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
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