- What is the subject of this poem? What makes it comic rather than mundane or tasteless?
- What seems to be the narrator's attitude towards Lysander? Towards Cloris?
- Why might a writer choose such a topic for a poem? Does the poem seem to convey any disapproval of their erotic tryst?
- Who might have been this poem's intended/preferred audience?
- What is known about Aphra Behn's early life? During what literary period did she writer her plays? Which apsects of Restoration taste and/or customs may have influenced her choice of subjects and manner?
- What is the poem's rhythm and stanza form? How do these contribute to its tone?
- What are some of the poem's metaphors (e. g. in stanza one), and what is their effect?
- What effect is created by the pastoral/classical appartus? What are some examples of words and references chosen for comic effect?
- How does Lysander resopnd to his problem? Does the narrator consider this an overreaction?
- What is Cloris's response? Would the poem's effect have been somewhat different had she been sympathetic?
- What effect is created by the author's intervention in stanza XIV? By the poem's ending?
- Is Cloris presented as sincere in rejecting Lysander's advances at first?
- Might the character of Lysander have been intended to suggest a living person? A type of person?
- Does the poem convey any serious content?
- Are there aspects of this poem which might be controvesial in present-day U. S. society? How may the poem reflect the society in which it was written?