Rochester: "The Imperfect Enjoyment"

Kelley Lonergan - Waldo - 1H

The Imperfect Enjoyment

o Written in 1672 by John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester
o Poem on page 2169 of Norton Volume C
o THEME: Love, Sex and Marriage

o In a glance: Rochester comes too early, causing frustration to the woman as well as himself.
o Man is the extension of his penis
          o Genre of poems using this metaphor derives from Ovid
          o A man’s penis dictates his pride
o Sex is a metaphor for power→ emphasis on the aggressive
o The female in the poem has a voice—she speaks about her disappointment
          o “Is there then no more?” line 22
          o This is very unusual
o identity vs sexual identity → which is more important?
          o crisis of the self
          o the last two stanzas show the speaker’s inner battle
          o man needs to separate his SELF from his PENIS
o In the final couplet, the woman, Corrina, is personalized
          o The speaker, the man, is just a prick

Lecture from 2.12.08