Marie de France

In Marie de France’s “Bisclavret and “Yönec” she tells two distinct stories with supernatural elements and fairy-tale like qualities. In both, she tells the story of two unhappy marriages full of betrayal and deceit. Although the specific situations in both stories are distinctly different, there are abundant similarities in how the characters behave. All four of the main characters in the two act out of their own self interest, whether it is by betraying their spouse or through blatant dishonesty. By demonstrating both extreme and sympathetic examples of selfish characters and by punishing them for their actions, Marie de France is criticising selfish lovers and suggesting that selfishness and the sanctity of marriage are incompatible with…

People's lives are sculpted by their everyday surroundings, their family and friends, where they live, and even the food that they eat. Every time period has different beliefs, clothing, and governing bodies that give hints as to what the culture would have been like during that time. In the poem "Lanval," Marie De France writes about these differences. Culture is not just the surroundings people live in; it is truly what makes them who they are and what they do in life. The clothing people…

Marie De France’s portrayal of “Bisclavert” is a commentary on the expected social roles during the mediaeval time period and how deviations from upholding these expectations lead to undesirable consequences. Loyalty is when a person provides continues support to someone and remains faithful to that individual. Her allusions throughout the text towards the importance of maintaining loyalty and chivalry allows one to determine the significance that these values held in mediaeval-society. All…

Love is Caustic: A Look into the Similarities and Differences of Laustic and Bisclavret Throughout Marie de France’s many lais, she focuses on the many facets of human nature, such as who can be trusted, who will act accordingly to their rank and status in the court, who will be honorable and treat others with respect, and most importantly, who is most deserving of the love of another. By the very definition of the lais, being a love ballad of sorts, this is nothing surprising. What is far more…

Marie De France is a French author whose work is widely known and respected. The literary world credits her with four works: “The Lais of Marie de France (a collection of twelve short narrative poems not unlike shortened versions of romances), the one hundred and two "Ysopet" fables, a retelling of the Legend of the Purgatory of St. Patrick, and, most recently, a saint 's life called La Vie seinte Audree about Saint Audrey of Ely” (www.princeton.edu). Looking at her collection of Lais, we…

In Marie de France's "Bisclavret", the werewolf is more man than animal because of the deep-level of understanding between Bisclavret as a werewolf and the townspeople and the application of humanistic traits and actions rather than using appearance to describe the werewolf. A defining feature of all species is their use of speech to communicate with each other. In Bisclavret, when he is turned into a werewolf for good, there is no mention of him verbally making any noises-speech, growling, or…

Courtly love and marriage in the medieval time period were often two contradicting forces. Whether courtly love or marriage was viewed as right or wrong always depended on the situation the lovers were in, or the person telling the lover’s tale. Marie de France paints these two opposite views in two of her lays— the “Lay of Yonec”, and the “Lay of the Werewolf.” She also shows readers how the two opposite views on courtly love are sparked due to varying situations. Courtly love is seen in some…

Testosterone in Action Vanissa Tsang Masculinity is reflected based on society expectations and role of the men. In Gregory’s History of the Franks, he writes about men with the role of royal kings, while Marie de France write poems about knights. My main argument is that Gregory’s form of masculinity reflects on the aggressive approaches to obtain power to ensure one’s social power, while Marie’s masculinity reflects on the satisfaction of individual’s need for companionship. The…

Throughout the stories, there are many violent scenes. In the lais Bisclavret, the man loved the woman and trusted her enough to tell her about his curse which makes him werewolf. This helps showcase the love that Bisclavret had for his wife, which unfortunately was not as understanding as he thought and decided to deceive him. Even though from here on out in the story there is violence, the romance was the fact that Bisclavret had love for his wife and that’s why he was cautious of taking his…

Marie de France wrote “Bisclavret” in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The name Bisclavret means werewolf. When a person thinks of the word werewolf, the thought of fairy tales and horror stories may come to mind. “Bisclavret” is neither one of those types of literature. Marie de France utilizes a werewolf in her poem to symbolize a beastly or aggressive side of humans. “Bisclavret” is interesting as it has numerous layers and messages within the narrative. One message the poem…