Love: Forever Changing
Love is an abstract idea. It can be interpreted in hundreds of different ways, and may often change by the situation. In literature, each author puts their own spin on the idea of love. Sometimes, love is the end. Other times, love is the beginning. In the poems discussed this semester, love has shown itself in nearly every story. In Aristomenes’ Lysistrata, Aristomenes is focused on the physical affection aspect of love. He emphasizes its importance to both the men and women. In Euripides’ Medea, Euripides exemplifies how love can lead to hate. He is not emphasizing on the physical aspect of love at all. Instead, he focuses on the unstable and emotional aspects of love. In Virgil’s Aeneid, Virgil focuses on the natural, …show more content…
The love that this poet writes about is the physical side of love. The characters in Lysistrata cannot properly function without having the physical love they are so used to from their partners. Aristomenes depicts love as purely sexual, and this is known from the very beginning of the novel. “’From now on, no more penises for you…’ ‘No, I don’t think so. Let the war go on.’ ‘Me? Not a chance in hell. So screw the war’” (Aristomenes, 124-130). This passage is a great example of the message Aristomenes is conveying. The characters are using love as a weapon. In order to do this, they are focusing on the sexual aspect of love exclusively. Throughout the poem, love is scarcely referred to in a wholesome or natural way. Love, and specifically sex, is being used to complete the women’s goal. The women in the poem do not talk about loving their husbands like women and men love each other now. When referring to love concerning their husbands, they discuss missing their husbands touch and how horrible life would be without sex. “But do without a dick? Be serious! There’s nothing, Lysistrata, like a dick” (Aristomenes 134-135). This excerpt is anything but wholesome, but this depiction of love is prevalent throughout the poem. The way the characters are portrayed depicts love as something dirty. The men in the poem refer to love in the same way as the women, and in some instances, they are even more horrible. The men exhibit an angry …show more content…
Sometimes love is not beautiful, and Medea captures this very well. In the poem, Medea’s heart is broken and she is seeking violent revenge. While this is an extreme case, Euripides is covering a more realistic version of love. This is a more emotional love, but he does not exclude the problems that come along with a relationship. Euripides includes examples of a troubled love throughout the poem. First, he includes the obsession Medea has with Jason. This obsession leads to her lying to him and eventually hating him. “I’ll do as you ask. I’ll trust in what you say. I’m female, that’s all. Tears are in my nature” (Euripides 952-953). The manipulation that Medea is exhibiting is just one example of obsessive love. Medea became so obsessed that when it was over, she was completely lost. This is the premise of the poem, but also relates to Euripides’ version of love. The idea that a strong love can eventually lead to hate is depressing, but Medea does just that. Euripides includes a type of love that is exclusive to this poem. That love is parental love. While the reader may not agree that there was any true parental love, Medea shows signs of remorse near the end of the poem concerning the murder of her children. The relationship Medea had with her children was likely not great, but this is exactly the version of love Euripides sticks to throughout the poem. Another example of the imperfect love in Medea is King Creon’s noble death.
Love is an abstract idea. It can be interpreted in hundreds of different ways, and may often change by the situation. In literature, each author puts their own spin on the idea of love. Sometimes, love is the end. Other times, love is the beginning. In the poems discussed this semester, love has shown itself in nearly every story. In Aristomenes’ Lysistrata, Aristomenes is focused on the physical affection aspect of love. He emphasizes its importance to both the men and women. In Euripides’ Medea, Euripides exemplifies how love can lead to hate. He is not emphasizing on the physical aspect of love at all. Instead, he focuses on the unstable and emotional aspects of love. In Virgil’s Aeneid, Virgil focuses on the natural, …show more content…
The love that this poet writes about is the physical side of love. The characters in Lysistrata cannot properly function without having the physical love they are so used to from their partners. Aristomenes depicts love as purely sexual, and this is known from the very beginning of the novel. “’From now on, no more penises for you…’ ‘No, I don’t think so. Let the war go on.’ ‘Me? Not a chance in hell. So screw the war’” (Aristomenes, 124-130). This passage is a great example of the message Aristomenes is conveying. The characters are using love as a weapon. In order to do this, they are focusing on the sexual aspect of love exclusively. Throughout the poem, love is scarcely referred to in a wholesome or natural way. Love, and specifically sex, is being used to complete the women’s goal. The women in the poem do not talk about loving their husbands like women and men love each other now. When referring to love concerning their husbands, they discuss missing their husbands touch and how horrible life would be without sex. “But do without a dick? Be serious! There’s nothing, Lysistrata, like a dick” (Aristomenes 134-135). This excerpt is anything but wholesome, but this depiction of love is prevalent throughout the poem. The way the characters are portrayed depicts love as something dirty. The men in the poem refer to love in the same way as the women, and in some instances, they are even more horrible. The men exhibit an angry …show more content…
Sometimes love is not beautiful, and Medea captures this very well. In the poem, Medea’s heart is broken and she is seeking violent revenge. While this is an extreme case, Euripides is covering a more realistic version of love. This is a more emotional love, but he does not exclude the problems that come along with a relationship. Euripides includes examples of a troubled love throughout the poem. First, he includes the obsession Medea has with Jason. This obsession leads to her lying to him and eventually hating him. “I’ll do as you ask. I’ll trust in what you say. I’m female, that’s all. Tears are in my nature” (Euripides 952-953). The manipulation that Medea is exhibiting is just one example of obsessive love. Medea became so obsessed that when it was over, she was completely lost. This is the premise of the poem, but also relates to Euripides’ version of love. The idea that a strong love can eventually lead to hate is depressing, but Medea does just that. Euripides includes a type of love that is exclusive to this poem. That love is parental love. While the reader may not agree that there was any true parental love, Medea shows signs of remorse near the end of the poem concerning the murder of her children. The relationship Medea had with her children was likely not great, but this is exactly the version of love Euripides sticks to throughout the poem. Another example of the imperfect love in Medea is King Creon’s noble death.