{"id":322,"date":"2017-11-26T05:27:54","date_gmt":"2017-11-26T05:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/poetryandtheworld\/?p=322"},"modified":"2017-11-26T05:27:54","modified_gmt":"2017-11-26T05:27:54","slug":"love-desire-and-impotence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/poetryandtheworld\/2017\/11\/26\/love-desire-and-impotence\/","title":{"rendered":"Love, desire and impotence"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Disappointment<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
\n
BY APHRA BEHN<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
1<\/b><\/div>\n
ONE Day the Amarous Lisander<\/i>,<\/div>\n
By an impatient Passion sway’d,<\/div>\n
Surpris’d fair Cloris<\/i>, that lov’d Maid,<\/div>\n
Who cou’d defend her self no longer ;<\/div>\n
All things did with his Love conspire,<\/div>\n
The gilded Planet of the Day,<\/div>\n
In his gay Chariot, drawn by Fire,<\/div>\n
Was now descending to the Sea,<\/div>\n
And left no Light to guide the World<\/i>,<\/div>\n
But what from Cloris<\/i> brighter Eyes was hurl’d.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
2<\/b><\/div>\n
In alone Thicket<\/i>, made for Love,<\/div>\n
Silent as yielding Maids Consent,<\/div>\n
She with a charming Languishment<\/div>\n
Permits his force, yet gently strove ?<\/div>\n
Her Hands his Bosom<\/i> softly meet,<\/div>\n
But not to put him back design’d,<\/div>\n
Rather to draw him on inclin’d,<\/div>\n
Whilst he lay trembling at her feet;<\/div>\n
Resistance ’tis to late to shew,<\/div>\n
She wants the pow’r to say \u2014 Ah!<\/i>what do you do?<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
3<\/b><\/div>\n
Her bright Eyes sweat, and yet Severe,<\/div>\n
Where Love and Shame confus’dly strive,<\/div>\n
Fresh Vigor to Lisander<\/i> give :<\/div>\n
And whispring softly in his Ear,<\/div>\n
She Cry’d \u2014 Cease \u2014 cease \u2014 your vain desire,<\/div>\n
Or I’ll call out \u2014 What wou’d you do ?<\/div>\n
My dearer Honour, ev’n to you,<\/div>\n
I cannot \u2014 must not give \u2014 retire,<\/div>\n
Or take that Life whose chiefest part<\/div>\n
I gave you with the Conquest of my Heart.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
4<\/b><\/div>\n
But he as much unus’d to fear,<\/div>\n
As he was capable of Love,<\/div>\n
The blessed Minutes to improve,<\/div>\n
Kisses her Lips, her Neck, her Hair !<\/div>\n
Each touch her new Desires alarms !<\/div>\n
His burning trembling Hand<\/i> he prest<\/div>\n
Upon her melting Snowy Breast,<\/div>\n
While she lay panting in his Arms !<\/div>\n
All her unguarded Beauties lie<\/div>\n
The Spoils<\/i> and Trophies<\/i> of the Enemy.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
5<\/b><\/div>\n
And now, without Respect or Fear,<\/div>\n
He seeks the Objects of his Vows ;<\/div>\n
His Love no Modesty allows :<\/div>\n
By swift degrees advancing where<\/div>\n
His daring Hand<\/i> that Alter seiz’d,<\/div>\n
Where Gods of Love do Sacrifice ;<\/div>\n
That awful Throne<\/i>, that Paradise,<\/div>\n
Where Rage is tam’d, and Anger<\/i> pleas’d ;<\/div>\n
That Living Fountain<\/i>, from whose Trills<\/i><\/div>\n
The melted Soul in liquid Drops distils.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
6<\/b><\/div>\n
Her balmy Lips encountring his,<\/div>\n
Their Bodies<\/i> as their Souls are joyn’d,<\/div>\n
Where<\/i> both in Transports<\/i> were confin’d,<\/div>\n
Extend themselves upon the Moss<\/i>.<\/div>\n
Cloris<\/i> half dead and breathless lay,<\/div>\n
Her Eyes appear’d like humid Light<\/i>,<\/div>\n
Such as divides the Day<\/i> and Night<\/i>;<\/div>\n
Or falling Stars, whose Fires decay ;<\/div>\n
And now no signs of Life she shows,<\/div>\n
But what in short-breath-sighs returns and goes.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
7<\/b><\/div>\n
He saw how at her length she lay,<\/div>\n
He saw her rising Bosom<\/i> bare,<\/div>\n
Her loose thin<\/i> Robes<\/i>, through which appear<\/div>\n
A Shape design’d for Love<\/i> and Play<\/i>;<\/div>\n
Abandon’d by her Pride and Shame,<\/div>\n
She do’s her softest Sweets dispence<\/i>,<\/div>\n
Offring her Virgin-Innocence<\/div>\n
A Victim<\/i> to Loves Sacred Flame ;<\/div>\n
Whilst<\/i> th’ or’e ravish’d Shepherd lies,<\/div>\n
