these high quality pieces represent a fresh engagement with a poem that one might have thought sufficiently well studied.’

—Ashley Marshall, Modern Philology vol 115:02:2017

“Anniversary Essays on Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock is a worthy and timely tribute to a beloved and ever-intriguing poem. It really is a pleasure to read ten essays by ten interesting scholars on the same poem – every essay contributes something new and worthy to scholarship on The Rape of the Lock.”

—Cynthia Wall, Department of English, University of Virginia

From the Publisher

'Donald W. Nichol's edition of collected essays on Alexander Pope's brilliant satire, The Rape of the Lock, is a timely and intelligent celebration of a literary masterpiece.... This collection brings new and original interpretations to a classic work of eighteenth-century literature.'

SHARP News August 21, 2016 - Ileana Baird

'The essays collected here offer significant re-readings of Pope's masterful Rape of the Lock and cumulatively these high quality pieces represent a fresh engagement with a poem that one might have thought sufficiently well studied.'

Modern Philology vol 115:02:2017 - Ashley Marshall

'The editor's preface provides a valuable account of the poem's somewhat complicated publication history, which is also treated thoughtfully and with illuminating effect by contributors.'

Studies in English Literature vol 56:03:2016 - Jenny Davidson