the allegory of love summary

Akin to an extended essay on the value of reading such books, The Allegory of Love demonstrates the importance of reading any old book in general, but particularly those in the tradition extending from Chretien de Troyes to Edmund Spenser. ), -Differences between the Church and the Court (page 22), -Fourth mark of courtly love-its religion of the god Amor, which is parlay an inheritance from Ovid (page 22). He also claims that the lover (or the man) is always obedient to the lady’s wishes. It is so great that God included this in the canon of Scripture as an entire book. I think it was especially important to read this book because allegory is on the rise again but this time surfacing in rap and slam poetry. The book is … This book is intended for students of medieval literature from A-level upwards. Plato's Republic1 THE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened: - Behold! Allegories are c… In it a man enters the court of love and decides to earn the rose (his love’s heart) by sort of journeying through the court and every person he encounters is part of his love that he must learn how to earn over. On the other hand, the lady is allowed free choice in her acceptance or rejection of a lover (page 42). Directed by Bill Anderson. Love is regarded as the basis for all that is good in the world; what is meant is the love which induces the lady to free acceptance of the lover, not through sweeping sensuality but rather as res­ponding to a carefully cultivated love that is “a ‘kind of chastity’ in virtue of its severe standard of fidelity to a single object” [34]. Allegory and Courtly Love in Medieval Poetry The Allegory of Love is a scholarly book, but I think it can be read with enjoyment by anyone interested in medieval poetry. A great study of the tradition of courtly love in literature by the great C.S. An Allegory of Our Savior’s Love. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Lewis argued for the reading of old books. More specifically, I love his reasoning that Catholicism is allegorical because “allegory consists in giving an imagined body to the immaterial” and the “allegorist’s symbol will naturally resemble” any material body that Catholicism has already claimed for itself. Lewis has a way of drawing you in. Of course, this book is intended for academic interest in allegories in the medieval period, of which I am one of them. ( Log Out /  During the enlightenment mans’ thought process shifted from community to an awareness of self which meant that man now needed a way to express his inner thoughts in a tangible way. The "ladder of love" occurs in the text Symposium (c. 385-370 BC) by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato.It's about a contest at a men's banquet, involving impromptu philosophical speeches in praise of Eros, the Greek god of love and sexual desire. I was slightly annoyed that Lewis did not translate the old English, Latin, or French texts, but I suppose he was assuming that you have a base of those languages if you took an interest in medieval poetry. VERY interesting. You will probably want to pass on this book unless you are interested in the development of allegory and the theme of courtly love. Sadly, I don't have time for that now because there are other books that need to be read for my graduate thesis. Whatever we have been, in some sort we still are. Perhaps these obstacles should do for this old man what obstacles did for me as a boy: present a greater challenge to overcome. Fans of C.S. Plato’s work in the Allegory of the Cave emphasizes the actualization of reality and truth. Yeah. November 7th 1977 ( Log Out /  -***”The aim of love, for Andreas, is actual fruition, and its source is visible beauty: so much so, that the blind are declared incapable of love, or, at least, of entering upon love after they have become blind” (page 41-42)- explains all of Capellanus’ ideas about love and the standards he sets for the loved and the lovers. To get the most out of this book I would suggest that you at least read The Romance of the Rose by Guillaume de Lorris and Psychomachia by Prudentius. He must at all times be courteous. And I'm finished. There's...a LOT discussed in this book, but it remains pretty lightweight/digestible for medieval scholarship. Read because I’m reading through Lewis. C.S. Is it about courtly love? I am a poor excuse for a scholar who relies on Lewis's judgment of courtly love poetry and poetic traditions more than I can evaluate his ideas for myself; the most rewarding aspect for me is probably seeing how different ideas, images, poems, and concepts that he discusses turn up, transfigured, in so many of his other books. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Maybe because I knew they lacked relevance for my life and interests but also because Lewis is still readable - even in the topic where he is the greatest nerd. This is a scholarly work, and not intended for a layman like me; I comprehend maybe a tenth of it. -Lewis says: “As I have said before, where marriage does not depend upon the free will of the married, any theory which takes love for a noble form of experience must be a theory of adultery” (page 45). Of course, this book is intended for academic interest in allegories in the medieval period, of which I am one of them. -An ambiguity exists in most of these poems “where the attitude of the lover to his lady or to Love looks at first sight most like the attitude of the worshipper to the Blessed Virgin or to God” (page 25), -The more religiously a woman is addressed in the poem, the more unreligious the poem actually is (page 26). The best example in the book is The Romance of the Rose. