Aphra Behn may be best known for her plays, but she also wrote some fascinating poetry – and not all of it as risqué as her reputation suggests. On 18 November 2023, Professor Elaine Hobby and Dr Astrid Stilma led a workshop on Behn’s intriguing poem ‘A Paraphrase upon the Lord’s Prayer’, first published in 1685. The workshop was part of the Being Human Festival, the UK’s national festival of the Humanities, whose theme this year was ‘Women Making Sense.’
Around 20 people gathered in St Paul’s Church, Canterbury – the church where Aphra’s parents were married – for a lively discussion about an extraordinary woman writer making sense of her Anglican faith and her doubts about religious authority. The main conclusion: the poem leaves us with more questions than it answers. Some found it quite traditional, others felt sure it’s tongue-in-cheek – after all, the speaker does suggest God should find it relatively easy to forgive her trespasses because ‘Of all my crimes, the breach of all thy laws / Love, soft bewitching love has been the cause’ and suggests that we’re liable to fall into temptation because God himself made this world’s temptations so enticing! One thing on which the workshop participants unanimously agreed: ‘A Paraphrase Upon the Lord’s Prayer’ is a fascinating poem that shows us a different side to Aphra Behn while her unique, irreverent voice still shines through.
