Amatory poetry from Cavalier Poets Lovelace, Suckling, Herrick, Carew, and Waller shows a striking bifurcation of depictions of women in their poetic speakers. Whereas Worshipers portray women as cruel, unattainable beauties who are sexually unavailable, Philanderers depict women as expendable and interchangeable due to their sexual availability. This marked difference between persona types presents a problem: how can the same poets write such drastically different kinds of love poems? A close read of both poem types, as well as crossover poems in which Worshipers or Philanderers provide advice to each other or women, reveals that the Cavalier Poets fabricated a light, satirical cultural battle between courtly and promiscuous narrators to amuse audiences in taverns and at court. However, further comparison of male Cavalier poetry with female responses from Aphra Behn and Katherine Philips exposes the underlying objectification of women in their approach to romance and sex.
