Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde focuses on Troilus role as a lover. The story relates to Troilus romance build on inside the framework of courtly love. Courtly love was a popular and common theme in literary works in the thirteenth century. Usually, courtly love is defined to be a secret between members of nobility.
Criseyde is not a truthful lover and she is to blame alone as we all know Troilus love for her was very strong. Her love for him was nothing but a lie. Come to think of it this kind of love cannot possibly exist. In reality she was not in love with him as she was forced to draw into him by her Uncle Pandarus, who desires her to comfort Troilus’ sadness without any concern of her own. Basically she is only doing it for her uncle because he is also Troilus’ best friend and he cannot see Troilus upset and depressed. From there Criseyde sort of becomes a healer to Troilus because he said he would die without her.
Criseyde is persuaded by her uncle’s sincerity either because of his wit or her own willing self-deception. She did not want to create any death scene because as Pandarus indicated he would if she denies Troilus’s love. Finally, Criseyde gives in herself and ends up falling in love. Reality check this is not love, but if anyone I know falls in love with this character I would try my best to keep him away from her in any cause. Ladies like Criseyde only desire to love men for their good.
Criseyde loved Troilus not because of her will but more likely to satisfy her uncle’s demand. This explains that it was not a lover but more like a selfish deal because she did not want her uncle to die if she rejects Troilus and not become his lover. She could have rejected him but instead from this fear, it moves her to th...
... middle of paper ...
... for example Troilus. Troilus chose a wrong girl to love since he did not mean anything to her at least she could have done something else except for breaking his heart.
In the end the narrator briefly recounts Troilus's death in battle and his ascent to the eighth sphere, draws a moral about the transience of earthly joys. In distinction Criseyde loses what she once considered most important, her name and reputation, but she adapts herself practically to whatever circumstances befall her. Yet we can have sympathy for the choice a woman caught between two worlds makes, almost against her will.
In conclusion, this is for Criseyde, a true lover can never desire a new love unless he knows for some definite and sufficient reason the old love is dead. The question lies here if she was such a lover, Chaucer speaks off why she would give up Troilus for Diomede.
Love is something that is so beautiful it brings people together, but at the same time it can be the most destructive thing and it can tear people apart. Edmond Rostand's play, Cyrano de Bergerac, is a tale of a love triangle between Cyrano, Christian, and Roxane. In the play, Cyrano helps Christian make a false identity about himself for Roxane to fall in love for. Christian had the looks while Cyrano had the personality, together they could make the perfect man. Throughout the play, you see similarities and differences between Christian and Cyrano’s personality, looks, and who they love.
Odysseus and Penelope play the roles of two lovers’ that are separated. Without Odysseus, Penelope hopes for “a gentle death with no mourning and craving my dear husband”. Penelope’s want for death instead of marrying a suitor with no Odysseus reveals her dedication to their love. In tapped by Calypso starving to see Penelope, Odysseus hopes “every day to get back home even if some god breaks me apart”. The fact that he is so set to witness wife and to be at home with her, the lack concern for the hazards desire to be reunited with his love. Penelope, affected by her empty surroundings of no companion, holds the stubbornness of a lover. Her easily affected environment filled with suitor’s causes her to speak rash words, confirming the amorous trait in her. Odysseus’s only hope to see his wife acknowledges his personality of a
Forbes, Shannon. "'To Alisoun Now Wol I Tellen Al My Love-Longing': Chaucer's Treatment of the Courtly Love Discourse in the Miller's Tale." Women's Studies 36.1 (2007): 1-14. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 May 2013
The main tool used by Cocteau to demonstrate this are her actions. Although she claims that she is not allowed to love, she is in fact in love with Orpheus. Through her actions she attempts to bring Orpheus closer to her and hopefully have him fall in love with her too.
