Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale is a romance in which Chaucer, through his character the Knight, expresses his views on the courtly love system of the Middle Ages. I will further discuss this story and how it reflects the criticism of a society that applauds a system that takes little stock of a woman’s true feelings on being involved in courtly love. The tale takes on a typical plot of a romance and in the eyes of the aristocrat that is simply all the story is about. However, to the rest of the literate population out of the penumbra of that high level of the hierarchy, the tale is more about the unfairness of the courtly love system. The men are supposed to be sick with love, vehement about it, and so sweet a woman would have to accept his advances.
Madison Butler English 10 May 12, 2013 Comparison Essay Today’s Courtship vs. Medieval Courtship Courtly love is a highly conventionalized medieval tradition of love between a knight and married noblewomen. Love in the time of chivalry was very proper and put together well. It wasn’t necessarily about love but about arranged marriages and possessions. In the times of knights there were rules when it came to “love” but as the years went on to where they are now we have begun to find love on our own and the rules and arranged marriages weren’t needed anymore.
Courtly Love The romance, rules and art of courtly love allowed knights and ladies to show their admiration regardless of their marital state. It was a common occurrence for a married lady to give a token to a knight of her choice to be worn during a medieval tournament. It was usually one of the assumptions of courtly love that the lady in question was married, thus establishing the triangular pattern of lover-lady-jealous husband. This meant that the affair was at least potentially adulterous, and had to be conducted in an atmosphere of secrecy and danger. The absolute discretion of the lover was therefore indispensable if the honor of the lady were to be preserved.
In the play “Twelfth night” it is set when Christianity dominated England and when we had divine order. Casablanca on the other hand was set during World War 2 when the world was in a state of uncertainty over who was in control. Love as a cause of suffering is a huge concept in “Twelfth Night”. Shakespeare writes to show love can cause pain and many of the characters seem to view love as a curse and suffer painfully from it. Orsino depicts love as an “appetite” that he cannot feed.
In the Excalibur, King Arthur falls for the trap of betrayal due to the romantic passions from Guenevere. This aspect of the movie makes to have a level of adult rating with romantic scenes and even those of love making. Additionally, this poem is a perfect illustration of metrical romance. The relation between the movie and the poem also arises by the fact that both of them are centered on the ancient existence of heroic legend, who in this case is King Arthur. The main lady casts in both the movie and poem reveals characters that can be referred to as a reminiscence of the queen or isle.
Paris’s insincere love does no justice to his case; in fact, it serves to further illuminate the legitimacy of Romeo’s adoration. There are three causes of Paris’s apparent love: social obligation, political and economic advantage, and being in love with the idea of love. As far as the first motive goes, Paris may be obligated to maintain the appearance of love in order to retain social propriety. As a member of a royal family, and the bearer of the title “County,” certain standards of conduct are expected from him. If, after his betrothed dies, he immediately starts wooing another girl, his reputation as a fine and upstanding gentleman will be ruined, and he will be hard-pressed to find a new wife of appropriate status.
3.Presentation of relationships in 'To His Coy Mistress' and 'Ghazal' Both 'Ghazal' and 'To His Coy Mistress' present relationships as self-seeking and manipulative, as the narrators in both poems desire the sexual fulfilment of their lover. In 'To His Coy Mistress' Andrew Marvell uses form for effect. The narrator in the poem is trying to convince his love to have sex with him, and his whole argument can be seen as humorous and playful. One way we see this is through the use of rhyming couplets which are employed throughout the poem: 'Had we but world enough, and time, This coyness, Lady, were no crime'. The extended use of rhyming couplets has a comic effect in this poem as the fast paced rhymes read like a collection of little jokes with fast punch lines.
(Page 282 lines 127-130). She has been married multiple times which back in the medieval times and even now a day that is unacceptable. She is also looking for her sixth husband. Back in the old days being sexual active came only after one is married and not supposed to be for pleasure but to reproduce (Lines 69-75). She then compares herself to those who live by society the "right" way, those are perfect people and she is not perfect so she does as she pleases (Lines 105-120).
Deceptive Influence of Women on the Chivalric Codes of Sir Gawain Written by: Yoo-Sik Shim Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an anonymous poem of the late fourteenth century, details the journey of one of King Arthur’s knights, and reveals the knight’s dedication to chivalry, devotion to morality, and struggle to maintain these virtues. The female figures in this poem lead Gawain to realize the flaws in his thinking and force him to reconsider the institutions that have long directed his life’s path. The poem intertwines the ideals of chivalric duty, courtly love, and Christian piety in the journey and moral dilemmas of Gawain. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that these codes may not be able to coexist easily for Gawain.
Love was a commodity that was only allowed to the lower classes of society. The lower classes had no need to unite families and businesses, or gain a large sum of money from a dowry. People married according to class and did not dare to stray above, or below a certain degree, to do so was shameful. All of these arguments all have a basis in a couple’s motives when entering their union. In the following paragraphs all of these arguments will be explored as pertaining to certain couples in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.