Second Earl of Rochester's Imperfect Enjoyment and Aphra Behn's The Disappointment - Essay Example

First & Compare and Contrast John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochesters “Imperfect Enjoyment” and Aphra Behns “The Disappointment”The literature tradition of the Restoration Era in England was significantly influenced by the work of such writers as John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester, and Aphra Behn. While John Wilmot is considered one of the major representatives of the Era, Aphra Behn is known as the first professional female writer in England. It is pertinent to point out that the restoration of monarchy in 1660, besides other consequences, was followed by the repeal of the preceding Puritan restrictions and rigid censorship towards literature. As a result, so-called “libertine” philosophy, which promoted the ideals of sensual pleasure, emerged. Being free from the former Puritan canons, literature started to serve as a mean for expressing writers emotions and experiences without any constraints and was mainly focused on the theme of sexual satisfaction. Scholars also explain that due to the relatively stable and peaceful social and political situation of the Restoration Era it was no need to write about heroes or revolutions, invoking high moral values and ideas in people, any more, which created the grounds for the development of libertine literature as well. However, despite its sexual content, the premier goal of this literature was to show defects of society such as the “impotence” of power or unequal position between men and women. In this view, the current paper aims to analyze the main topics and ideas of the libertine poetry, based on the works of Aphra Behn and John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, which are considered among the most outstanding and popular representatives of this literature tendency. With his poem “Imperfect enjoyment”, John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, started the whole tradition of “impotent”, or “imperfect enjoyment” literature, in which, through the depiction of mans inability to perform his functions during the sexual intercourse, much deeper topics are raised. For example, already mentioned “impotence” or weakness of political power is implied in the image of man loosing his masculine power. On the other hand, libertine poetry changed the role of women in literature: from passive and modest Lady of earlier times, woman transformed into an active participant of the plot, who could have her own desires and be initiative. “Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century writers represented... a greater or lesser commitment to the basic idea that women’s intellectual and spiritual abilities, if not their historical accomplishments, were equal to men’s and ought to be given equal encouragement, granted equal voice” (Howe 262). Hence, the genre of “imperfect enjoyment” differed from the previous literature not only due to its sexually explicit, sometimes too vulgar and pornographic, “scenes” but due to its interest towards women: “in the “Imperfect Enjoyment” the frustrated male narrator directs his satire against his own impotent organ rather than against the mistress... The sexual “fault” in these poems, however, is located not just in the malfunctioning male member, but in the woman: she is too modest or too eager, too demanding, or too beautiful” (Nussbaum 65). At the same time, such poets as Aphra Behn went even further: not only did they place the image of woman, who can influence the man – they endued a woman with feelings. Further this aspect will be described more in details. In his poem “The Imperfect Enjoyment”, Rochester describes the males unsuccessful experience in performing his sexual functions during the intercourse with a woman. When the narrator was already going to throw his “all-dissolving thunderbolt”, he suddenly found himself struck with premature ejaculation: “But whilst her busy hand would guide that part / Which should convey my soul up to her heart, / In liquid raptures I dissolve all oer, / Melt into sperm, and spend at every pore” (Wilmot, lines 13-16). Even though woman tried to fix the situation first, we see her quickly disappearing from the scene of the poem and the narrator is left alone with his penis, to whom the greater part of the poem is addressed. The narrator recalls his past sexual victories, when he “through every cunt reached every heart”, “carelessly invaded woman or man” and could easily “find or make the cunt” from anyone, and blames his penis that when the real love came, this “worst part of” him was unable to perform at crucial moment. The narrators reference to his penis from high and pathetic “thunderbolt” eventually turns into “common fucking post”. When the narrator speaks about the past, his penis is described as “rude, roaring hector”, but after the failure is admitted, it becomes “treacherous deserter”, “rakehell villain”, etc. Finally, the writer curses “the most hated part of him” with diseases, wishing it better die than not be able to copulate with the woman to whom he had sincere feelings. Yet, at the end the writer also blames his mistress: And may ten thousand abler pricks agree To do the wronged Corinna right for thee. (Wilmot, lines 71-2) In fact, it looks like more a personal offense rather than narrators desire to curse woman with pain: “The satirist is hurt that Corinna does not return his love, and he expresses the hurt through anger rather than weeping” (Nussbaum 61). On the one hand, with