Nettie was wanted by Mister because she was beautiful, her father wanted to get rid of Celie because she was the ugly, spoiled one. Celie believes she is ugly until Shug forces her to face her beauty, her smile, and her strength but still the Mister wanted to get rid of her. The reason Shug can get away is through her voice, her talent, and her attractiveness. But in The Odyssey some women are known for the deeds of their sons or husbands, and never for a heroic deed of their own, their personalities, what they do themselves. The only accomplishment women could achieve was being beautiful. Penelope, Odysseus ' queen, is paid attention to only because of her position. Because she has a kingdom, she has suitors crowding around her day and night. Being a woman, Penelope has no control over what the suitors do and cannot get rid of them. The suitors want her wealth and her kingdom. They do not respect her enough to stop feeding on Odysseus ' wealth; they feel she owes them something because she won 't marry one of them. One of the suitors, tells Telemachus "...but you should know the suitors are not to blame- it is your own incomparably cunning mother "(Homer 21). Even Telemachus doesn 't respect his mother as he should. When the song of a minstrel makes her sad and Penelope requests him to stop playing, Telemachus interrupts and
Although women are one of his weaknesses, Odysseus does not get distracted by the offerings of luxury and immortality offered to him by women throughout his journey, that could interfere with his dedication to get home. The women he meets are beautiful and have many wonderful pleasures to offer to Odysseus but he is still looking forward to reuniting with his wife, Penelope. The women that he meets are both wealthy morals and immortals who will provide Odysseus a life of lavishness. However, he gives it all up for the true adoration he has for Penelope. Odysseus was unsure of how faithful Penelope was to him while he was at war in Troy but he was still willing to come back for her and risk his life doing so. The love that bonds Odysseus with Penelope was strong because he was faithful to Penelope even though he had been away for a long period of time.
The character of Criseyde in Troilus and Criseyde is intriguing not only because of the conflicts and tensions she is faced with, but also because of the occasional variations between the type of person she is in her thoughts and the type of person she is when she interacts with Pandarus or Troilus. In her thought she is more independent, self confident and her feelings for Troilus are made evident. Whereas her persona when she’s interacting with Pandarus or Troilus is more reserved and her actions depict her as weak and victim like. In Book II, the passage in lines 695- 765 (pgs. 96-101) reveals Criseyde’s thought process and what specific conflicts she is faced with as she contemplates what her course of action should be regarding Troilus after finding out from her uncle, Pandarus, that Troilus loves her and will die without her. This passage also reveals Criseyde’s view of herself, what she considers to be appropriate behavior, what issues she holds in high regard when deliberating what she should do and most importantly, it shows Criseyde to be a complicated person who isn’t just doing what her uncle says or simply fulfilling the desires of Troilus.
In the awe-inspiring play of Antigone, Sophocles introduces two remarkable characters, Antigone and Creon. A conflict between these two obstinate characters leads to fatal consequences for themselves and their kindred. The firm stances of Creon and Antigone stem from two great imperatives: his loyalty to the state and her dedication to her family, her religion but most of all her conscience. The identity of the tragic hero of this play is still heavily debated. This tragedy could have been prevented if it had not been for Creon's pitiful mistakes.
In the Antigone, unlike the Oedipus Tyrannus, paradoxically, the hero who is left in agony at the end of the play is not the title role. Instead King Creon, the newly appointed and tyrannical ruler, is left all alone in his empty palace with his wife's corpse in his hands, having just seen the suicide of his son. However, despite this pitiable fate for the character, his actions and behavior earlier in the play leave the final scene evoking more satisfaction than pity at his torment. The way the martyr Antigone went against the King and the city of Thebes was not entirely honorable or without ulterior motives of fulfilling pious concerns but it is difficult to lose sight of the fact that this passionate and pious young woman was condemned to living imprisonment.
