Wit and Satire as Moral Critique in Pope’s The Rape of the Lock

Abstract: Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock stands as a quintessential example of eighteenth-century mock-epic poetry, combining wit, satire, and social commentary to critique the superficial values of aristocratic society. This paper reassesses the moral dimensions embedded within Pope’s humorous narrative, arguing that the poem’s playful tone conceals a sharp and sustained moral critique of the English upper class. Although the poem ostensibly dramatizes a trivial quarrel over a lock of hair, its deeper moral implications expose the vanity, idleness, and performative codes of high society. By employing classical allusions, an elevated poetic form, and the conventional machinery of epic tradition, Pope magnifies the absurdity of his subject and reveals the moral emptiness underlying aristocratic grandeur. Viewed through the lens of Augustan ideals and informed by Pope’s position as a Catholic outsider, this study demonstrates how wit functions not merely as entertainment but as a vehicle for ethical reflection and subtle social reform. Repositioning The Rape of the Lock as a work of moral critique underscores the enduring power of satire to confront social excess and invites a re-evaluation of Pope’s role as both humorist and moralist. Keywords: Alexander Pope; mock-epic poetry; satire; moral criticism; eighteenth-century English society