Analysis of The Rape of the Lock: Canto 3

Alexander Pope 1688 (London) – 1744 (Twickenham)



Close by those meads, for ever crown'd with flow'rs,
    Where Thames with pride surveys his rising tow'rs,
    There stands a structure of majestic frame,
    Which from the neighb'ring Hampton takes its name.
    Here Britain's statesmen oft the fall foredoom
    Of foreign tyrants and of nymphs at home;
    Here thou, great Anna! whom three realms obey,
    Dost sometimes counsel take--and sometimes tea.
        Hither the heroes and the nymphs resort,
   To taste awhile the pleasures of a court;
   In various talk th' instructive hours they pass'd,
   Who gave the ball, or paid the visit last;
   One speaks the glory of the British queen,
   And one describes a charming Indian screen;
   A third interprets motions, looks, and eyes;
   At ev'ry word a reputation dies.
   Snuff, or the fan, supply each pause of chat,
   With singing, laughing, ogling, and all that.

Meanwhile, declining from the noon of day,
   The sun obliquely shoots his burning ray;
   The hungry judges soon the sentence sign,
   And wretches hang that jury-men may dine;
   The merchant from th' Exchange returns in peace,
   And the long labours of the toilet cease.
   Belinda now, whom thirst of fame invites,
   Burns to encounter two adventrous knights,
   At ombre singly to decide their doom;
   And swells her breast with conquests yet to come.
   Straight the three bands prepare in arms to join,
   Each band the number of the sacred nine.
   Soon as she spreads her hand, th' aerial guard
   Descend, and sit on each important card:
   First Ariel perch'd upon a Matadore,
   Then each, according to the rank they bore;
   For Sylphs, yet mindful of their ancient race,
   Are, as when women, wondrous fond of place.

Behold, four Kings in majesty rever'd,
   With hoary whiskers and a forky beard;
   And four fair Queens whose hands sustain a flow'r,
   Th' expressive emblem of their softer pow'r;
   Four Knaves in garbs succinct, a trusty band,
   Caps on their heads, and halberds in their hand;
   And parti-colour'd troops, a shining train,
   Draw forth to combat on the velvet plain.

The skilful nymph reviews her force with care:
   "Let Spades be trumps!" she said, and trumps they were.

Now move to war her sable Matadores,
   In show like leaders of the swarthy Moors.
   Spadillio first, unconquerable lord!
   Led off two captive trumps, and swept the board.
   As many more Manillio forc'd to yield,
   And march'd a victor from the verdant field.
   Him Basto follow'd, but his fate more hard
   Gain'd but one trump and one plebeian card.
   With his broad sabre next, a chief in years,
   The hoary Majesty of Spades appears;
   Puts forth one manly leg, to sight reveal'd;
   The rest, his many-colour'd robe conceal'd.
   The rebel Knave, who dares his prince engage,
    Proves the just victim of his royal rage.
   Ev'n mighty Pam, that kings and queens o'erthrew
   And mow'd down armies in the fights of loo,
   Sad chance of war! now destitute of aid,
   Falls undistinguish'd by the victor Spade!

Thus far both armies to Belinda yield;
   Now to the baron fate inclines the field.
   His warlike Amazon her host invades,
   Th' imperial consort of the crown of Spades.
   The Club's black tyrant first her victim died,
   Spite of his haughty mien, and barb'rous pride:
   What boots the regal circle on his head,
   His giant limbs, in state unwieldy spread;
   That long behind he trails his pompous robe,
   And of all monarchs, only grasps the globe?

The baron now his diamonds pours apace;
   Th' embroider'd King who shows but half his face,
   And his refulgent Queen, with pow'rs combin'd
   Of broken troops an easy conquest find.
   Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, in wild disorder seen,
   With throngs promiscuous strow the level green.
   Thus when dispers'd a routed army runs,
   Of Asia's troops, and Afric's sable sons,
   With like confusion diff'rent nations fly,
   Of various habit, and of various dye,
   The pierc'd battalions disunited fall.
   In heaps on heaps; one fate o'erwhelms them all.

The Knave of Diamonds tries his wily arts,
   And wins (oh shameful chance!) the Queen of Hearts.
   At this, the blood the virgin's cheek forsook,
   A livid paleness spreads o'er all her look;
   She sees, and trembles at th' approaching ill,
   Just in the jaws of ruin, and codille.
   And now (as oft in some distemper'd state)
   On one nice trick depends the gen'ral fate.
   An Ace of


Scheme AABBBXCXDDEEFFAAGG CCHHAAAAXXXHIIJJAA KKJJLLMM JJ AANNOOIIAAOOPPJQRR OOAASSTTUU AAVVFFAAWWXX AAYYXQZZX
Poetic Form
Metre 1111110111 1111011101 1101010101 110110111 110101011 1101001111 1111011101 1011010011 1001000101 1101010101 01001110101011 1101110101 1101010101 01010101001 0101010101 11100101 1101011111 110101011 101010111 0101011101 0101010101 011110111 010111010101 001110101 0101111101 11010111 11101111 010111111 1011010111 1101010101 111101111001 0101110101 110010101 1101010111 1111011101 1111010111 0111010001 110100011 01111101011 1101010111011 1101010101 111101011 0101010101 1111010101 011010111 1111110110 11110101 0111010101 1111 1111010101 11011111 0101010101 111011111 1111010101 1111010101 0101001101 1111011101 0111010101 0101111101 1011011101 1110111011 0111000111 111111011 101010101 1111010101 1101010101 11100101 1101000110111 0111010101 111101011 1101010111 1101010101 1101111101 011110101 0101110101 110101111111 01111101 1101110101 1101010101 1110010101 1101010101 110101101 1101011101 110010011001 0101011 011111111 0111011101 0111010111 1101010101 0101110101 11011110101 100111001 01110111 111101011 111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 4,384
Words 717
Sentences 33
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 18, 18, 8, 2, 18, 10, 12, 9
Lines Amount 95
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 406
Words per stanza (avg) 89
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 05, 2023

3:46 min read
230

Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope (1688-1744) is regarded as one of the greatest English poets, and the foremost poet of the early eighteenth century. He is best known for his satirical and discursive poetry, including The Rape of the Lock, The Dunciad, and An Essay on Criticism, as well as for his translation of Homer. more…

All Alexander Pope poems | Alexander Pope Books

1 fan

Discuss this Alexander Pope poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Rape of the Lock: Canto 3" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/512/the-rape-of-the-lock%3A-canto-3>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    May 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    30
    days
    8
    hours
    56
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    The haiku is originally from ______.
    A Indonesia
    B Japan
    C China
    D Ireland