where Rochester comes out and says that he believes animals are more civilised than human beings:"'Tis evident, Beasts are in their degree,As wise at least, and better far than he.Those Creatures, are the wisest who attain..." (Satyr Against Reason and Mankind 115-117)The idea that the members of the king's Court were no better than he himself is emphasised in Signior Dildo, which describes a marriage between the Duke of York and Mary of Modena. Rochester makes fun of the bride, and describes some sexual practices he believes her to previously have practised:"The signior was one of Her Highness's train,And helped to conduct her over the main;But now she cries out, "To the Duke I will go!I have no more need for Signior Dildo."(Signior Dildo 5-8) This also seems to suggest that at least part of the reason for the marriage was that of relieving sexual frustration. Rochester has similar ideas about Mary of Modena's mother, saying that even she made use of 'Signior Dildo'. The poem seems to highlight Rochester's belief that the Court of Charles II was not the elegant and refined place that people may have believed it to be. The poetry seems to concern itself with faces, and how a person can change their attitude in the face of the public, while being a completely different character behind closed doors. 'A Ramble in St James' Park' goes a little way to perhaps describing how Rochester may have felt about women at least: "But when you doe the inside seeYou'll find that things are but as they should beAnd that 'tis neither love nor passionBut only for your recreation."(A Ramble in St James' Park 13-16).These feelings of malcontent which reveal themselves in his lewd verse are further highlighted in Signior Dildo, where a good friend of Rochester, Henry Savile, was caught in the bedroom of the Countess of Northumberland, where he proceeded to offer her a stream of declarations of love. He also mentions this incident in Timon. This is an intere...