Unable to perform the Sacrifice.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
8<\/b><\/div>\n
Ready to taste a Thousand<\/i> Joys,<\/div>\n
Thee too transported hapless Swain,<\/div>\n
Found the vast Pleasure<\/i> turn’d to Pain :<\/div>\n
Pleasure<\/i>, which too much Love destroys !<\/div>\n
The willing Garments by he laid,<\/div>\n
And Heav’n all open to his view ;<\/div>\n
Mad to possess, himself he threw<\/div>\n
On the defenceless lovely Maid.<\/div>\n
But oh ! what envious Gods conspire<\/div>\n
To snatch his Pow’r, yet leave him the Desire !<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
9<\/b><\/div>\n
Natures support<\/i>, without whose Aid<\/i><\/div>\n
She can no humane Being give,<\/div>\n
It self now wants the Art<\/i> to live,<\/div>\n
Faintness it slacken’d Nerves<\/i> invade :<\/div>\n
In vain th’ enraged Youth assaid<\/div>\n
To call his fleeting Vigour back,<\/div>\n
No Motion ’twill from Motion take,<\/div>\n
Excess of Love his Love betray’d ;<\/div>\n
In vain he Toils, in vain Commands,<\/div>\n
Th’ Insensible fell weeping in his Hands.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
10<\/b><\/div>\n
In this so Am’rous<\/i> cruel strife,<\/div>\n
Where Love and Fate were too severe,<\/div>\n
The poor Lisander<\/i> in Despair<\/i>,<\/div>\n
Renounc’d his Reason<\/i> with his Life.<\/div>\n
Now all the Brisk and Active Fire<\/i><\/div>\n
That should the Nobler Part<\/i> inflame,<\/div>\n
Unactive Frigid, Dull became,<\/div>\n
And left no Spark<\/i> for new Desire ;<\/div>\n
Not all her Naked Charms cou’d move,<\/div>\n
Or calm that Rage that had debauch’d his Love.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
11<\/b><\/div>\n
Cloris<\/i> returning from the Trance<\/i><\/div>\n
Which<\/i> Love and soft<\/i> Desire had bred,<\/div>\n
Her tim’rous Hand<\/i> she gently laid,<\/div>\n
Or guided by Design or Chance,<\/div>\n
Upon that Fabulous Priapus<\/i>,<\/div>\n
That Potent God (as Poets feign.)<\/div>\n
But never did young Shepherdess<\/i><\/div>\n
(Gath’ring of Fern<\/i> upon the Plain)<\/div>\n
More nimbly draw her Fingers back,<\/div>\n
Finding beneath the Verdant Leaves<\/i> a Snake.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
12<\/b><\/div>\n
Then Cloris<\/i> her fair Hand<\/i> withdrew,<\/div>\n
Finding that God of her Desires<\/div>\n
Disarm’d of all his pow’rful Fires,<\/div>\n
And cold as Flow’rs bath’d<\/i> in the Morning-dew<\/i>.<\/div>\n
Who can the Nymphs<\/i> Confusion guess ?<\/div>\n
The Blood forsook the kinder place,<\/div>\n
And strew’d with Blushes<\/i> all her Face,<\/div>\n
Which both Disdain and Shame express ;<\/div>\n
And from Lisanders<\/i> Arms she fled,<\/div>\n
Leaving him fainting on the gloomy Bed<\/i>.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
13<\/b><\/div>\n
Like Lightning<\/i> through the Grove<\/i> she hies,<\/div>\n
Or Daphne<\/i> from the Delphick<\/i> God ;<\/div>\n
No Print upon the Grassie Road<\/div>\n
She leaves, t’ instruct pursuing Eyes.<\/div>\n
The Wind that wanton’d in her Hair<\/i>,<\/div>\n
And with her ruffled Garments plaid,<\/div>\n
Discover’d in the flying Maid<\/div>\n
All that the Gods e’re made of Fair<\/i>.<\/div>\n
So Venus<\/i>, when her Love was Slain,<\/div>\n
With fear<\/i> and haste<\/i> flew o’re the fatal Plain.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
14<\/b><\/div>\n
The Nymphs<\/i> resentments, none but I<\/div>\n
Can well imagin, and Condole ;<\/div>\n
But none can guess Lisander<\/i>‘s Soul,<\/div>\n
But those who sway’d his Destiny<\/i> :<\/div>\n
His silent Griefs, swell up to Storms<\/i>,<\/div>\n
And not one God, his Fury spares,<\/div>\n
He Curst his Birth<\/i>, his Fate<\/i>, his Stars<\/i>,<\/div>\n
But more the Shepherdesses<\/i> Charms ;<\/div>\n
Whose soft bewitching influence,<\/div>\n
Had Damn’d him to the Hell<\/i> of Impotence<\/i>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In \u201cThe Disappointment,\u201d Aphra Behn explores an intimate encounter between \u00a0Cloris and Lysander. I chose this poem as it reminds me of Andrew Marvell\u2019s poem “To His Coy Mistress”. <\/em>\u00a0While Marvell uses love and desire as an expression of the theme ‘carpe diem’, Behn uses the term ‘love’ to help the readers compare and contrast ‘love’ with physical sensations.<\/p>\n

