Comparatively Speaking: Notions of Love in English Literature

Abstract

In this paper, selected conventions of courtly love that are found within Shakespeare's The Tempest and The Two Gentlemen of Verona are compared and contrasted. The conventions discussed concern the courtly characteristics and attributes of lovers, the deification of a beloved, an intellectual outlook versus emotional view of love, the confession of love, the notion of love at first sight, and the importance of adultery in literature. In examining certain notions of courtly love through these two Shakespearean works, it is intriguing to note how closely Shakespeare followed traditional literary conventions and to what extent he modified these conventions.