Courtly And Uncourtly Views Of Poetry :: essays research papers

Between the twelfth and fifteenth century, the form of the lyric was founded in and became very popular within England. a few(prenominal) of the lyrics that were composed remain in existance today. This is mainly due to the fact that these lyrics were transferred orally. This meant they were never printed or published. The ones we do have paint for us a vague further sufficient picture of life as it was in these times. Particularily they give us a peek into the lives of the women of the medieval era and how they were viewed by their patriarchal society. The ways women were visualised in much of the poetry can be expressed in two broad categories courtly and uncourtly. The former of these categories developed from the lyrics of the Proven-al troubadours. The latter is, in relation, a more modern view of women, one that sees them as irritating and stupid.Courtly poetry, as I said, developed from the lyrics of the troubadours. Although there atomic number 18 many similarities, suc h(prenominal) as the womans high status, there are also many dissimilarities. One of the most obvious of these is these poets acceptance of the real world. It is difficult to acknowledge references to other women in the troubadours poetry let alone other relationships as one would find in the Middle English courtly lyric. An example of such a reference can be found in the refrain An handy hap ich habbe ihent / Ichot from hevene it is me sent / From alle wimmen my love is lent, / And light on Alisoun(Luria, 27). This poet tells his lady that his center of attention is set on her and no other woman can pull him away. To a troubadour saying that there was anything but his lady would be abominable. in that respect is little of the intensity of devotion and the analysis of love that is characteristic of the Troubadours. Nor are these personal lyrics of private, intimate love. On the contrary, they are public poems operating through well-recognized conventions.These conventions are a li ttle different from those of the troubadours as well. The lady has hair of gold, a long neck, a slender waist and is often described as beingness prudent and wise. But these poems focus not on the lady but on the lover and his suffering for derne love or secret love. The lovers day is spent sighing and begging his lady to pity and have mercy on him.