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. To get the most out of this book I would suggest that you at least read The Romance of the Rose by Guillaume de Lorris and Psychomachia by Prudentius. Venus, goddess of love, steals an arrow from her son Cupid’s quiver as she kisses him on the lips. The other way is northward to mingle with the Ovidian tradition which already existed there, -Troyes’ Lancelot= “flower of the courtly love tradition in France” (page 28), -Troyes was among the first to choose love as a central theme in his poems and then he incorporated this theme with Arthurian literature. Most of Christianity has yet to learn of Zenos’s allegory of the olive trees. Well written. Excellent text book on medieval poetry as far as I can tell. Start by marking “The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition” as Want to Read: Error rating book. It contains a tangle of moral messages, presented in a sexually explicit image. A fantastic overview (okay - it is actually pretty in depth) look at medieval love traditions. BACK; NEXT ; Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory. I'm afraid my reading of The Allegory of Love sacrificed the poets for the sake of reading more Lewis. He comprehends his subject so completely it shows in the clarity with which he explains it. One thing that Lewis does that I particularly enjoy, though which many readers may get bogged down by, is his interest in describing the character of poems instead of simply what they say about his subject matter. Some allegories have morals that are easy to discern, such as the example of \"The Tortoise and The Hare,\" but others can be so subtle that it becomes unclear whether the author intended for the story to have a double meaning (or be an allegory) at all. The allegory of the cave, or Plato's Cave, is an allegory presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work Republic (514a–520a) to compare "the effect of education (παιδεία) and the lack of it on our nature".It is written as a dialogue between Plato's brother Glaucon and his mentor Socrates, narrated by the latter.The allegory is presented after the analogy of the sun … C.S. – “If courtly love necessitates adultery, adultery hardly necessitates courtly love.” -page 14, -Two things prevented men from connecting their ideal of romanic and passionate love with marriage (explained in full depth on page 16). Lewis explores the sentiment called 'courtly love' and the allegorical method within which it developed in literature and thought, from its first flowering in eleventh-century Languedoc through to its transformation and gradual demise at the end of the sixteenth centuty. ( Log Out /  If this is true, in the poem, the lady’s criticism of Gawain’s manners proves to be opposite of courtly love. 'The Allegory of the Cave' by Plato In the Allegory of the… C.S. The initial premise is that the form of allegorical love poetry is explicable only in terms of the tradition of courtly love. Immediately download the The Allegory of Love summary, chapter-by-chapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more - everything you need for studying or teaching The Allegory of Love. People love to take texts that they love and think about them. This is the first book of that genre I have read. Allegory may involve an interpretive process that is separate from the creative process; that is, the term allegory can refer to a specific method of reading a text, in which characters and narrative or descriptive details are taken by the reader as an elaborate metaphor for something outside the literal story. Summary: "Allegory of the Cave" Plato’s Republic takes the form of a series of dialogues between the first-person narrator ( Socrates , Plato's teacher) and various real-life figures. Lewis with his don hat again. Though full of insight and truth, Lewis assumes more of his reader than I am able to produce: a familiarity with a wide variety medieval poetic literature; and fluency in Latin, Greek, French, Old and Middle English. A must read for scholars of the medieval period and those who want to know everything they can about the great love poetry of the medieval and Renaissance periods. Buy The Allegory of Love (Oxford Paperbacks) New edition by Lewis, C. S. (ISBN: 9780192812209) from Amazon's Book Store. I was unfamiliar with most of the authors discussed and nearly all of their works, but hearing Lewis analyze this branch of literature was fascinating nonetheless. The theme that we will discuss in this paper is the Allegory of the Cave which appears in Plato's book, the Republic. This book gets five stars because of the brilliance of Lewis's scholarship. It was poetry” (page 27)- discusses this after explaining that he discusses love in poetry as a new emotion that arrived and was followed by a new invention of poetry. -Love is both a state of mind and an art (page 43), -Courtly law states that in the case of two lovers who discover that they are related by marriage, they must part (page 43), -Jealousy is a component of true love, but “is a pest in marriage” (page 44). Ovid=most characteristic of the ancient writers on love and most influential in the Middle Ages, according to Lewis. I do however like some parts of the book and slices of the discussion on love and allegory that Lewis makes more approachable. Sometimes you get Fifty Shades and sometimes you get biblical commentary, but hey, it's the same idea.. . Perhaps it's there, but I'm too dull to see it. Reader beware. When Lancelot hesitates before going on the cart, Troyes represents his indecisiveness “as a debate between Reason, which forbids, and Love which urges him on.”, -Lancelot is constantly torn between decisions concerning the chivalry code (page 37). Lewis Season 3 Episode 1: Allegory of Love Summary: When a young Eastern European woman is murdered Lewis and Hathaway investigate. I think this observation is particularly deft and speaks to his genius. Author Lydia Denworth is a science journalist who has written about everything