Epic convention - Rape of the Lock

... How does Pope use epic conventions in Canto I? 'The Rape of the Lock' is a mock-epic, which essentially means Pope makes fun of the typical epic genre by parodying typical epic conventions. Such parody is used continuously throughout Canto I by Pope such as the ominous warning, supernatural creatures and guardians. Through these, Pope pokes fun at the characters, such as Belinda, in the hope of pointing out the triviality of the argument between the two feuding families the play is concerned with. The first epic convention Pope parodies is the invocation of the muse in the form of "Caryll" - John Caryll (a friend who had asked Pope to write the poem in the hope of uniting the two families through humour). In Greek mythology - which is the cornerstone of many epic myths and tales - the muse were mythical and magical beings who inspired. Therefore, Pope's calling upon

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