Lai

remains very mysterious. Marie de France was known for being the author of, “Lais of Marie de France.” A “lay” can also be described as a short narrative poem. Her lais focused mainly on glorifying courtly love. Two of the lais written by Marie de France that I will continue to discuss are titled, “The Lay of the Honeysuckle,” and “The Lay of the Nightingale.” The two lais both have one main idea in common. Both of these lais contain a “ménage à trois,” or a love triangle. As many

de France According to American mythologist, Joseph Campbell, “The greatest love was during the Medieval Ages, when noble hearts produced a romantic love that transcended lust” (Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers [2001]). The Lais of Marie de France are primarily concerned with this idea of love--specifically, courtly love--between a man and a woman. Courtly love, a union modeled after the feudal relationship between a knight and his liege lord, became a popular convention in

suffering, war, hate from people in the United States, hate from people in Vietnam, overall anger, and a lot of weapons. These are all factors that played into the United States being involved in one of the most horrific acts in our history. The My Lai Massacre was a massacre by United States Soldiers that created controversy and anger throughout the world. It leads us to the question, was this avoidable? Was one of the worst massacres in Untied States history doomed to happen? Looking at the contents

individual being terminated, dishonorably discharged, or suspended. Knowing the outcome of being insubordinate, individuals are usually obedient, even when they are in a situation that is morally wrong. Kelman and Hamilton, in their article, “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience,” examine how Lt. Calley's unquestioning obedience resulted in the massacre of many women and children. Theodore Dalrymple, in his article, “Just Do What The Pilot Tells You,” asserts that there is a balance between

Throughout the Lais of Marie de France there are several themes presented as central to the various stories. Some of these themes are present in all of the lais. One such example is that of courtly love and it’s implications. Courtly love being one of the more prominent themes in all of medieval literature, it is fittingly manifested in all of the lais as well. Another theme present in two of the lais is isolation. The theme of isolation plays a large role in the stories of Guigemar and Lanval. In

In The Lais of Marie de France, the prevalent themes of betrayal, vanity, and shame are evident all throughout the tale of Bisclavret. Even though Bisclavret assumes the form of a werewolf, he still remains a better human being than his wife, due to the presence of shame and inner beauty in his being, which is lacking in his wife. Bisclavret’s wife concerns herself with external appearances and uses hers’ to her advantage, while Bisclavret learns to control his beastly nature, despite transforming

Variations of Romance Elements in The Lais of Marie de France The Lais of Marie de France serves as a collection of stories that independently convey different romantic tales, each having their own unique presence that come together to create a successful romantic work of literature. The collection’s tales encompass many aspects that can be found throughout the romance genre as a whole and represent some of what make romance a diverse and utterly distinctive genre. In her different accounts of love

The Lais of Marie de France follows muse-like protagonists through twelve narratives to illustrate proven love, its triumphs, grief, and demonstrations to overcome these aforementioned circumstances. At the close of the 12th century, Marie uses The Lais as a hospitable medium to interject feminist literature into a predominately male community. Her works challenges the traditional medieval tales that limit women to appurtenances of knight’s and chivalry and instead casts them as influential, intellectual

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Lais of Marie de France, the authors use animals as metaphors for human actions, and as characters. By analyzing the use of these animals, we are able to explore the meaning the authors were trying to communicate through specific scenes. The Book of Beasts, a translation by T.H. White (1984 ed.), provides a medieval standpoint when analyzing the use of animals in the Lais and in Gawain. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, there is specific use of three

The admiration of courtly love is no more prevalent theme in Marie's lais than on “Yonec” and “Lanval”. These two lais are showing very aristocratic views on socially states; love of nobility. A love that cannot be explained by a commoner or peasant that cannot show status has nothing to offer, for courtly love because a peasant has no chivalry. This courtly love is often secret in that a knight and a lady are not married to one another but to a different partner making the story adulterous. That