God. Even the Bible lies beside her powder and perfumes. This shows that she puts looks above religion. The narrator says,
“First, rob'd in White, the Nymph intent adores
With Head uncover'd, the cosmetic Pow'rs.
A heav'nly Image in the Glass appears.”
Here, Belinda is shown as praying to makeup. She looks at her own face in the mirror. The poet makes fun of her love for beauty.
False Importance to Trivial Things: The Baron cuts Belinda’s lock of hair. He does this for fun. But Belinda cries loudly and calls it a great insult. Her friends shout and fight to get the lock back. They forget that it is only a small piece of hair. Pope writes this small event like a big war. The narrator says,
“What dire Offense from am'rous Causes springs,
What mighty Contests rise from trivial Things.”
These lines start the poem with a big idea. The poet talks about love, war, and silly things. These lines show what the poem will be about.
False Friends and Fake Love: Pope also shows how rich people had no true love. Their friendship was false and selfish. Clarissa helps the Baron to cut the lock. Later, she gives a speech about good sense. The following lines show this.
“How vain are all these Glories, all our Pains,
Unless good Sense preserve what Beauty gains.”
Satirising the Legal System: Pope also portrays the picture of the judges and jurymen in the poem. The judges and jury feel hungry in the afternoon. The judges pass death sentences hastily without studying the case properly. The jury members are hurrying to leave the court to eat dinner. They deliver a verdict of guilty (death) against the accused without discussing the evidence given by witnesses. Here is a quotation to support the point.
"The hungry judges soon the sentence sign,
And wretches hang that jurymen may dine."
In summary, Pope’s poem is more than a joke. It is a mirror of the rich society of London. He shows how people loved fashion more than values. The girls prayed to beauty tools. The boys played with emotions. A small curl became a war. This makes the poem a strong and funny satire. Pope wants us to laugh but also to learn. We must not live for face and fashion only. True beauty is in the heart and the mind.
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