Passion and Romance

The Art of Courtly Love

Now days, there really aren’t any set rules about love. It seems that in the past love was a simple thing. You didn’t have to wonder what to look for, you just were surrounded with your options in your rank. And if there was an exemption, you followed those rules. It is amazing to me how much this ideal has changed over time. 

We have worked around these rules and found out a way of living that permits the opposites. TV has definitely played a huge role in deciding our society’s views about love. The way Males and Females interact now is completely different. It is less strict. There used to be very set rules on the way gentlemen had to treat women. We here about how knights used to be punished for not doing sertain gentlemen-like actions.

The idea of “Courting” is almost nonexistent nowadays. When my brother was going to school at Murray High, I attended the musicals that he preformed in. One of which was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I remember loving this musical and the music. The song “Going Courtin’” made me a bit confused though because I had never heard of such a word. I even asked my mom what it meant. It just goes to show that “Courtly Love” is no longer an “Art”.

Sonnet: Love Is Not All

There are people who are bitter towards love. I believe that this author is either bitter or have done experiments with other people that are bitter about love. She explains that love isn’t everything, just by giving a few small examples of things that love cannot fix. 

I think the most interesting line written in this poem is, “ I might be driven to sell your love for peace, or trade the memory of this night for food.” (page 320) It definitely explains deeper than the words alone. It is different for me to hear about love in a negative way. We often hear about how the love of the beloved is peace and everything to those that feel of that love. Maybe thats how people feel when they are in a poor relationship? They probably feel as though they would feel more peace if they were not with a certain person. 

This poem puts love on a smaller scale. When reading you realize that the things the author explains it cannot fix really are true, but why does love make us feel like it does fix everything, and is everything?

Symptoms of Love 

I love the name of this poem. It gives another way to explain the common phrase, "Love Sick". When you hear about an illness, you also look up what symptoms to look for to diagnose the problem. That is the same with Love and this poem.

Something I can definitely relate to is "Listening for a knock, waiting for a sign" (page 318). Sometimes I literally stand next to the window waiting for him to get to my house. I feel anxious and excited to see him walk up and knock on the door so that I can open it and see him there. Just hearing the door knock and knowing that he is there is a real exciting thing for me! I get butterflies! It's the same feeling I get when I hear his ringtone, telling me that it is him calling. The waiting is the hardest part. And I think that is where the "migraine" comes in to play. Sometimes worrying about your loved one, for me, is the most nerve-racking.

It was funny to realize that people really can tell when you are giddy about somebody, just by the way you act. There really are symptoms of love.