Lance wrote: "I see the decline of reserve connected closely to the rise of free verse. Reserve fit the metric poet like a glove. The constraint of feeling his way along the accentual topography went a long way towards keeping his more exuberant or downright formless feelings in check."
Ever read Rochester??
This is a rather dubious conflation . . . "Dirty" ditties (in meter, no less) have a long and distinguished history, among them dozens by, e.g., Robert Burns. You might also check out Ed McCurdy's splendid recordings of ribald songs from the Renaissance, "When Knighthood Was in Flower."