ABSTRACT
The impotency poem's potential for making satiric comment on wider social or political concerns leads to its reappearance at a time of historical crisis under the restoration of the English monarchy. The translations of French impotency poems by Behn and Etherege in the years immediately following Restoration spark a renewed interest in the allusive nature of impotency poetry. Regnier self-consciously subtitles his impotency poem as 'Imitation d'Ovide'. Etherege attempts a pretty close translation of Beys, though condensing the meaning of each French quatrain, to one English heroic rhyming couplet. Aphra Behn's entry into English impotency poetry takes place with an adaptation of a French impotency poem produced around the time of Charles's return to the throne. It is useful to place Rochester's position at court in context. Indeed, Rochester's 'Satyr on Charles II' contains a level of bitterness. Rochester's 'Imperfect Enjoyment' poem can be read in the context of his other politically-focussed texts.
