The R*pe of Lock mocks an occurrence by contrasting it with the epic universe of the divine beings. It was based of a genuine occasion described to the writer by Pope's companion, John Caryll. Arabella Fermor and her suitor, Lord Petre, were both from blue-blooded recusant religious families of of catholic traditions, at once in England when, under such laws as the Test Act, all categories with the exception of Anglicanism endured lawful limitations and punishments. Petre, for instance, being a Catholic, couldn't have the spot in the House of Lords that would somehow have been legitimately his. He had removed a lock of Arabella's hair without authorization, and the subsequent contention had made a break between the two families. The poem's title does not allude to the extraordinary of sexual assault, however to a prior elective meaning of the word that is originated from the Latin <em>rapere</em> (prostrate stem raptum), which means "to grab, to snatch, to convey off". For this situation, "the r*pe" is actually the robbery and diverting of a lock of hair. As far as the sensibilities of the age, be that as it may, even this non-consensual individual attack may be translated as bringing disrespect.
