narrator is talking about the men she's
had relationships with in the past
she presents men as
protective and entertaining
but also vain
she was like a queen and the men her
rescuers
now she's married and is a
modern wife who must do as
her husband orders
part of the medieval court tradition
where men tried to win the hearts of
women by doing courageous deeds
FORM AND STRUCTURE
written from the point of view of a woman
poet uses lists, enjambment and
caesura so it flows like natural speech
Annotations:
ENJAMBMENT: the continuation of a sentence or clause over a line break
CAESURA: pause within the middle of a line. often found near enjambment
begins with the narrators lighthearted
reflection of past
tone changes in stanza 4
when she thinks of reality
the quick change in tone
emphasises how her life was
transformed over night when she
became a wife
FEELINGS AND ATTITUDES
LOVE
uses courtly love
traditionto illustrate the
way they used to act
when they were together
narrator seems to
have romantic feelings
towards all these men
of her past
CONTROL
there is a shift in
power when she
marries
her husband has all control and she's
inferior to him
as a courtly queen,
she has control
over her life
NOSTALGIA
she seems quite
nostalgic and sentimental
about her past
LANGUAGE
LANGUAGE OF COURTLY LOVE
references to medieval romance
and courtly love traditions distance
the narrator from her past
it makes her past seem more
romantic and also quite unreal
METAPHORS
narrator uses lists of
metaphors to describe men
metaphors include
buildings, animals
and birds which
associate men with
certain characteristics
MODERN LANGUAGE
contemporary language brings the
narrator back to present day and
contrasts with the romantic world of
courtly love
reminds us she has a different life now
MY IDEAS
It seems to happen so quickly because she is caught
up in her dreamy romantic world and then without
realising whats really going on finds her self in a
relationship she does not necessarily want and like. She
,ay feel trapped and so shows how quickly her freedom
was taken away
The title of the poem when translated
means 'THE GREAT LORDS' which gives
across the impression that she had lots of
men who loved her. The fact that it is in
french could make it sound more romantic ,
again emphasising the fact that she had so
many men in her courtly romantic life and
she is reflecting on this past
At the end the narrator seems
to feel as though she has lost
her life and freedom and is
trapped in this marriage. She
seems to be annoyed at herself
for being so blinded by these
silly romances and ending up
committing to one thinking she
was happy.
You get the impression that
the husband does not think
so highly of women and that
he likes to take charge. He
also gives off the impression
that she is just his toy and he
is its master