Question

Which stanza from "The [email protected] of the Lock" by Alexander Pope indicates that the poem is meant to mock the form of the heroic epic?
1.) 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.

2.) 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;

3.) "To arms, to arms!" the fierce Virago cries,
And swift as lightning to the combat flies.
All side in parties, and begin th' attack;
Fans clap, silks rustle, and tough whalebones crack;

4.) Think not, when Woman's transient breath is fled
That all her vanities at once are dead;
Succeeding vanities she still regards,
And tho' she plays no more, o'erlooks the cards.

Answer 1

3) "to arms, to arms!" the fierce virago cries, 
 And swift as lightning to the combat flies.
All side in parties, and begin the attack; 
Fans clap, silks rustle, and tough whale bones crack;

Answer 2

Answer:

3.) "To arms, to arms!" the fierce Virago cries,

And swift as lightning to the combat flies.

All side in parties, and begin th' attack;

Fans clap, silks rustle, and tough whalebones crack;

Explanation:

Alexander Pope's satire poem "The Ra pe of The Lock" is a poem that talks of the upper classes of London at that time but in a mocking way. He depicts the scenes as similar to that of the heroic epics but then makes a mockery of it.

Out of the given passages, the lines that indicates that the poem is meant to mock is from the third stanza of Canto 5 in the poem where Belinda's lock of hair had been taken and she was devastated. Describing the fury of the nymphs and the womenfolk, the Baron and Belinda engaged in "a war" where she demanded the lock be returned. The depiction of the "war" with something mundane like "silks, fans" etc shows that the issue may be nothing serious but the way the writer depicts it is as if it is of a great war. Heroic epics are meant to praise and tell the tales of the hroic deeds of the characters, overcoming great battles and obstacles but here, the war is merely over a lock of hair which is depicted as something to the likeness of the heroic wars.