his expression “ten thousand abler pricks” narrator shows his rage towards Corinna. However, when he says “to do the... right for thee”, it sounds as the narrators pity that Corinna will be loved not by him, but someone else. Corinna acts here as a personified ideal of speakers Love that is to subtle for the latter to be true or even possible. He believes, that love will deprive hm of his masculine power as, in this case, it will be not he, who penetrates but she who rules and decides. Besides visible idea of masculine impotence caused by female charms, Rochesters poem deals with much wider range of themes: “while... his episode of sexual dysfunction clearly disrupts gender hierarchies and ideas about masculine sexual agency, his conversation is not limited to hierarchies within the personal sphere... Rochester presents an image of failed masculinity that enters into the political realm, reinforcing hierarchies of political and economic authority through his inability to perform politically appropriate gestures of masculinity” (Wyndoff 7). Earl of Rochester belonged to the higher ranks of society and was known to be in good relations with King Charles II. However, because of his behavior and sometimes too sharp satire in reference to the monarch, Rochester often fell into his disgrace and once was even imprisoned. Though he was forgiven by monarch, the necessity to suppress his own thoughts in order to stay among the aristocracy may have resulted in the idea of personal impotence of a man, who, being trapped into rich and influential life, had to sacrifice his individual male power: Wilmots “satyres... create a very temporary illusion of power, and instead of becoming forceful weapons against the sex, they are monuments to the impotence of a narrator who is forced to confront his desires”. (Nussbaum 58) In the context of libertine philosophy, John Wilmot also manifested mans weakness against the power of his wishes and pleasures. One may assume that being over-experienced in too many pleasures and immoral life, which Rochester lead, the poet still could not find the eternal source of fulfilling his growing desires. In simple words in can be explained as “I have tried everything, yet nothing can satisfy me”. Thus, Rochester reveals his “recurring sense of powerlessness in the world of uncertainty expressed through a comprehensive metaphor of mans failure to realize his desires in the mortal world” (Nussbaum 58). Finally, rather uncertain political and socioeconomic position of monarchy, which, despite being restored, once had already been destroyed, meant that its authority was not as strong as before. Rochester applies the notion of “impotence” to the rulers who lack the power to maintain the country and their own position in order to preserve what has been taken back. Hence, he indirectly implies possible failure of social order if nothing is changed: “The power to maintain a socioeconomic authority requires that the power be demonstrated, and a failure to do so necessarily leads to loss of status. The relationship drawn between phallic activity and power... is the longer and well-established tradition of impotency poetry” (Wynhoff 9). Aphra Behn is famous as the first professional female writer and one of the first women who wrote in the genre of “imperfect enjoyment” poetry. Striving to change the “weight of patriarchal assumptions” and the view about the womens position in society, which Behn equaled to that of the “servants”, she produced a great number of works dedicated to the “femaleness” (Howe 262). “The Disappointment” is considered one of her best and most famous poems, which, moreover, followed the primary male genre of “impotence” poetry. Sean Guest, the researcher of Aphra Behns work, points out that “it is perhaps this unsatisfactory conclusion [of Rochesters “Imperfect Enjoyment] that encouraged... Aphra Behn to write a spirited response entitled “The Disappointment”. Her poem considers the matter chosen by Rochester from a somewhat fairer perspective” (9). “The Disappointment” belongs to the pastoral poetry, which images are usually closely connected with the images of nature and the characters of Greek mythology, that are frequently used for the purposes of comparison. For example, the second verse starts with the words “In a lone thicket made for love...” (Behn, line 11), which, as some scholars admit, embodies the idea that while womans “thicket” allowed to come in, a “snake” preferred lying under the “verdant leaves” instead of acting. Comparisons and reminiscences to the mythology provide more vivid and imagery descriptions in the poetry. For instance, Chloris is referred as “Venus”, “Daphne”, “nymph”, Lysanders penis is personified with the image of “Priapus, / that potent god...”, the sun travels in “chariot” and so on. Unlike Rochesters free-tongued, often colloquial words and expressions, Behns metaphors give some sort of softness and romance to her poetry. Let us compare the two passages from both poets works: 1) A touch from any part of her had donet: Her hand, her foot, her very looks a cunt. (Wilmot, lines 17-18) 2) His daring hand that altar siezed, Where gods of love do sacrifice: That awful throne, that paradise Where rage is calmed, and anger pleased... (Behn, lines 45-48). Here two different approaches towards women “beauty” are presented. Although both bear the image of vagina as a central image, Rochester generalizes the whole woman in one idea of a “cunt”. Even being attracted by womans beauty and, as he believes, in love, vagina remains the only object of his desire. It must be considered that, from the narrators position, it is a pleasing comparison as the woman, her soul, her body, her beauty have transformed into one big vagina – genuine narrators heartthrob. This is the reason why Rochesters woman is painted as “a lusty female character that has been masculinised and is consequently interested in only one thing”.