When Belinda awakes from a strange dream and sets about her favourite occupation, the toilet, little does she suspect that a tragedy of Homeric proportions is about to unfold around her. As she walks through the beau monde, admired as a goddess and protected by an entire host of sylphs, she is unaware that evil powers are at work to rob her of a precious lock of hair. Belinda must command all her female guile to protect this lock for, once surrendered, she will forever be at the mercy of the roguish Baron.

An ingenious satire of the battle of the sexes and the follies of a self-centred young lady, The Rape of the Lock is, in fact, a subtle commentary on the contemporary social world and high-society preoccupations, and a cleverly veiled proposal for reform. It is presented here together with both the original two-canto version, and Pope's brilliant mock-interpretation of the poem, A Key to the Lock.

Format: Paperback
Year published: 2004
Pages: 205
Sub-genre: Classics; poetry
Imprint: Hesperus Poetry