'What dire Offence from am'rous Causes springs, /What mighty Contests rise from trivial Things,' In what ways does Alexander Pope subvert the classical epic motifs in the opening lines of his mock-heroic poem 'The Rape of the Lock'?

Traditional epic poetry usual begins in medias res which is the Latin for 'in the middle things', this is usual accompanied with an invocation of the muse whereby the author deems him/herself unworthy to really such a tale therefore divine inspiration is required. This divinity is again carried on throughout the poem whereby the hero of the work is usually aided by or least assisted in completion of his/her task by the divine. The narrative of the poem is usually about the grand scope of live, the destiny of nations, impressive and famous heroes that embody the values of the civilisation and vast sprawling settings. The theme of the poem is usually detailed at the start along with epithets, long lists or what are called epic catalogues and extensive formal speeches throughout. ‘The Rape of the Lock’ is about a small lock of hair cut without consent from a lady by a man. The event itself was one that actually happened and caused somewhat of a rift to form between a circle of friends. Pope was asked to write something that may perhaps heal the divide. ‘The Rape of Lock’ is a short poem which subverts one aspect of the classical epic which are usually far more extensive and the theme, rather than being vast and world encompassing, is about something rather small and inconsequential. Pope makes this clear to the reader in just the first two lines, ‘'What dire Offence from am'rous Causes springs, /What mighty Contexts rise from trivial Things’, which makes clear to the reader that it this should not be taken seriously and is far from important. The subversion here are the phrases, ‘am’rous Causes’ and ‘mighty Contests’ which are they traditional themes of an epic however here they are being utilised for the purposes of something far less impressive vis-`a-vis a lock of hair. Pope’s ‘am’rous Causes’ bear little resemblance with Penelope’s devotion to Odysseus or Dido’s passion for Aeneas. Rather, it is the Baron’s love for Belinda’s icon (her hair) that is the poem’s amorous subject. Equally, the poem’s ‘mighty Contests’ come about from the theft of Belinda’s hair, not, for example, from the offended honour of Achilles or Menelaus. Pope’s satire will thus deal with these “trivial things,” not the heroic deeds of classical history.