(Guest 8). Otherwise, she will not be interesting to the narrator, who is keen only on himself and his primitive desires. Aphra Behns woman differs much from the Rochesters image of the same. What the poetess does in the above passage, she, unlike Wilmot, compares womans vagina to the “altar”, “throne”, “paradise”, using the lexicon from the religious realm. She, thus, not only makes a woman an object of mans desire, but also equals her to the heavenly creature, whom the man treasures and admires. Behns poem performs another version of “imperfect enjoyment” poems, which “is centered less on Lysander than on Cloris, less on his pleasure than on hers, and less on his misery than her “disappointment” (Hughes 214). In fact, Behn uses sexual intercourse as a theme, on which the story is focused. Yet, the pastoral is more about Chloriss feelings than the sexual act itself. In comparison to the attention given to Chloris, image of Lysander fades and we are involved into story, where mans impotence sounds as some logic conclusion. The poem centers on Chloris: on her hesitations, changing into desire, unified with shame, and, finally, disappointment. In contrast to Rochesters Corinne, who simply asks “Is that all?” and goes away, Chloris has feelings to Lysander and tries to stimulate him after the first failure. Hence, we see a woman – not only an object of males desire, not only a personification of beauty. This woman is active: despite of shame and hesitations, she inclines to the man, she calls him and she feels. In Behns poem the image of woman is also closely related to the state of nature: the poem starts with sunset, while Chloriss eyes shine for Lysander, then her eyes are described with “humid” light, when Lysander conquered the maid, and finally this light is running away and faints as Chloris estranges from Lysander: “as Behn handles the topic, the centre of attention shifts from male to female, and from penis to vagina. The pastoral realm where swains consummate their desires with willing nymphs is refigured as a deceptive landscape: thickets may invite, but swains cannot always perform; leaves may be “verdant” but what they hide is the snake of impotence” (Hughes 214). Guest also explains that despite being “sexually frank, Behns poetry was never as graphic or intentionally lurid and titillating as Rochesters. Rather, her poetry was, like the courts ethos, playful and honest about sexual desire... Behn delays the disappointing moment, permitting a palpable tension to flood the verse in a manner that far exceeds Rochester‘s handling of the situation.” (10) Behn was known as a woman who stand against the social patriarchal conventions of her time. For this purpose she reversed the traditional roles of male and female in “The Disappointment” by putting initiative and the right to decide into Chloriss hands and mouth. Hence, Aphra Behn “protests against the endemic antifeminism of her time” and calls for the recognition of women identity in a “ misogynistic society” (Markley 141). Thus, in the current paper masculine and feminine approaches to the theme of “imperfect enjoyment” in the “impotence” poetry were compared on the basis of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochesters “Imperfect Enjoyment” and Aphra Behns “The Disappointment” accordingly. Among the criteria of comparison main ideas of the poetry were chosen, its language and the ways female characters are described. Unlike Rochester, who implies the idea of failing power, views woman still as an object of mans desire and uses bald, free-tongued and too straight lexicon, Behns poetry is more woman-oriented. In the latters verses woman is presented as initiative, emotional and “dare” to have feelings, that was unusual for the masculinised society of Restoration Era. While through the idea of impotence, Wilmot expresses the loss of mans power, Behn manifests womans significance in society and males life. Works Cited Behn, Aphra. The Disappointment. Poetry Foundation, 2014. Web. 25 November 2014. Guest, Sean. “A Stylised Review of Sir John Wilmot’s “The Imperfect Enjoyment”. Exploring the Eighteenth Century Journal. An Exploration and Discussion of the Literature Produced during This Profound Century. Eds. Amie Hall, Lorna Greville, Daisy Leigh and Vicky Paine. University of the West of England, 2011. 8-10. Print. The Cambridge Companion to Aphra Behn. Eds. Derek Hughes and Janet Todd. Cambridge University Press, 2004. 213-4. Print. Markley, Robert. “Aphra Behns The City Heiress : Feminism and the Dynamics of Popular Success on the Late Seventeenth-Century Stage”. Comparative Drama, 41 (2). Western Michigan University, Summer 2007. 141-166. Print. Nussbaum, Felicity. The Brink of All We Hate. Lexington: Kentucky UP, 1984. 57-76. Print. Howe, Tonya. “Aphra Behn”. Longman Anthology of British Literature, Volume 1C. Eds. David Damrosch, Kevin J. H. Dettmar, Stuart Sherman. Longman, 2010, 259-263. Print. Wilmot, earl of Rochester, John. The Imperfect Enjoyment. RPO, 2011. Web. 25 November 2014. Wynhoff, Casey. The Potency of Impotence: Political and Social Negotiation in Rochesters “The Imperfect Enjoyment”. Escholarship, 2014. Web. 27 November 2014. Read More