Poetic Performances: Tracing Castiglione's Theory of Courtliness in the Poetry of John Donne and John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester

In The Book of the Courtier, Baldesar Castiglione outlines the three criteria that courtiers and would-be courtiers must implement to fashion a successful performance, one that helps them maintain or strengthen their social status: grazia, sprezzatura, and dissimulazione. Each of these elements enables and supports the others; the success of the performative act relies on the courtier’s mastery and manipulation of these three characteristics. Their poetry indicates that John Donne and John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester both attained that high level courtly skill – Donne through his novel use of the metaphysical conceit and Rochester through his representations of failed attempts at courtly performance. Their uses of Castiglione’s performative theory are at odds – the goal of Donne’s poetic performances was social mobility, while Rochester’s performances were conservative reactions against social mobility. However, recognizing Castiglione’s influence in the poetry of Donne and Rochester enable us to understand some of the more perplexing aspects of their verse by providing an insight into their anxieties as individuals within a rapidly evolving English society.