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The brightest star at the court of King Charles II, John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647-80), lived a life of reckless debauchery and sexual adventuring that led to his death at the age of thirty-three - described by Samuel Johnson as having 'blazed out his youth and health in lavish voluptuousness'. Rochester was also one of the wittiest and most complex poets of the seventeenth century, writing comic verse, scurrilous satires and highly explicit erotica - from the bawdy self-portrait in 'The Maimed Debauchee' and the tender passion of 'Absent from thee I languish still' to the comic world-weariness of 'Upon Nothing' and 'A Satyr against Mankind', which mocks human follies. With endless literary disguises, rhymes and alliteration, humour and humanity, Rochester's poems hold up a mirror to the extravagances and absurdities of his age.
About the Author
John Wilmot, the notorious Earl of Rochester, was the darling of the polished, profligate court of Charles II. One of the finest poets of the Restoration, patron to important playwrights, model for countless witty young rakes in Restoration comedies, he lived a full but short life, dying in 1680 (with a dramatic deathbed renunciation of his atheism) at the age of thirty-three.
Frank H. Ellis teaches at Smith College, Massachusetts.
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Virtue's triumphant shrine, who dost engage At once three kingdoms in a pilgrimage, Which in ecstatic duty strive to come Out of themselves as well as from their home, Whilst England grows one camp and London is Itself the nation, not metropolis, And loyal Kent renews her arts again, Fencing her ways with moving groves of men, Forgive this distant homage, which doth meet Your blest approach on sedentary feet. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Virtue's triumphant shrine, who dost engage At once three kingdoms in a pilgrimage, Which in ecstatic duty strive to come Out of themselves as well as from their home, Whilst England grows one camp and London is Itself the nation, not metropolis, And loyal Kent renews her arts again, Fencing her ways with moving groves of men, Forgive this distant homage, which doth meet Your blest approach on sedentary feet. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I recently bought the Kindle version to replace a dilapidated paperback one. Unfortunately, the spacing is irregular and occasionally the text is not left aligned. Whether this is down to the Kindle or Penguin, I cannot as yet say. It does not make for a pleasant poetry reading experience, however. The occasional typos are no doubt down to Penguin. Given the publisher's reputation and their price setting for the Kindle version only marginally less than that for the paper one, this to be a bit of a cheek, not to mention sloppy.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Most people know who John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester was - after all he is one of our most famous rakes. His libertine behaviour has led to notoriety for him for all time. Quite a lot of people also know that he was also a poet, but how many of you have read any of his works? I admit that up until now I have only probably read three or four of his poems but I decided I wanted to read more.
This book contains 48 poems as well as one short drama piece, and one piece of prose. Was it worth reading? Well, the simple answer is yes. Wilmot was great at irony and satire, which clearly comes through in this selection, and he was also quite graphic in his sexual poetry, with some toilet humour thrown in. You should be warned though as some people find it offensive, he does use the 'c' word a lot for womens parts. If you are not offended by such things and can realise that he is using vernacular that was more current then than now, you should enjoy this. Even if you do not read poetry you may actually find that you like this after all, it is like limericks, it all rhymes and is funny, and there in lies his metier. If you have seen The Libertine [DVD] [2005], then you have some idea about Rochester's life and will have some idea about his poetry.
Make no doubts, the man was very clever and witty, and he was supposed to have come off with this off the cuff as it were:
God bless our good and gracious King,
Whose promise none relies on,
Who never said a foolish thing,
Nor ever did a wise one.
It is such rhymes as this that have made his poetry loved by many over the years, including some of the great poets, who he has also influenced. If you want to read something ribald and have a good laugh, then put your feet up with this slim volume of works.
This book contains 48 poems as well as one short drama piece, and one piece of prose. Was it worth reading? Well, the simple answer is yes. Wilmot was great at irony and satire, which clearly comes through in this selection, and he was also quite graphic in his sexual poetry, with some toilet humour thrown in. You should be warned though as some people find it offensive, he does use the 'c' word a lot for womens parts. If you are not offended by such things and can realise that he is using vernacular that was more current then than now, you should enjoy this. Even if you do not read poetry you may actually find that you like this after all, it is like limericks, it all rhymes and is funny, and there in lies his metier. If you have seen The Libertine [DVD] [2005], then you have some idea about Rochester's life and will have some idea about his poetry.
Make no doubts, the man was very clever and witty, and he was supposed to have come off with this off the cuff as it were:
God bless our good and gracious King,
Whose promise none relies on,
Who never said a foolish thing,
Nor ever did a wise one.
It is such rhymes as this that have made his poetry loved by many over the years, including some of the great poets, who he has also influenced. If you want to read something ribald and have a good laugh, then put your feet up with this slim volume of works.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Kindle Edition is a dud
12 Oct 2010
Format:Kindle Edition
Countless misspellings, mistranscriptions, meanings of entire sentences lost. No linked footnotes. Format has line numbers that make lines wrap on Kindle screen that shouldn't even at smallest font. Total waste and should be pulled from the store.
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