The modern concept of love owes a great deal to the Humanist tradition of the Renaissance. The humanists focused on perfection and exaltation of this life as opposed to the afterlife. In Tristan and Iseult the seeds of Renaissance love are present in the Middle Ages. To the modern eye, it is a mystery how the period of the Middle Ages produced the seeds of the diametrically opposite Renaissance. Yet it is necessary to understand this transformation if one is to fully comprehend the forces that helped produce the modern consciousness. Courtly Love is a transitional concept that emerged in the Middle Ages. It is transitional because it emerged early and acknowledges God as the creator of love, yet it concentrates on the lovers themselves. The tale of Tristan and Iseult is one of the oldest tales that exhibits courtly love. The Love of Tristan and Iseult, as a metaphor for courtly love, is pivotal to the transition from the Middle Ages' focus on community and afterlife to the Renaissance focus on the individual and earthly happiness.
However, Calypso’s “love” is more like sexual desire. Calypso holds Odysseus on her island for sever year, and “in the night, true, [Odysseus] would sleep with her in the arching cave - he had no choice - unwilling lover alongside lover all too willing…” (Odyssey 5, 170-172). Calypso is a selfish goddess who wants to dominate Odysseus without considering Odysseus’s feeling. The fact that Calypso sleeps with Odysseus every night demonstrates that she treats Odysseus more like as sex captive than a real lover. Even though she claims, “ I welcomed him warmly, cherished him, even vowed the make the man immortal, ageless, all his days” (Odyssey 5,150-151), the hospitality that she shows here is just a tool to help her possess Odyssey. By making Odyssey ageless and immortal, Calypso can hold Odyssey and satisfy her possessive obsessions forever. Calypso’s sexual desire can be further proved in her angry speech. She says, “ Hard-hearted you are, you gods! You unrivaled lords of jealousy-scandalized when goddesses sleep with mortals, openly, even when one has made the man her husband” (Odyssey 5,130-133). Calypso is angry because female gods and male gods are treated unequally about the affairs with mortals. She asks Odysseus to become her husband because she wants to achieve sexual equality. However, at the end, Calypso releases Odyssey since she is afraid of the punishment from Zeus (Odyssey 5, 153). The fact that Calypso easily submits to Zeus’s
During the Middle Ages, Courtly love was a code which prescribed the conduct between a lady and her lover (Britannica). The relationship of courtly love was very much like the feudal relationship between a knight and his liege. The lover serves his beloved, in the manner a servant would. He owes his devotion and allegiance to her, and she inspires him to perform noble acts of valor (Schwartz). Capellanus writes, in The Art of Courtly Love, “A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved”. The stories of Marie de France and Chrétien de Troyes illustrate the conventions of courtly love.
Throughout the Greek play, “Antigone”, we see one of the main character’s, Creon, who recently was named King of Thebes due to his Nephews battling to the death for the throne. Creon by the end of the play would eventually develop a theme known as a “Tragic Hero.” His character's emotion and motivations conflict with another main character, his Niece who the play is named after, Antigone. The characteristics of Creon have conflicting motives such as his hierarchy, greed, and vengefulness are highlighted by Antigone’s opposing ethics. Ultimately these conflicting motivations develop Creon as a tragic hero by making him regret his Decree and rash decisions once he has learned of his fate.
In medieval England, society’s roles were dominated by men and women were either kept at home or doing labor work. Among the most famous medieval English literature, “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer, lies ‘The Wife of Bath's Prologue’ and ‘The Wife of Bath's Tale.’ Within, Chaucer shares his perspective of the Wife of Bath, the Queen, and the Crone. Through the use of symbolism and diction, Chaucer aims to change society’s expectations of women.
In the Middle Ages, when The Canterbury Tales was written, society became captivated by love and the thought of courtly and debonair love was the governing part of all relationships and commanded how love should be conducted. These principles changed literature completely and created a new genre dedicated to brave, valorous knights embarking on noble quests with the intention of some reward, whether that be their life, lover, or any other want. The Canterbury Tales, written in the 14th century by Geoffrey Chaucer, accurately portrays and depicts this type of genre. Containing a collection of stories within the main novel, only one of those stories, entitled “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, truly outlines the 14th century community beliefs on courtly love.