Signior Dildo
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Signior Dildo" is one of John Wilmot's most famous poems.
John Wilmot, the 17th century English libertine, published his poem Signior Dildo in 1673. During the Parliamentary session of that year, objections were raised to the proposed marriage of James, Duke of York, brother of the King and heir to the throne, to Mary of Modena, an Italian Catholic Princess. An address was presented to King Charles on 3 November, foreseeing the dangerous consequences of marriage to a Catholic, and urging him to put a stop to any planned wedding '...to the unspeakable Joy and Comfort of all Your loyal Subjects." Wilmot's response was Signior Dildo (You ladies all of merry England), a mock address anticipating the 'solid' advantages of a Catholic marriage, namely the wholesale importation of Italian dildos, to the unspeakable joy and comfort of all the ladies of England:
- You ladies all of merry England
- Who have been to kiss the Duchess's hand,
- Pray, did you not lately observe in the show
- A noble Italian called Signor Dildo? ...
- A rabble of pricks who were welcomed before,
- Now finding the porter denied them the door,
- Maliciously waited his coming below
- And inhumanly fell on Signor Dildo ...'
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