The Rape of the Lock is a mock-heroic poem written by Alexander Pope and published in May 1712. The poem is based on an incident involving Arabella Fermor and her suitor, possibly Lord Petre. During a visit, the suitor asked for, and then took ("raped") a locket of hair from Arabella. Pope refigures Arabella as Belinda and introduces an entire system of "sylphs," or guardian spirits of virgins, and creates an epic out of a petty squabble.
The humor of the poem comes from the juxtaposition of this tempest in a teapot of vanity with the elaborate, formal verbal structure of an epic poem. When the Baron, for example, goes to snip the lock of hair, Pope says,
- - Canto III, Alexander Pope
- - Canto III, Alexander Pope
The poem was very well received and helped cement Pope's reputation as the foremost poet of his age.