[So long my honour, name, and praise shall live!] After taking the lock, the Baron starts thinking about how people will remember him. He says that his “honour, name, and praise” will live on because of wha […]

[A two-edg’d weapon from her shining case:] Pope compares Clarissa giving the Baron the scissors to a lady giving a knight a weapon. This makes the scene sound like they are preparing for a battle, even t […]

[ And trust me, dear! good-humour can prevail,] Clarissa points out that physical beauty does not last forever, even when someone changes their hair or wears makeup. She then changes the focus from appearance […]

[ Fans clap, silks rustle, and tough whalebones crack;] Pope uses sound and movement to make the fight feel chaotic. Words like “clap,” “rustle,” and “crack” create different sounds happening at the same time, […]

[Which snatch’d my best, my fav’rite curl away!] Pope uses exaggerated language to show how strongly Belinda regrets losing her favorite curl. She calls the day “detested” and says she would have been “ten ti […]

[Soft sorrows, melting griefs, and flowing tears.] Pope shows emotions as physical things that can be collected. The Gnome gathers “sighs, sobs, and passions” and puts “fainting fears” and “tears” into a vial […]

[ To steal from rainbows e’er they drop in show’rs] Pope exaggerates how much effort goes into being beautiful. The Sylphs do ordinary things like curling hair and helping with makeup, but Pope describes the […]

[Might hide her faults, if Belles had faults to hide:] Pope uses Belinda’s appearance to suggest that her beauty can excuse any mistakes or “faults” she might have. The phrase “if Belles had faults to hide” m […]

[Transformed to combs] What isn’t clear to me here is why Pope includes the tortoise and elephant in this part of the poem. I understand that they are connected to the combs Belinda uses to get ready, but I am […]

[The light Militia of the lower sky:] What isn’t clear to me here is what Pope means when he describes the spirits as “The light Militia of the lower sky.” I am not sure what he means by calling them a “Mi […]

[ ‘A frightful spectre, to myself unknown!] Montagu uses emotional language to show the difficult feelings that can come with growing older and seeing changes in yourself. Words such as “frightful” and “unkn […]

[ ‘There let me live in some deserted place] Montagu uses images of isolation when Flavia describes where she wants to live after losing her beauty. There is a contrast between the social world she used to e […]

[littleness] Gulliver’s description of everything as “little” shows how his experience in Lilliput has changed his sense of what is normal. His fear of “trampling” people are humorous because he treats pe […]

[evil destiny ] Gulliver describes his return to the sea as something controlled by his “evil destiny,” making it seem like he cannot escape his desire for travel even when his family disagrees. This shows the […]

[while I showed my art by steering starboard or larboard as I pleased. ] This quote shows that Gulliver is glad to finally do something he enjoys and show off his skills. Even though the queen is still treating […]

[ trust me abroad for the future out of her sight] After all the accidents Gulliver has experienced, Glumdalclitch wants to protect him by keeping him in her sight. While this keeps Gulliver safer, it also […]

[They would not allow me to be a dwarf,] This quote is funny because Gulliver is so small that they cannot even consider him a dwarf. The queen’s dwarf is supposed to be very small, but he is still almost t […]

[ hide her joy.] This is a good opportunity for Glumdalclitch because she gets to go to the royal court, but she is also happy because she does not have to leave Gulliver. Since she has taken such good care of […]

[prevent danger] Gulliver seems glad that his master protects him from the people who want to touch him. He seems to think that his master and nurse is protecting him because he cares about him and wants to […]

[She carried me on her lap, in a box tied about her waist. The girl had lined it on all sides with the softest cloth she could get, well quilted underneath, furnished it with her baby’s bed, provided me with l […]