To answer the question, one should first know what epic conventions are. Epic conventions include: an ideal hero, invocation to the muse, journey to the underworld, catalogues, in media res, supernatural, monsters, long perilous journeys, ascent to the afterlife/ heaven, weaponry, rituals/ceremony, arming for battle, long speeches, and epithets. Alexander Pope uses all, if not most of these conventions, in "The Rape of the Lock." By using these epic conventions, Pope creates a mock epic which uses satire to mock the vanity of the upper class during the Age of Reason.
In "The Rape of the Lock," Pope makes Belinda the epic hero meaning she is the epitome of upper class society during the Age of Reason. At the beginning of the mock epic, Pope invokes an invocation to the muse. The muse in this case is Caryll, the man who encouraged Pope to keep writing and expanding on his idea for "The Rape of the Lock." This can be seen in Canto 1, Line 3, when he writes, "I sing-This verse to Caryll, Muse! is due." Another convention associated which epics is a journey to the underworld. In "The Rape of the Lock," the journey to the underworld is referenced to when it talks about the journey to the "gloomy Cave of Spleen" in Canto 4, Line 16.
The next epic convention on the list are catalogues or lists of things. An example of a catalogue in "The Rape of the Lock" is in Canto 1, Line 121 when Pope lists the list of things in the box. In media res is utilized in Pope's writing, because the story line begins after the lock of hair has been stolen. Sylphs, gnomes, nymphs, and salamanders are all examples of supernatural creatures and are referenced to throughout the entire text. Monsters are next on the list and is portrayed by the baron who has the lock of hair.
As we keep moving along, long perilous journeys is next on the list. This journey is referenced as the journey to Hampton Court over the Thames in Canto 3, Line 2. Ascent to the afterlife/ heaven is seen through the deaths at the end and the sylphs lofty positions. Weaponry is included through the bodkin in Canto 5, Line 87 and the scissors in Canto 1, Line 115. In this case forfex is another word for scissors.
The primping for the party seen in Canto 2 can be associated with the rituals or ceremony common in epics. Another ceremony or ritual is when they have tea in Canto 1, Line 62. Arming for battle is also played out to be the primping for the party. Long speeches characteristic of epics are given by Clarissa, Belinda and the baron throughout the text. The last epic convention on the list is epithets or metaphors used to rename a god or character. These are scattered throughout the text and are not to hard to discern.
Pope uses all of these conventions mentioned above to satirically explain the lives of the upper class. Belinda is just one example of an upper class citizen and he uses her and an exaggerated day in her life to make a point about society during the Age of Reason. At the end of "The Rape of the Lock," Pope uses satire when he says the lock of hair was turned into a constellation, so the people would forever see Belinda's name and remember the story.
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