Bawdy and Then Some

What to say about John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester? I could mention he drank, was sexually promiscuous, was known to go out both in disguise and buck naked to recite sonnets in the street. He kidnapped a woman named Elizabeth Malet and stuck her in the Tower of London and then somehow married her later. OR I could say Wilmot, although most famous for his sexually-explicit poems, used his work to criticize and attack the very court he belonged to. Because of Wilmot's party animal reputation, he often got away with his barbs at the court.

Two of our readings, The Imperfect Enjoyment and Signior Dildo, definitely fit into the bawdy side of Wilmot's writing but the third piece, A Satyr on Charles II, clearly illustrates Wilmot's disdain for the king and is more politically motivated. Wilmot does make use of vulgarity in Satyr but the subject of the poem is not as bawdy.

I cannot say I enjoy Wilmot's style but I can appreciate his writing skill and sense of humor. He was definitely a notorious character and Samuel Johnson made note of his notoriety:
"in a course of drunken gaiety and gross sensuality, with intervals of study perhaps yet more criminal, with an avowed contempt of decency and order, a total disregard to every moral, and a resolute denial of every religious observation, he lived worthless and useless, and blazed out his youth and health in lavish voluptuousness".

Being such a "wild and crazy guy" attracked Hollywood's attention and there was a movie made called Libertine starring Johnny Depp. It was presented at the 2004 Toronto Film Festival and was well received. It has not been released yet. Perhaps Wilmot is even too bawdy for today's audience but I somehow doubt that considering some of things that have come out of Hollywood lately.

On a more positive note, I found the following comment about Wilmot's work:
Rochester has not lacked distinguished admirers. Defoe quoted him widely and often. Tennyson would recite from him with fervour. Voltaire admired Rochester's satire for 'energy and fire' and translated some lines into French to 'display the shining imagination his lordship only could boast'. Goethe could quote Rochester in English, and cited his lines to epitomise the intensely 'mournful region' he encountered in English poetry. Hazlitt judged that 'his verses cut and sparkle like diamonds', while 'his contempt for everything that others respect almost amounts to sublimity'.