Sayed Amanuddin Sayedy
Eng: 2850
Prof. Jeffrey Peer
Date: March 13, 2017
Dear Class,
The “The Disappointment” is a poem offers a classic representation of lovers in poetic form, but ties in the disturbing issue of male dominance and fight for power and discuss the gender issues in 17th century. The poet who is an early feminist tries to challenge the traditional way of power distribution and gender issues in the society, yet she makes the issue more complicated by never giving back the power to the male side. The lovers in the poem have Greek names; he is “the Amorous Lysander,” and she is “fair Cloris.” They are said to be a shepherd and a shepherdess who meet. The literal meaning of this poem by Behn is pretty obvious. Lysander, a shepherd, attempts to engage in sexual intercourse with Cloris, a maid. After a lengthy seduction, Lysander is unable to perform and leaves Cloris sexually frustrated “the Hell of Impotence”, though one interpretation of the earlier line “Th’ Insensible fell weeping in his Hands” is that he prematurely ejaculates.
The main theses which I arrived yet is that in her poem “The Disappointment” Aphra Behn shows the complicated nature of a woman’s first sexual experience. While it is clear that Lysander overpowers Cloris with his physical strengths and skills of seduction, Cloris has mixed feelings about yielding. It reflect the paradox between resistance and passion. Her sense of social honor of staying a virgin clashes with her love for Lysander and her desire for him and for the promise of pleasure. The poem is seems to challenge the established roles of men and women through the conventional gender roles by highlighting the dynamics of power which are illustrated by Cloris and Lysander in society in order to revise the oppressive presentations of power in relation to gender roles, often notable in the poetic construction of romance sexuality. On the Page 1 and 2 after the introduction and general sense I came to manage this point.
I developed my ideas after a close reading of the poem and comparing it with the 17th century’s era. And I came to this conclusion that the way the power has been distributed between male and female reflects a society in large. As this is my first draft, and would act as a base and foundation of my work, yet, I would like to discuss and analysis it more precisely in the next versions of my work.