19. Song. The Complaint

Aphra Behn: pastoral poet

“…For example, in her pastoral "Song: The Complaint", Behn reverses the behavioural roles played in a typical pastoral love lament, making the mourning figure the "true hearted Swaine" (l. 1) Amyntas, who on a river bank lies helplessly complaining of Silvia, "that false Charming Maid" (l. 4). [22] By upsetting our expectations of the nymph as the betrayed victim, Behn not only deviates from classical traditions, but she also posits new behavioural possibilities and calls into question the immutability of gender.…”

“…The language the speaker uses to describe her lover and the binary relationship she sets up between the sexes is clearly rooted in difference: Thou [18][19][20][21][22][23] Cloris is set in opposition to Alexis, man is set against maid, and Hermes opposes Aphrodite. Yet in blurring male and female, that is if Clarinda is both maid and youth, both Hermes and Aphrodite, then, as Carol Barash suggests, men and women can no longer be understood as oppositionally nymph and swain.…”

“…[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] While certainly there are glimpses of the traditional pastoral, in which love to the shepherd is cast in terms of reward and opportunity, the shepherd also introduces a measure of equality. For example, he complies with demands (l. 22), recognises the importance of respect (l. 24), consciously makes efforts to renew the passion in his relationship (ll.…”