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What warning does Ariel give Belinda?
Ariel warns Belinda to “beware of all, but most of all beware of man,” but cannot elaborate on what exactly this warning means. Ariel himself seems perplexed by the warning, and as he assembles Belinda’s other sylphs to help protect her, he advises them to prepare for a variety of calamities, some grave and others trivial. This type of mysterious prophecy echoes others in epic poetry, and the particular uselessness of this iteration enhances the poem’s mock epic tone.
Why does the Baron want a lock of Belinda’s hair?
The Baron wants Belinda’s hair because she is beautiful. Like many of the characters’ actions in the poem, Pope treats the Baron as controlled by powerful forces beyond his mental faculties and rational mind. In this case, Belinda’s hair is simply too beautiful for him to resist. It is a snare that holds him. He later defends his actions as being part of the way of the world. Men, he argues, desire to conquer all that is beautiful, and cutting her lock is no different than the conquest of Troy.
Why is Belinda so upset about the Baron cutting off her hair?
Belinda’s emotions are controlled by Umbriel and the Goddess of Spleen. These creatures provide Belinda with ample reason for upset and manipulate her with a vial of sighs and a bag of tears. In addition, Belinda’s friend Thalestris works Belinda into a frenzy by reminding her of how much effort she puts into her hair and the potentially disastrous effect the Baron having a lock of her hair could have on her reputation.
Why does no one cheer for Clarissa’s speech?
Clarissa’s reminder that beauty fades is quite unpopular primarily because the youthful denizens of the room value beauty and don’t want to think about it fading. They call Clarissa a “prude” largely because her wise words sound old-fashioned. In addition, they are all too angry to listen to reason. However, an alternate reading exists. Clarissa furnishes the Baron with the scissors in the first place. Regardless of whether her speech is a sincere attempt to calm Belinda down, it’s possible that her words are particularly unwelcomed because she helped cause the situation.
What happens to the lock of hair?
According to the narrator and the muse, the gods set Belinda’s lock in the stars, preserving it in a constellation forever like the heroes of Ancient Greek and Roman mythology. It’s possible to read this fate as an acknowledgement of the tragedy of beauty’s impermanence. This reading somewhat validates Belinda’s feelings or at least empathizes with them. It’s also possible to read this as one of Pope’s uses of bathos, a comic comparison of a mere lock of hair to heroes like Hercules. More practically, it’s likely the lock of hair scattered all over because of the ensuing fracas.
