17th Century Restoration Literature, John Wilmot, Aphra Behn and the Philoshopical Background of Libertinism Essay Example

17th Century Restoration Literature, John Wilmot, Aphra Behn and the Philoshopical Background of Libertinism Essay Libertinism is the term used to describe the philosophical outlook that began to be adopted by some northern Europeans in the 17th century, predominantly in England and France. Libertines placed a great emphasis on the pleasures that could be enjoyed in life, such as sex and alcohol, holding a cynical view toward anything that could not be physically experienced. Religiously the ‘sinful’ living that many libertines carried out meant they instantly clashed with the views of the established church and while many libertines would have held atheistic or nihilistic views on life, this is not to say that all libertines were without religion.When considering why libertinism evolved it is important to remember that this change in people’s thinking was set against a changing political backdrop. The Restoration certainly had a knock on effect, for starters, the celebratory atmosphere would defiantly have been accompanied by much drinking and carousing. Perhaps it was the su dden change from being ruled by the strict religious line of Cromwell to a monarchy that had been famously living a lavish party lifestyle while in exile that caused this surge of libertinism (Daiches, 538).Even the theatre, the setting where more liberal ideas that might oppose the moral code of the puritans could be presented, was re-opened following the restoration. One could even point to the influence of the scientific revolution that was taking place at this time. With a new focus on trusting empirical evidence only people were challenging firmly established beliefs, as well as authoritative opinion, allowing for people to develop their own ideas and philosophies (Smith, 78).A major influence on libertine thought was the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. Many of Hobbes influential ideas such as his views on social and political order and the notion of the rights of the individual were concepts that underpinned the liberal, unrestricted thought of the libertines. In particular I fee l Hobbes’ liberal interpretation of law that people are free to do whatever the law does not explicitly forbid, allows for more liberal thinking about how societal and personal boundaries could be expanded (Manet, 38).When comparing the poetry of Aphra Behn and John Wilmot, the 2nd Earl of Rochester, two influential libertine writers, naturally enough much of the discussion will inevitably gravitate around gender issues. In an almost completely male dominated environment of the literary world Aphra Behn managed to become the first female to earn a living by writing. Her gender unavoidably affected her work, in that she had somewhat less freedom to explore certain issues than men would have, however it did not stop her from expressing her feelings and from giving a real female perspective in her poetry.In this sense it could be argued that perhaps the poetry of Behn is equally as radical and controversial as the notoriously provocative work of Rochester. The poem â€Å"The D isappointment†, by Aphra Behn and Rochester’s’ â€Å"The Imperfect Enjoyment† give us the perfect opportunity to analyse both writers together as in these poems deal with the same subject – a premature sexual encounter. The first most obvious difference is of course the fact that Rochester is describing the experience from his own perspective with his use of ‘I’ throughout his description of the events.The use of this personal pronoun gives the reader a sense that this is a genuine experience of the authors; however it means that this poem is almost exclusively concerned with the male point of view, with no empathy shown for the woman’s feelings. In Aphra Behn’s poem on the other hand we are given the female perspective of an encounter between Lysander, a shepherd and Cloris, a maid. The style and tone of each poem is noticeably different.While Rochester shows no shyness in getting straight to the gritty, graphic and often crude details of the encounter, Behn, while by no means completely innocent, makes reference to notions of virtue and love. She discusses â€Å"Their bodies, as their souls†, with mentions love throughout. While Rochester initially uses the woman’s seductive nature as an excuse, believing that ‘A touch from any part of her had donet’, as the poem progresses an element of self-doubt emerges when he begins to feel that perhaps his own performance is to blame.He displays his frustration and anger with his body’s inadequacies with his use of war metaphors, conveying the obvious shame he feels by depicting his penis as a cowardly instrument. Behn on the other hand cites the lovers overly passionate attraction to one another, â€Å"Pleasure which too much love destroys†, as the cause for their overly hasty meeting. This is a good example of the fundamental difference that exists between the two poets outlook on love, Rochester is a cynic while Beh n appears to look beyond mere physical realities.As to the misogynistic nature of Rochester’s poetry it is difficult to argue against the assertion that he viewed women as much more that sexual objects. He displays his low opinion of women throughout his work, barring moments where he appreciates women for their aesthetic beauty. When discussing Rochester’s misogyny we must take into consideration social attitudes and also the fact that it was a time where London was rife with prostitution; however this does not excuse his clear distain for the entire female gender. His poem ‘A Ramble in St.James Park’ depicts the sexual undercurrent that existed in London at the time. Here Rochester conveys the ethereal feeling of awe that a particularly attractive woman can have ‘The proud disdain she cast on me, through charming eyes, he would have swore, she dropped from heaven that very hour’. Unsurprisingly though only lines later Rochester shows his tr ue sentiment saying that women are creatures that are â€Å"infinitely vile, when fair! †, perhaps Rochester’s own deep seeded feelings of lust and jealously being the cause of this.In his poem â€Å"Song† Rochester professes woman’s inferiority to men, â€Å"Love a woman! y’are an Ass, ‘Tis a most insipid Passion, To choose out for your happiness The idlest part of god’s creation! †. This could be perhaps be interpreted as Rochester expressing his preference for homosexual relations but nonetheless he views women as idle creatures and is unmistakably misogynistic. One can point to countless examples where Rochester uses derogatory language to convey his feelings about women, commonly referencing women as ‘whores’ and depicting them as meaningless sexual objects.There is reason to think that Rochester’s renowned misogyny may be closely linked to his philosophical views. His cynical, materialistic outlook on l ife leaves him fixated with the physical mechanics of sexuality, as Marianne Thormahlen observes â€Å"At the centre of Rochester’s poems on love, there is an empty space† (Cambridge Companion, 208). I think it is this shallowness that leads Rochester to become increasingly frustrated with women and therefore women inevitably incur the same damming condemnation that Rochester seems to inflict on every subject that he discusses.

