Supernatural element in the Rape of the lock , 1. The women who are quarrelsome after their death, their soul goes to fire and such women become Salamander. 2. Those women who are polite submissive, after their death their soul returns to water and they become Nymphs. 3. Those women who are proud, serious minded, their soul go to Earth and they become Gnome. 4. Those women who are flirt and coquette, after their death, their soul go to air and they become Sylphs.

1. Supernatural element in
The Rape of the lock
Presented by
Mahir Pari Goswami
( Teaching assistant. )
Gopinathji Mahila College Sihor.

2. The Supernatural element
• The sylphs are presented as tiny good spirit with
wings. They can change their shape and sex. They
can see the future can inspect the heart of the
human being. They are airy and invisible to the
human eyes. These good spirits try to protect
Belinda.
• Their head sylph is Ariel. In the 1st canto the
sylph causes a dream to Belinda, the heroine of
the poem. The sylph appears in the form of a
handsome young man in her dream at the noon
time.

3. • The guardian sylph addresses Belinda as 'Fairest of
mortals' and she is told that she is protected by
thousands of spirits who wanders in airy regions.
The sylph has caused sleep and dream to Belinda
with a special purpose as he wants to convey
certain secret truths.

4. Types
• 1. The women who are quarrelsome after their death,
their soul goes to fire and such women become
Salamander.
• 2. Those women who are polite submissive, after their
death their soul returns to water and they become
Nymphs.
• 3. Those women who are proud, serious minded, their
soul go to Earth and they become Gnome.
• 4. Those women who are flirt and coquette, after their
death, their soul go to air and they become Sylphs.

5. Power to acquire any shape:-
• It is the special characteristic of the spirits that
they can acquire any shape and any sex which
they like fly anywhere but are always in the serve
of the young virgins. They have strange ways of
protecting the young won.
• For example if a man desires to dance with a
woman in order to seduce her the spirits send
another more handsome man with more alluring
offer and the former man is thus rejected.

6. • Ariel is the head of these spirits. He within his
fore knowledge of the futures warns Belinda to be
careful about the impending disaster. We see
Ariel ordering the various sylphs to protect
Belinda form the future calamity.

7. Their function
• In the rape of the lock Ariel elaborates the comic
function of the various spirits. The spirits have been
assigned various functions to perform.
• Some of them are highest up in the pure region of
ether. These spirits control the movements of the
stars the moon and other planets. Others guide
shooting star and control the rainbows. They also
control the storm and the destiny of the human
race.
• Ariel himself belongs to that group of spirits who
have the charge of protecting the fashionable and
beautiful young women.

8. Use of supernatural machinery
• The use of supernatural machinery is the common
feature of the epic of homer and vigil. Pope
introduced aerial spirits in the rape of the lock.
• His supernatural machinery is suitable to his mock
heroic style.
• The aerial spirits are there to tend guard and
protect Belinda from any danger. There are four
elements sylph, nymphs, gnomes and
salamanders.
• The sylphs live in the air.

9. • Sylphs protect the young ladies from male. They
guard and save the chastity of maidens who are
willing to surrender to their lovers. The earth
spirits (gnomes) fill the minds of the proud
maidens with foolish ideas Ariel is the chief of the
sprits.

10. Citation
• Search: rape of the lock. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.academia.edu/search?utf8=✓&q=rap
e+of+the+lock
• Shah, Umama. “Supernatural Elements in Rape of
Lock.” Academia.edu,
www.academia.edu/8949130/Supernatural_eleme
nts_in_Rape_of_lock.