Rochester and Behn: A Contrast in Crassness, a Comparison of Poems

While on the surface Aphra Behn's "The Disappointment" and John Rochester's "The Imperfect Enjoyment" seem to take on strikingly similar ideas, the glaring differences lurking just beneath this facade are far more telling in regards to the these poet's' true motivations. Rochester, a self proclaimed disciple of debachery who is quick to reference venereal disease and pedophiliac behavior, is not the most wholesome of individuals (a sentiment which he openly expresses through his poetry). And Behn, while not totally innocent by any means, is far more likely to, at the very least, hint at notions of love and virtue.

For starters, the male figures in each poem, at times, seem to be polar opposites of one another. It takes only sixteen lines for Rochester's unnamed protagonist to "dissolve all o'er, / Melt into sperm, and spend at every pore" (Rochester 15-16). He goes onto proclaim that "A touch from any part of her had done't: / Her hand, her foot, her very look's a cunt" (Rochester 17-18). This is a character who is clearly certain that the blame for his dilemma be put squarley on this woman, who, in hindsight, has done nothing but embrace her own sexuality. Initially, not a second is spent internalizing this shortcoming (later on this character will make a brief illusion to self-doubt).