C._Compare_and_Contrast_the_Representation_of_Love_in_Shakespeare’S_Troilus_and_Cressida_and_Chaucer’S_the_Book_of_the_Duchess.

Throughout history, love and the issues in love, has been a theme in many writers’ poems and stories. The tales of two people united together by love. In the texts, Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare and The Book of the Duchess by Geoffrey Chaucer, love is represented in many ways. Some of the similarities between the two texts is that they both have the themes of love being represented through physical aspects and through loss. The treatment of women through language, however, contrasts between the two texts, as love is represented differently. Idealistic beauty is represented as love throughout both texts. One of the similarities between the two texts is that love is based and represented through beauty and physical attraction. It is evident throughout the play that Troilus bases his love for Cressida beauty and by doing so, is blinded from her faults “Her eyes, her hair, her cheek, her gait, her voice…O, that her hand.”(I.I – 55) ¹ . Cressida initially fell in love with Troilus over his status as a prince and his physical appearance, “I was won, my lord, with the first glance.” (III.2 – 115).¹ However, the first time Cressida had seen Troilus, was when Pandarus was exaggerating Troilus’ bravery and created a sense that Troilus was an object of admiration and awe. This creates the feeling that both Troilus and Cressida are merely captivated by one another. The beauty of Lady White in The Book of the Duchess, as described as the Black Knight, is of a perfect woman. This gives the sense that she is a beautiful object, rather than human “Is fairer, clere, and hath more light Than any planete, is in heven” (822) ². The Black Knight fell in love with Lady White the first time he saw her at a courtly dance, and describes all the aspects of her beauty from her grace “loke so debonairly”(851²) to her hair “For every heer upon hir hede most lyk gold hit was.” (855)² However, you do not get the sense that the Black Knight is only mesmerized by her beauty, rather you get the sense that he truly loves her. Another similarity between the texts is that both Troilus and the Black Knight lose the women they love. The love is represented in these events by the trading of words between Troilus and Cressida, as she is about to be traded to the Greeks. “Cressid, I love thee in so strained a purity, that the blest gods, as angry with my fancy…take thee from me.”(IV.4 – 23)¹. Cressida’s reaction to the news was much different than of Troilus’. Troilus acted calm and composed himself when taking Cressida to the Greeks, whereas Cressida threatened to disfigure herself, in order not to be taken. “Tear my hair, and scratch my praised cheeks; Crack my clear voice with sobs, and break my heart with sounding ‘Troilus’. “ (IV.2-3 – 106) ¹ It is shown here, the deep affection that they do share for one another, although Troilus has remained calm, he knows that there is no other choice, and acts maturely. It is evident that he does care for Cressida, as he promises to visit her in the night. The way loss is depicted in The Book of the Duchess is through the death of Lady White. The Black Knights sings of his loss and his sorrow that has followed his wife’s death. Chaucer’s language is peppered with affectionate phrasing and sentiments “My swete wyf” (201) but is equivalently practical, accepting the lamentable finality of death. Allas! that I was bore, That was the los, that here before… `She is deed!” (1300)². The love for Lady White is represented in the amount of sorrow and grief that the Black Knight is going through after her death and the extent of his love for her. A contrast between the two texts is the treatment of the women they love. In Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, the treatment of love is shallow and rather false. The two were united by Pandarus and soon after went to a private bedroom together. After that night, it is apparent that Troilus wishes to get away quickly. However, there were few times when the couples shared romantic language, other than that the language is fairly discourteous and vulgar. This is apparent when Cressida is called a whore several times in the play. Also, when Troilus tears up Cressida’s letter, he assumed the worst of her after listening in on her conversation with Diomede. Cressida is treated with inferiority and does not have much quality or class. On the other hand, the courtly love in The Book of the Duchess reveals a different type of treatment towards Lady White. Lady White is portrayed as a thing of beauty and class. The Black Knight composes his passion through song and poems. He describes all attributes that he loves from Lady White, from her golden hair, to her slender arms and her lovely eyes. The Black Knight had placed her on a pedestal even before they had even talked, and it seemed as if he were worshiping her throughout the poem. The language in this text is very smooth and delicate. No vulgar terms towards women were used, and faith was put in to the women’s intentions. In conclusion, the love is represented through many aspects of both Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare and The Book of the Duchess by Geoffrey Chaucer. The physical attraction was represented in both texts through the language, allows the reader to perceive the characters with superhuman beauty. The loss of loved ones was evident in both texts, though in different ways. Cressida was lost through betrayal and Lady White was lost through death. Furthermore, the treatment of women were complete opposites, vulgar terms in contrast to words of adoration. Love is represented as beauty, as grief, as hate and of admiration, in both texts. Bibliography Behrman, Mary. Heroic Criseyde, (pg. 313-336). The Chaucer Review, 2005 Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Book of the Duchess, 1342-1400. Middle-English, edited by Librarius http://www.librarius.com/longpoemsfs/longpoems/duchess.htm Accessed: 07/04/2011 Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Book of the Duchess, Modernised http://learn.mq.edu.au/webct/RelativeResourceManager/Template/poems/part_3c/chaucer_duchess0010.htm Accessed :04/04/2011 Horowitz, Deborah. An Aesthetic of Permeability: Three transcrapes of The Book of the Duchess, (pg. 259-279) The Chaucer Review, Vol 39, No 3, 2005 Miller, Jonathan. Troilus and Cressida, Opening Scene, http://www.youtube.com/watch'v=e3n-Rnj6aJ4 The British Broadcasting Corporation, 1981 Mitchell, Marea. Lecture 7: Troilus and Cressida: Analysing Drama Notes, Accessed: 13/04/2011 Payne, Geoffrey. Lecture 6: The Book of the Duchess, Lecture 8: Troilus and Cressida: Characters and Themes. Accessed: 04/04/2011, 18/04/2011 Shakespeare, William. Troilus and Cressida, Penguin Books, 2006