Against+Coupling

Adcock writes in typical black comic style, which although is witty leaves you with a bitter smile. The theme of bad sex is typical of Adcock's style, very unromantic and 'anti-erotica'. In the first stanza Adcock describe the out of rhythym, unpleasantries of sex and promotes the 'solitary act'. Throughout the poem she continues to demote or discredit sex, using links to famous stories. In the last stanza Adcock finishes by recommending and promoting the 'solitary act'. -Izzy

In the poem Adcock expresses a general theme often seen across her poems, painful negotiation of relationships. She shows great expression against the idea of love and romanticism through a personal response "I advise you. the, to embrace it without encumbrance..." and although she is completely against the idea of sex she does not dismiss the idea of 'the solitary act' of 'solitude' at all. Her point of view differs but proves a good point. - Lu'isa

I really don't like this poem, Adcock, completely bases her ideals 'against coupling' on the physical relationship between man and woman. "One's breath smothered, nipples crushed against the rib-cage, and that metallic tingling in the chin set off by a certain odd nerve: unpleasure." She tries to argue against the physical relationship by using verbs with negative and painful connotations. She praises the 'solitary act' because there is no pain, 'unpleasure' or awkwardness. Unpleasure is a neologism, the uncommoness or out of place word - usually associated with displeasure or unpleasant - emphasizes the awkward, unpleasant opinion of Adcock on coupling. But Adcock fails to argue against the special mental emotion that comes along with coupling. She does not focus on the 'love' in the mind, but on the love between the bodies. But perhaps has a reason for doing so. - Theon

The comparison to the polyp illustrates sex as a basic human instinct. In my opinion, the comparison is a conveyance of the urge of sex as something out-dated or antiquated. I am not sure if she is completely against the idea of sex as Lu'isa said as Adcock writes in "praise of the solitary act" in the first stanza. The first stanza describes how the blocking of the urge of sex leads to "unpleasure". Even though avoiding sex may not be pleasant, she wants to illustrate that sex is only a basic human instinct which is overrated in society. However, the last stanza clearly advises that they should not have sex. In my opinion this stanza may only be directed at women which are controlled by the male gender. Any more ideas about feminism that is represented in the text? -Lorenz

I think that feminism is also represented in the poem by the fact that Adcock describes 'the solitary act' as much less of a fuss; 'no need to set the scene, dress up (or undress), make speeches'. Her listing shows that she is exasperated by these processes, finds them unnecessary, extraneous - for the benefit only of the man. The reference to Pyramus and Thisbe being dead (two star-crossed lovers of Greek mythology,) refers back to the fact that any passion once felt for her husband is dead and causes 'unpleasure' and she prefers 'solitude'. This would support her growing feminist feelings. Abby

This poem by Fleur Adcock is well described by the title... it is "Against Coupling", a poem which argues the point that the physical relationship, or sexual intercourse, between a man and woman is simply "unpleasure" (which is not a word and this is out of character for Adcock as she is normally quite strict with SYNTAX and grammer). She does not only imply but states that we should not embrace a sexual relationship with others but instead with ourselves. The poem may be reflecting a time of sexual frustration for Adcock with her husband. James

I agree a lot with what Abby was saying-how Adcock largely believes that sex has become much more than an intimate act-it is about pleasing the husband, almost only for his benefit due to the extra fuss women now have to make. However, I do think that she can admire sex when it is an instinctual act or one based on love, we gain this idea from the beginning of the poem when straight away she says she is writing 'in praise' and goes on to describe the physical act itself. However, from the second stanza which begins 'unpleasure' we see her tone change as she begins to talk about the extra things that now come with what should be a simple act out of love. This is definitely written from a feminist point of view-she appreciates humans need for sex, but doesn't agree with the 'dressing up, making speeches, or setting the scene'. Chelsea

The first stanza in this poem is very uncomfortable to process, she is clearly describing the physical painful negotiations of relationships between men and women,' forced into one's mouth, ones breath smothered, nipples crushed against the ribcage, tingling in the chin set off by certain odd nerve', this is one of Adcock's main themes in her poetry. The second stanza is the struggles that men and women experience with their physical relationships and sexual intercourse and I believe that Adcock strongly promotes this as 'unpleasure', also stated in the title of the poem ' Against Coupling '. I think in the third stanza Adcock has stayed with the argument of the struggles but believes that the thought/idea of this behaviour from the humans has somwhat lost the 'special' aspect to it and people take it as a given nowadays, 'participating in the full experience'. - Sahib

This rather graphic and blatant poem portrays Adcock's view of man and woman relationships. Adcock strongly supports 'DIY' rather than what she describes as the "unpleasure" of sexual relations with other people. Adcock seems to have written this in a time of sexual frustration, describing people having seen films like //The Sound of Music// 86 times, which indicates that she believes many people are trying to escape from their sexual frustration as well as her. This parallels to Baxter's //Ballard of Calvary Street// in the sense of the theme of sexually frustrated, modern, middle-aged suburban couples. - Mike

Throughout the poem, very particular words are highlighted. The second stanza begins with 'unpleasure', which is essentially the main theme of the poem. Sex is not pleasureful. In stanza one, 'trespassing tongue' is alliteration, highlighting the word 'trespassing', again carrying very negative conotoations. The T sound itself is also quite harsh and to the point. The entire feel and flow throughout the poem seems to be of discomfort, with the stanzas having little real form other than the 6 lines each, and many discomforting words such as 'crushed' and 'rustle' scattered throughout. - Jacob

I originally thought the quote "lady in Leeds who had seen the Sound of Music eighty-six times" depicted a lonely individual or an individual that strays away from the normal habits of society. However with reference to the idea of a break-up, the quote above could imply that the woman (author) is happy in carrying out her strange daily activities. The idea in this quote is similar to the next quote describing a drama teacher, so the idea is highlighted. As for the poem as a whole, I think it could be advice for younger individuals or perhaps reflect the authors regrets in a relationship, after all she has been married twice, and each marriage only lasted for 4 to 5 years which is a clear indication of developed anger and frustration. -Winstan

Fleur adcock writes this poem similar to the themes to her other poems, the idea that being in a solitary state is far better than being in a couple. She uses negative connotations such as the words crush and smothered to show what being in a relationship seems like. "i write in praise of the solitary act" this show us that she is in praise of being alone and also there is a sexual connotation with this quote as it shows that she is against the idea of having sexual relations with another person - David