There are two interpretations of The Disappointment, but one basic plot summary. Cloris and Lysander are in a romantic relationship, and are genuinely in love with each other. Lysander happens upon Cloris in the woods, and begins to make sexual advances towards her. Cloris is a traditional girl and believes that losing one's virginity before marriage is worse than death. She would not want the social stigma that goes along with being known for having slept with Lysander before they are married. She tries to fend him off, but the fear and exertion causes her to pass out. Whilst she is unconscious Lysander attempts to rape her. He is unable to get an erection even when he stimulates himself. Meanwhile, when Cloris regains consciousness, she finds that she is holding Lysander's limp penis in her hands. She is shocked and confused, and makes a hasty escape, leaving Lysander embarrassed by his impotence and railing against her for rejecting him, even accusing her of causing his impotence with witchcraft.
Song : The Willing Mistress
The female speaker is aroused by the courtship of her suitor that she is "willing to receive that which does not have a name"; in other words, she is so attracted to him, and finds his romancing of her so charming that she she is willing to throw convention out of the window and sleep with him. Three verses describe in detail their passionate love-making before ending with "Ah, who can guess the rest?" Behn is both teasing the reader and stating the obvious without actually writing it in the verses.
Song : The Invitation
Damon is aggressively pursuing Sylvia, but the Speaker of the poem is quite jealous and wants Damon to fall in love with her instead. For this reason she tries to stand in between Cupid and Sylvia, so that the arrows of love that he is shooting hit her instead, thereby also saving Sylvia from an awkward situation because she has a lover already.
A Ballad on M. JH to Amoret, asking why I was so sad.
This poem is one of the more allegorical works of Behn's which is based on something that has happened within her social circle. The Speaker, whom we assume to be Behn, was betrayed by her lover, and wants to warn Amoret to be careful, and to make sure that she comes out on top in any relationship with a man. The poem also shows a positive relationship between two women, not combative over a man, but unified in their determination to avoid being hurt.
The Reflection
This is a classic story of betrayal with a cunning twist at the end. The speaker is a woman who gave into her lover's pleas to have a sexual relationship with him. He used every trick in the book to get her to date him, and then to get her to sleep with him, eventually winning her over, and making her pretty dependent on his love for her happiness. The problem is, the more in love she became, the more out of love he grows. He is a typical example of a man for whom the chase is objective, rather than the relationship at the end. The man made many promises and vows to her but betrayed them all. Her pain is all consuming. Tears don't work, they are too insignificant for the pain she feels. She will die from a broken heart. This is a reworking of the more traditional pastoral poem where a man is rejected by his love and dies from lovesickness.
