John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester John Wilmot was a poet and playwright during the reign of Charles II. He was one of the ‘Merry Gang’, and he was famous for his dodgy extracurricular activities as much as his poetry- not that his work was any less shocking than his behaviour. Rochester was a talented satirist, and some of his most lasting works are those in which he is lashing out at a particular target. In fact, he is probably most famous for a short, throwaway piece that appears in several variations; the story behind it also varies, but the basics remain the same. Essentially, Rochester produced a short verse that described the king (written as an epitaph in some versions) and it wasn’t exactly flattering: We have a pretty, witty king, Whose word no man relies on. He never said a foolish thing, Nor ever did a wise one. Charles is said to have responded, “That is very true; for my words are my own, but my actions are those of my ministers.” On another occasion, Rochester was banished from court for writing satirical poetry about the king. This poem was… a little more explicit. In his ‘Satyre on Charles II’, he wrote at great length about, well, length, amongst other things- the point he was trying to make was that Charles was more interested in women and his own pleasure than ruling the country. Unfortunately, he handed the poem to Charles by mistake. Whoops. Should have been a bit more careful, Johnny- especially with lines like this: Restless he rolls about from whore to whore A merry monarch, scandalous and poor And that’s one of the tame bits. Rochester died in 1680, at the age of just 33. Much of his writing was only in manuscript form and is likely to have been lost, but his remaining works are still fairly well-known, especially the two poems quoted above. He has remained so notorious that the play (and later the film) The Libertine was written about him. …And actually, believe it or not, his love poems are rather nice.

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

John Wilmot was a poet and playwright during the reign of Charles II. He was one of the ‘Merry Gang’, and he was famous for his dodgy extracurricular activities as much as his poetry- not that his work was any less shocking than his behaviour.

Rochester was a talented satirist, and some of his most lasting works are those in which he is lashing out at a particular target. In fact, he is probably most famous for a short, throwaway piece that appears in several variations; the story behind it also varies, but the basics remain the same. Essentially, Rochester produced a short verse that described the king (written as an epitaph in some versions) and it wasn’t exactly flattering:

We have a pretty, witty king,

Whose word no man relies on.

He never said a foolish thing,

Nor ever did a wise one.

Charles is said to have responded, “That is very true; for my words are my own, but my actions are those of my ministers.”

On another occasion, Rochester was banished from court for writing satirical poetry about the king. This poem was… a little more explicit. In his ‘Satyre on Charles II’, he wrote at great length about, well, length, amongst other things- the point he was trying to make was that Charles was more interested in women and his own pleasure than ruling the country. Unfortunately, he handed the poem to Charles by mistake. Whoops. Should have been a bit more careful, Johnny- especially with lines like this:

Restless he rolls about from whore to whore

A merry monarch, scandalous and poor

And that’s one of the tame bits.

Rochester died in 1680, at the age of just 33. Much of his writing was only in manuscript form and is likely to have been lost, but his remaining works are still fairly well-known, especially the two poems quoted above. He has remained so notorious that the play (and later the film) The Libertine was written about him.

…And actually, believe it or not, his love poems are rather nice.

Tagged as: John Wilmot. Earl of Rochester.

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My picture FUCK YEAH CHARLES II
Charles II was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1660 to 1685. Also known as the Merry Monarch, he is infamous for his numerous mistresses and rowdy court- but there's a lot more to Charlie than debauchery and scandal. This blog is here to showcase every aspect of his life, with a generous dollop of humour thrown in.

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