The Imperfect Enjoyment And Mark Strand: Poem Analysis

Between their respective poems, a theme of sexual frustration can be seen in both John Wilmot’s “The Imperfect Enjoyment” and Mark Strand’s “Courtship.” What distinguishes these poems from each other is the type of sexual frustration being portrayed in the poem and how the speaker deals with said frustration. By looking at this shared theme in these poems from different time periods, there can be better understanding on how sexuality has changed in recent centuries. “The Imperfect Enjoyment” begins with the speaker embracing a naked woman, but as they are engaging in foreplay, the speaker prematurely ejaculates, as seen by the lines “But whilst her busy hand would guide that part which would convey my soul up to her heart, in liquid raptures I dissolve all o’er, melt into sperm. . . a touch from any part of her had done’t. . . .” These lines show that the speaker could not control himself, and, as a result of too much excitement, released his
fluids prematurely in the heated moment. At this point, the smiling woman asks if there is anymore and then begins to interpret her lover’s sexual overload as a “debt to pleasure.” Following his sexual error, the speaker chastises himself for not being able to screw properly and laments for his libido, thus signifying the end of this poem. Knowing all this, how can sexual frustrations from the mid-20th century be so different than the mid-17th century? “Courtship” begins with the speaker addressing the reader as if it were himself recounting a time when he lied to a woman about his penis being big and demanding.
Soon after, it is implied that the woman sees the speaker’s penis, and that it is not, in fact, big and demanding, but to save face, the man tells her that he is “almost a girl himself” and “can can understand why she is shocked.” The speaker gets on his knees in desperation, an act which the woman falls for, and suddenly the man tries to reel her in further by talking of children. Subsequently, the man loses control— asking for forgiveness as he reaches for her panties—when the woman tries to pacify him. The poem then conveys some animalistic imagery in the lines “she squirms and you howl like a wolf. Your craving seems monumental.” In using such predatory diction, the speaker seems to imply that relationships during this time period could be thought of as “no means yes” and may be subtly trying say that there is an ongoing rape culture during the mid-20th
century. In summary, after looking at both of these poems that are from respective time periods, it can be safe to assume that human sexuality has stayed constant in some areas, but also changed over the past centuries. Premature ejaculation and penis insecurity are problems that men in the 21st century can regularly face, but after reading these two works, it is apparent that these issues date back quite a bit. What is most interesting about these poems and their shared theme is how the respective speakers choose to deal with their sexual frustrations. Wilmot’s speaker more so takes a pity route and concerns himself with his overexcitement and his neglectful action that led to his lover’s dissatisfaction, while Strand’s speaker takes an aggressive route and forces himself upon a woman in a physical and matrimonial sense. Ultimately, it seems that there can be so much more exploration into the history of human sexuality by looking to poetry.