Allusion in Neoclassical poetry has various functions: allusion provides a contrast between the virtues of the past and the insanity of the present; allusion enriches the meaning and the texture of the poem; and allusion suggests a universality: people are not as different as they might believe being separated by time and space.

Dryden believed that history repeated itself, “For mankind being the same in all ages, agitated by the same passions, and moved to action by the same interests,” and he used allusion to illustrate that belief in Absalom and Achitophel, while Swift believed that locality had nothing to do with satire — “the same vices and the same follies reign everywhere.” While Neoclassical allusion drew heavily from the Bible, the Iliad, the Aeneid, and the Odyssey, Milton’s Paradise Lost expressed and typified the beliefs of the Neoclassicists, especially the view that man is a fallen creature and the consequences of that fall; therefore, Paradise Lost‘s importance is paramount and it is the source of considerable allusion. While the comprehending of the allusion is not essential for an accurate interpretation of Neoclassical poetry, it certainly augments the the tenor, suggestiveness, and the overall aesthetic quality of their poetry. Both Dryden and Swift grasped the function of allusion and employed it expertly within their poetry, yet Pope’s Rape of the Lock still provides the best examples of Neoclassical allusion.

Rape is a “mock-epic,” and that very category implies rich allusive foundation. Pope illustrates the contemporary equivalent of the address of the muse, the guardian deity, the the arming of the hero, the epic speech, the journey into the underworld, and the epic battle all with highfalutin, epic, yet bawdy, sexually suggestive language, contrasting the highness of the past with the depravity of the present. Rather than having the founding of a great empire as the subject of his poem, Pope’s subject addresses his society’s most important concern, i.e. image. So Rape contrasts the fall of image with all of its triviality and insignificance, with the fall of humanity, an exalted subject worth of an epic.

The scene of the actual rape illustrates the Neoclassical use of allusion:

This section of Canto 3 contains allusions to Paradise Lost and the Iliad. The latter is suggested by “fatal engine,” Dryden’s translation of the Trojan Horse, which recalls the invention of the Greeks to precipitate the fall of Troy — a grand machine compared to the dainty, gold scissors on the Baron’s fingertips. The phrase “glittering forfex,” the Sylph’s involvement, and “Fate” also suggest the epic convention of the gods’ participation and guidance in the course of events.

“Fate,” as well as “sacred hair,” “fair,” and “forever, and forever!” allude to PL. As the time of the fall draws nearer in PL the word “fate” appears with more frequency. Belinda has been likened to Eve since the outset of Rape, and the continual repetition of “fair,” applied to Belinda, evokes comparison to Milton’s fairest of mortals, Eve. “Sacred hair” recalls the forbidden fruit which causes the fall of humanity “forever, and forever!” In addition, the Sylph being severed in half and then immediately coming back together alludes to the battle in heaven in PL; pointing to and perhaps satirizing Milton himself.

The affect of the satire is underscored when the allusion is understood; the meaning is clear without the allusion, but the allusion both enriches and accentuates the triviality of the present situation. Belinda’s hair is only sacred because in her world image is everything — no true comparison to the fruit of knowledge. And, unlike the dissevering of the fruit which occasioned the fall of humanity “forever, and forever!” hair will grow back.