I must say that I especially enjoyed the poems by Behn and Rochester. I laughed so loud when I read “The Imperfect Enjoyment”. It’s kind of a dirty poem, and spirits know that some days we all just need a little bit of filth to make us smile.
In a way, I can kind of see how these poems are like Saturday Night Live. I can just picture Adam Sandler in a bed with some guest-star (who looks rather bored) lamenting about his inability to perform. Likewise, I can see Tina Fey (whose glasses became so über popular) chastising some poor actor (Tom Cruise) about his inability to satisfy her – like in Behn’s poem “The Disappointment”. It’s just something that all men fear, and making fun of such fears – in anytime - is something that both frightens men and makes them laugh: after all, no man wants to admit that he secretly fears his inability to satisfy.
Basically, mostly who – or what – Rochester is attacking is himself – his manhood. That in and of itself is quite a dirty topic. The first thing I think of is Johnny Depp in The Libertine when I read this poem. I have to wonder; is the woman his wife, or is it just some random girl? Was she left unfulfilled? Does he finish too soon (lines 9-10), and could that be the downfall of male pride? I, personally, think that he came undone too soon, because lines 15-18 basically anything about her undoes him – even the touch of her hand. It’s rather embarrassing for him, and that’s why he’s lamenting; through sex, he is able to make any woman love him, but he fails this time. Lines 23-31 kind of hint that she tries to arouse him, but she can’t – therefore, it is an epic failure.
In Behn’s poem “The Disappointment” it is the man who is being criticized by the woman. I don’t think that the woman is completely forgotten in Behn’s like she is in Rochester’s. I think that the man tries to still pleasure her (albeit selfishly in hopes that he becomes aroused) because of line 71 and stanza 3. Again, I do have to wonder: was he ever even excited? Or did he just finish too soon? I think that she tried to touch him in the later half of the poem because he realizes that he just can’t become engorged and gets angry after she runs off and blames her for everything. I must also point out that her name is Cloris which sounds a bit like clitoris.
In that, their voice is very similar. It’s very witty and caustic and stinging and all-out ego-deflating. Dryden’s poem “Mac Flecknoe” is more… exacerbated.
He’s attacking his former friend Thom Shadwell through the main character Mac Flacknoe. I think the entire poem is just one big scream at Shadwell to shut-up; that he’s tired of hearing his former friend say how much like Jonson he was when in reality, his work stunk. Dryden is basically mocking everything that Shadwell does in the poem – everything from the man’s operas to saying that Shad’s own satires had no sting. What could be a bigger insult?
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