The Literature of Love: Themes and Typicality

Question 1

Forbidden love

Answer 1

Class divides
Social divides
Bible - desires leading people astray - dangerous, illicit
Plato - aristophanic love (people separated by a vengeful God)
Courtly love - obstacles, boundaries
Escapism - Victorian Literature

Question 2

Betrayal

Answer 2

Severe consequences
Adam and Eve
Women - traitorous, manipulative
Men - freer
Women - deserted, abandoned
Odysseus and Penelope - P waited for O for 12 years
Jason and Medea - M killed her children after J was unfaithful
^ Both examples of men as unfaithful
Fickle female archetype - common in Elizabethan Era

Question 3

Young love

Answer 3

Fast paced
Foolish
Exhilarating 
Often blocked by disapproving elders 
Short lived
Temporary thrill and optimism for the future
Too good to be true 
Pure
Idealistic