What is the theme of The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope?

One of the main themes of The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope is the exposition of human vanity, especially the vanity exhibited by the upper classes of society. He develops this theme by using the form of the mock epic, a specific form of satire that uses the structure and conventions of epic poetry to narrate trivial events and, in the process, make fun of them. In the poem, Pope narrates the story...

One of the main themes of The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope is the exposition of human vanity, especially the vanity exhibited by the upper classes of society. He develops this theme by using the form of the mock epic, a specific form of satire that uses the structure and conventions of epic poetry to narrate trivial events and, in the process, make fun of them. In the poem, Pope narrates the story of a beautiful upper class woman (Belinda) who has a lock of hair tragically stolen by Lord Petre. Throughout the poem, Pope illustrates the vanity of upper class society by staging its primary rituals, including a game of cards and a coffee break, as if they were worthy of epic literature. The poem's climax occurs when Lord Petre scandalously steals a lock of Belinda's hair and chaos breaks loose. All in all, while he's never overly nasty in his satirical treatment of events, Pope is also clearly trying to point out the absurd pettiness and vanity of upper class society by satirically relating it to epic literature.