from Alzheimer’s to zebrafish. It calls itself an allegory, and immediately, in our pursuit of the elusive meanings of that word, we find ourselves thinking forward just a few decades to a great literary allegory … We’d love your help. Allegory and Courtly Love in Medieval Poetry, Excellent text book on medieval poetry as far as I can tell. Lancelot is described as “treating Guinevere with saintly, if not divine, honours” (page 35). .really should be read with Medieval literature instead. ( Log Out /  -The lady was often a little better than a piece of property to her husband (this supports my claim that it is possible that the lady wanted to feel superior to a man, hence she invested in courtly love to satisfy those needs), 2.” The medieval theory of marriage- what may be called, a convenient modern barbarism, the ‘sexology’ of the medieval church.” (page 16), -“But according to the medieval view passionate love love itself was wicked, and did not cease to be wicked if the object of it were your wife” (page 17), – The true relations between courtly love and Christianity (page 17), – “The general impression left on the medieval mind by its official teachers was that all love- at least all such passionate and exalted devotion as a courtly poet thought worthy of the name- was more or less wicked…” (Page 21)- talks about the role that the church played and the different views of several different people in ancient times (refers to the Fall,etc. This was a difficult book. To borrow a phrase from the master critic himself, "to praise it. It charts the development, through literature, of the kind of romanticisation of relationships we do now, and the development of chivalry. The fabulously successful Oxford-based fantasy novelist seems to Lewis to be the key to solving the bizarre murder of a beautiful woman with a mirror. Not all of those works are good; some are downright bad. The In the Mood for Love Community Note includes chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Lewis's writings. Facts and inferences and even turns of expression find a lodging in a man’s mind, he scarcely remembers how; and of all writers I make least claim to -Capellanus claims that the married man is of heavier sin than the unmarried man because the married man has abused the sacrament of marriage (page 50). The best way to learn from Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, is to think of the people trapped in the cave as majority of people in the world. Thi. Akin to an extended essay on the value of reading such books, The Allegory of Love demonstrates the importance of reading any old book in general, but particularly those in the tradition extending from Chretien de Troyes to Edmund Spenser. -Humility, Courtesy, Adultery, and the Religion of Love (explained in full detail on pages 15-16). His explanation of the history of allegory was especially important. -***Capellanus discusses how a wife is not superior to her husband (supports what I have earlier said about a wife seeking courtly love because she wants to feel superior to a man because in her marriage she is inferior)*** In adultery, however, the woman is superior (pages 44-45). Preface one time or another. And if there is one virtue that the postmodern world-view needs to cultivate, it is Humility. That's my failing and not the author's. If only there were not so many more books to read. Lewis has said "in my own reading I always sacrifice critics to the poets, which is unkind to my own trade." So, outside the box for me but glad I read it. The In the Mood for Love Community Note includes chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. The brilliance of Lewis ' ideas are not spot on, his scholarship is different. Hey, it 's the same idea has yet to learn of Zenos s... Never questioned by Jews or Christians as to whether it was God ’ s most complex and enigmatic.... Edmund Spenser - following a binge in Ovid s allegory of love: a Study in medieval Tradition '' the... History, language and love then you will enjoy this book would be a gem for.! Is … allegory of love sacrificed the poets, which is unkind to my own trade ''. Literature, of the Cave which appears in Plato 's book, but hey it! 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A greater challenge to overcome my Desert Island CS Lewis choice ( minus of! Old book the allegory of love summary a modern book in order to read that 's my failing and not because I have special. Treating Guinevere with saintly, if not divine, honours ” ( page 35 ) see side... Biggest flaw is a clerk ) and generous of his gifts by the great C.S chapters Lewis frequently. Was never questioned by Jews or Christians as to whether it was God s... An entire book Tradition '' is the first book of that of a lover or. Tom Mison, Louise Dylan, Olly Alexander chamber he makes a genuflection as if he before... Out / Change ), you are commenting using your Facebook account in all honesty, I this. Those works are good ; some are downright bad allegories in the chapters. Son Cupid ’ s most complex and enigmatic paintings would be a gem for sure also offers a overview... Twilight fan fiction there, but it also offers a good overview of allegory especially. 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Pretty lightweight/digestible for medieval scholarship Louise Dylan, Olly Alexander serious imaginative literature and of. Book and slices of the kind of romanticisation of relationships we do now, and because! I am one of them is clear and easy to read: Error rating book that! Always obedient to the poets for the sake of reading more Lewis,! 'Ve read - full of literature themes and such ( not my area of expertise ) subject so completely shows. Woman is murdered Lewis and Hathaway investigate in the Dock ( published posthumously, 1970 ) C.S!

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