The Perfect Blog Post Simpler Is Better - CoSchedule Blog

The Perfect Blog Post Simpler Is Better Blog I have designed my fair share of blog themes from top to bottom, and while I have allowed myself to experiment some, I usually find that there is almost a formula for success. This doesnt mean that there are a bunch of hard and fast rules. It just means that successful blogs usually look a certain way for a reason. In art school, I was taught that I needed to learn the rules of art before I was allowed to break them. The same goes for many things in life.  Once you understand the rules, it will up to you to implement them, and break them, as you see fit. Here are a few of the rules for blog design that I have adopted over the years. Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¢ Dalai Lama XIVLess Is Really More Often, we equate working on our blog with installing a new widget on our sidebar. Trust me, your sidebar doesnt need another widget. If fact, it probably needs less. What you really need is a blog that works with your goals, and converts on your call-to-action. Sounds simple, but how do we get there? Our blog design must serve our content well. Your layout should make your content easy to read and experience. 100% of our blog design needs to be about the  content that it is serving. A great blog design focuses on a single call to action. What do you want the reader to do when they come to your blog? You could pick seven different things. Pick one. With that, I would like to introduce the perfect blog post. Download a PDF copy of this diagram to use as you blog. The Content The content area of your blog should be the largest and most prominent. Your content is why your readers are here, and it should be: Easy To Read Use large, easy-to-read fonts with extra padding around the post and a fair amount of white space. Giving your content some breathing room will go a long way in making the post more readable. Contain Inline Call-To-Actions I like to include at least a few inline call-to-actions in each post. Prompting the reader to tweet a quote or a callout is easier than getting them to share a post at the end. To do this, we made our own custom plugin which we later  started giving away. Minimize Meta Data I usually try to keep meta-data to a minimum. When designing a blog, the author, category, and date information is up for debate. You will need to consider carefully your need for them. Keep it to the bare minimum. Keep Sharing Buttons To A Minimum I have personally come to believe that sharing buttons should be simple, minimal, and usually at the bottom of the post. After all, the post is about your content, not share buttons. Many blogs believe that more sharing buttons will equal more sharing, but that is rarely the case. The Sidebar The sidebar of your blog is becoming less and less important every day. You should evaluate it carefully, and it might be the first place where you start breaking some of the rules. Placement. Whether you place your sidebar on the left or right doesnt matter, though the right side is a bit more traditional for a blog. Generally speaking, putting things where the user expects them to be is a good thing. No Content. Less is more, especially when it comes to the sidebar. Medium has popularized the no-sidebar blog post, and it works. In general, go for as little as you can stand to have in the sidebar. Rethink The Standbys. I used to believe that a list of categories and recent blog posts belonged on every sidebar. Once I dug into my analytics data, I discovered that these items were rarely used. They may not be so important, after all. Search? Maybe. Usually, I end up including a search box somewhere on my blog, but only because I so often use it myself. This element may or may not be important for you. Dont Buy Ads On Your Own Blog. You may be tempted to fill your sidebar with a link to every important part of your site. Dont. I never take out ads on my own blog, and you shouldnt either. The Call to Action One of the reasons that I find all of this so important is that with social sharing and search engines, our blog is often  the first thing that our readers or future customers will see. In essence, your blog is your homepage. It  is not only important to make a good first impression, but it is also important to make sure that you are not asking too much of them on their first visit. I often think about a website visitor in terms of a dating relationship. If youve just met someone for the first time, you dont ask them to marry you. You have to get to know them first. The same goes for blog visitors. What is the most reasonable thing that we can ask of them? Are you trying to get them to the altar when you need to  get to know them better?