Warm­up English 9 A Midsummer Night’s Dream We witness the entangled love affairs of Lysander, Demetrius, Helena and Hermia all members of Theseus’ “Court.” What do we mean when we talk about life in a ‘Court’ in The Renaissance? (14th­17th century) • Courts were the places where Royalty and their Lords and Ladies socialised. •
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It was a gathering of very rich people and their families, all with the intentions of aligning themselves for power and money – usually through marriage. Men and women would meet at court, hence the term “courting”. •
There was no such thing as being a “Teenager” – as soon as women were old enough to have children, they were married! In Courts, in order to keep families wealthy and powerful, fathers chose the husbands and wives for their children. Children were like property and they did as they were told. •
Arranged marriages were enforced and expected. •
Boys were trained in how to become men, to take over running the family estate from their fathers. Part of the experience of training to be a noble lord was that they would learn how to be “courtly lovers”. Men were taught rules that they had to follow in relation to love and women. •
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Courtly Love in Shakespeare’s Plays In this play, Shakespeare parodies (or mocks) the Courtly Love convention (custom) which governed aristocratic lovers. It is called Courtly Love, because it was seen as the appropriate kind of non­physical love in the elegant setting of a King’s Court. Various aspects of the convention were evident in the Renaissance period (this play is set in the Renaissance) and many qualities of this type of love are alive and well today. Demetrius and Hermia’s relationship typifies the Courtly Love convention. Characteristics of the male Courtly Lover: ­ sighs and groans ­ wants to be alone ­ unkempt and dishevelled ­ can’t sleep ­ walks alone in early hours ­ melancholy ­ courteous and chivalrous ­ gallant and brave ­ truthful ­ generous ­ defends his lady’s honour ­ noble and aristocratic ­ secretive ­ writes poetry to / about the one desired ­ swears never­ending love ­ willing (eager?) to die for his mistress Characteristics of the female Courtly Lover: ­ cold and aloof ­ disdainful ­ pure ­ beautiful ­ noble woman ­ says “no” but means “yes” ­ put on a pedestal by lover – like a goddess or perfect virgin (think Greek or Roman mythology) Explanation: One of the reasons for the lover’s above­mentioned melancholy is that his adoration of his mistress is not returned. Unreturned love is termed unrequited love. Hence, we have the sighs and groans, the solitary wandering (needed for thinking about love problems), the introspection, and the intense distraction leading to an inability to keep up a neat and tidy personal appearance. An essential element is that the lady is unattainable, for whatever reasons. Because she is unattainable, there is no sexual relationship. Much of the lover’s moping has to do with this sad fact. The lover, struck by his lady’s beauty, usually falls in love at first sight. The goal of the courtly lover is not to attain the love object, but simply to faithfully and continuously pursue and desire her. The courtly lover’s poetry reflects this life­long pursuit. The Twelve Rules of Courtly Love by Andreas Capellanus (written in the latter half of the twelfth century) 1. Thou shalt avoid avarice like the deadly pestilence and shalt embrace its opposite. 2. Thou shalt keep thyself chaste for the sake of her whom thou lovest. 3. Thou shalt not knowingly strive to break up a correct love affair that someone else is engaged in. 4. Thou shalt not choose for thy love anyone whom a natural sense of shame forbids thee to marry. 5. Be mindful completely to avoid falsehood. 6. Thou shalt not have many who know of thy love affair. 7. Being obedient in all things to the commands of ladies, thou shalt ever strive to ally thyself to the service of Love. 8. In giving and receiving love's solaces let modesty be ever present. 9. Thou shalt speak no evil. 10. Thou shalt not be a revealer of love affairs. 11. Thou shalt be in all things polite and courteous. 12. In practicing the solaces of love thou shalt not exceed the desires of thy lover. •
Think about 14­16 year olds today. Working together as a group, or independently, write a set of 5­8 rules that would tell 14­16 year olds how to behave when they are “in love”. Be prepared to share your group’s rules with the class.