The Rape of the Lock

First published in 1712 and enlarged in 1714, this mock-heroic poem treats a real quarrel: Lord Petre's cutting of a lock from Arabella Fermor's hair. Recast as Belinda at a Hampton Court card party, the action is inflated with sylphs, an epic arming, a battle of beaux and belles, and a descent to the Cave of Spleen, while the stolen lock is translated to the stars. The joke is the gap between Homeric machinery and a drawing-room insult. The poem is a social satire in heroic couplets, not a crime narrative and not a translation of Homer.

Quarter bound in blue cloth, pink moiré silk boards, blue cover-label. Ann Muir marbled endleaves. Transparent plastic dust-cover. No slipcase.