Romeo and Juliet | Aspects of Love
In the first excerpt, Leonara Brodwin studies Romeo and Juliet in relation to the courtly love tradition in Elizabethan romance. Courtly love is a philosophy that was prominent in chivalric times and had a significant irifluence on Renaissance literature. In the second excerpt, Van Doren contrasts Romeo and Juliet's attitude toward love with that of the other characters. While the hero and heroine view love as holy and solemn, the critic observes, Mercutio considers it pornographic, the Capulets prudent, and the Nurse practical, though, unlike the Capulets, with a "certain prurient interest." In the last excerpt, Maurice Charney places Romeo and Juliet in the context of love and lust as it is traditionally represented in Shakespeare, ultimately arguing that love in itself does not produce the tragedy in the play.
Leonora Leet Brodwin
[Brodwin studies Romeo and Juliet in relation to the courtly love tradition in Elizabethan romance. Courtly love is a philosophy that was prominent in chivalric times and had a significant influence on Renaissance literature. Though the precise origins of this tradition are not known, the ideas on which it was based were summarized by Andreas Capellanus at the end of the twelfth century in his The Art of Courtly Love. Capellanus explained the doctrine of courtly love in thirty-one "rules." In essence, it is illicit and sensual and is accompanied by...
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