Analysis of Aphra Behn's " to My Fair Clarinda"

To the fair Clarinda, who made Love to me, imagind more than Woman
Aphra Behn
Aphra Behns To the fair Clarinda is a love poem with surprisingly modern insight. In this candidly erotic piece, the supposedly female speaker unit system addresses her lover Clarinda, who may be biologically female all the same plays both mannish and feminine roles in the poem. Though the speaker insinuates that in any sexual relationship there ar definite manlike and feminine roles to fulfill, she overturns the notion that these are inescapably related to anatomy.
To the fair Clarinda seems to be a poem that celebrates the foreign delights of being with a hermaphrodite. However, Clarindas anatomy is very double within the poem. In the title, one would say that Behn admits to Clarinda being a woman, although this is selectively, privileging the word woman over the title in which it appears and as well as ignoring the rhetorical effect of both more than and imagind. even out the speaker struggles to identify Clarindas gender role, addressing her at showtime as fair lovely maid and then rethinking and assay with the inadequacy of gender-specific titles. The phrases Fair lovely maid and lovely appeal youth are used instead to bypass the problem.



These phrases signify a less formulaicly feminine role for Clarinda; the get-go phrase emphasizes her more feminine beauty whereas the other suggests her masculine and seductive charm. This union of the terms nicely illustrates Clarindas confluence of masculine and feminine qualities. Interestingly, the speaker still chooses to use the conventional masculine-feminine dichotomy to describe Clarinda. Which may suggest that Behn believes that typical masculine/feminine dichotomy still applies. She holds characteristics of both or each genders but cannot be entirely genderless.
Further, Clarinda appears to the speaker in the tendency of flirtation. The speaker explains that, This last will justify my soft ill/While that may serve to...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay



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