Mock-epic: Difference between revisions
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The '''mock-epic''' is a form of satire of the [[epic]]. It is "a work in verse which employs the lofty manner, the high and serious tone and the supernatural machinery [...] of [[epic]] [...]to treat of a trivial subject and theme in such a way as to make both subject and theme ridiculous | The '''mock-epic''' is a form of satire of the [[epic]]. It is "a work in verse which employs the lofty manner, the high and serious tone and the supernatural machinery [...] of [[epic]] [...] to treat of a trivial subject and theme in such a way as to make both subject and theme ridiculous" (Cuddon 514). It can be almost seen as a case of breaking a butterfly upon a wheel, it's much ado about nothing. Another feature is the extension of the story told. | ||
"The acknowledged masterpiece in this genre is Pope's ''The Rape of the Lock'' (1712, 1714), which he himself describes as an Heroicomical poem | "The acknowledged masterpiece in this genre is Pope's ''The Rape of the Lock'' (1712, 1714), which he himself describes as an Heroicomical poem" (ibid.). This poem, though, does not contain any heroism whatsoever. It is only based on a coincidence, which is that a man (Lord Petre) cuts off a lock of a lady (Miss Arabella Fermor), which leads to an estrangement between the two families. [[Alexander Pope]] brilliantly builds a whole epic around this triviality. | ||
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== Other examples of mock-epic are: == | == Other examples of mock-epic are: == | ||
[[John Dryden]]'s ''Absalom and Achitophel'' (1681) | |||
[[John Dryden]]'s ''Mac Flecknoe'' (1682) | |||
Samuel Garth's ''The Dispensary'' (1699) | |||
[[Alexander Pope]]'s ''The Dunciad'' (1728-43) | |||
Revision as of 15:40, 30 November 2009
The mock-epic is a form of satire of the epic. It is "a work in verse which employs the lofty manner, the high and serious tone and the supernatural machinery [...] of epic [...] to treat of a trivial subject and theme in such a way as to make both subject and theme ridiculous" (Cuddon 514). It can be almost seen as a case of breaking a butterfly upon a wheel, it's much ado about nothing. Another feature is the extension of the story told.
"The acknowledged masterpiece in this genre is Pope's The Rape of the Lock (1712, 1714), which he himself describes as an Heroicomical poem" (ibid.). This poem, though, does not contain any heroism whatsoever. It is only based on a coincidence, which is that a man (Lord Petre) cuts off a lock of a lady (Miss Arabella Fermor), which leads to an estrangement between the two families. Alexander Pope brilliantly builds a whole epic around this triviality.
Other examples of mock-epic are:
John Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel (1681)
John Dryden's Mac Flecknoe (1682)
Samuel Garth's The Dispensary (1699)
Alexander Pope's The Dunciad (1728-43)
Sources:
Cuddon, J.A., ed. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. Penguin Reference: London, 1999.