the speaker describes Lysander as swayed \u201cby an impatient passion\u201d to initiate a sexual encounter with Cloris. we get the sense that Lysander’s desire lies on momentary desire. The term phrase \u201cimpatient passion\u201d evokes an image of Lysander in desperation of sexual contact. Moreover. ‘impatient’ not only emphasizes Lysander’s lust but also the ingenuity of his love for Cloris. By describing Lysander as impatient, the speaker shows us that Lysander is far more interested in the physical dimensions of his relationship with Cloris than the emotional ones.<\/p>\n

Behn\u2019s usage of the word \u201clove\u201d throughout the poem is interesting. Behn uses this term when she describes Cloris\u2019s eyes as a place \u201cwhere love and shame confusedly strive\u201d. The phrase shows the conflict between love and shame, and it shows that Cloris feels guilty over her relationship with Lysander. \u00a0The term ‘confusedly’ shows Cloris confusion insofar as how she feels about her encounter with Lysander, and more, it shows that Cloris and Lysander have not achieved a firm emotional understanding of their relationship. However, although Cloris is ;’confused’, she still chooses to pursue her desire without taking the time to \u00a0truly establish the kind of emotional intimacy that would likely eliminate her confusion. I think Cloris characterizations are in contrast with that of the mistress’s in Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress’, as Cloris seems far more impatient and in want of sexual experience.<\/p>\n

emphasis on physical intimacy appears again when Lysander regards Cloris\u2019s body as a \u201cshape designed for love and play\u201d. The word ‘shape’ is a term more to describe an object than a person, thus it has a function of dehumanizing Cloris and classifying her as a sexual object. Consequently, the ‘love’ in the phrase refers to physical love and create a sense of irony. ‘love’ is usually used as a term to represent psychological and emotional intimacy. However, the word ‘shape’ immediately objectifies Cloris as an object, thereby contradicting with the word ‘love’ which has profound emotional implications.<\/p>\n

Speaker then describes Lysander as having \u201cFound the vast pleasure turned to pain;\/ Pleasure which too much love destroys\u201d. \u00a0 Here the speaker implies \u201cpleasure\u201d destroys \u201clove\u201d , which immediately sets up an oppressive and dark \u00a0tone \u00a0to \u00a0the poem. thus, it is possible that the speaker is trying to imply the importance of emotional intimacy, as a relationship solely relies on ‘pleasure’ would make one to be impotent to maintain ‘love’. The speaker also sets up a distinction between ‘love’ and ‘pleasure’.<\/p>\n

When Cloris finds \u201c the god of her desires\/disarmed of all his awful fires,\u201d she acknowledges that her entire relationship with Lysander was built upon his ability to give her physical pleasure.\u201cgod\u201d and \u201cawful fires\u201d are imageries which create an image of Cloris loosing her innocence, and that Lysander has power over Cloris. \u00a0We begin to see the sexual encounter as destructive. Cloris was so entranced by her hope that Lysander could satisfy her desires that she was willing to allow him to sacrifice her \u201cvirgin innocence.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Marvell shows lovers’ pursue on physical intimacy is a means for them to take advantage of time and ‘carpe diem’, Behn reminds us that impatience to pursue sexual desires absence of love is in nature destructive and dehumanizing. \u00a0interesting!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Disappointment BY APHRA BEHN 1 ONE Day the Amarous Lisander, By an impatient Passion sway’d, Surpris’d fair Cloris, that lov’d Maid, Who cou’d defend her self no longer ; All things did with his Love conspire, The gilded Planet of the Day, In his gay Chariot, drawn by Fire, Was now descending to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4925,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[17,64,62,63,65],"class_list":["post-322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-student-posts","tag-comparison","tag-desire","tag-imageries","tag-love","tag-to-his-coy-mistress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/poetryandtheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/poetryandtheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/poetryandtheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/poetryandtheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4925"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/poetryandtheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/poetryandtheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":323,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/poetryandtheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322\/revisions\/323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/poetryandtheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/poetryandtheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/poetryandtheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}