Pure Love Displayed in “Lanval” Essay Example

Pure Love Displayed in â€Å"Lanval† Paper Pure Love Displayed in â€Å"Lanval† The Lais of Marie De France’s â€Å"Lanval† is a piece that portrays the core ideals of Middle Age fiction while breaking away from the mold. Much like most Lais in Lais of Marie de France, â€Å"Lanval† displays an example of love and the obstacles over come to obtain such love. The love shared between Lanval and his mistress, Queen Semiramis is the core aspect that sets â€Å"Lanval† piece apart from other fiction pieces of the Middle Age genre. Lanval and Semiramis share pure love that causes them to see each others outside beauty and their beauty within, while staying pure at heart by not concentrating on the physical aspects of love. Of all the Lais of Marie De France, the story of Lanval displays a love that is not only taken seriously, but pure at heart. Due to the constant mention of beauty, and its relation to the love shared between Lanval and his mistress, Queen Semiramis, this love may appear superficial. Yet, beauty is mentioned in a manner that expresses how Lanval and his mistress view each other as beautiful because of their love, rather than loving someone because they are beautiful. Through this, the tie between love and beauty is seen in an entirely different light. Beauty, the cause of love in so many pieces from this genre, is now seen as the effect. At the lovers first meet Lanval sits with his mistress surrounded not only by her beauty, but the beauty of the things that surround her. We will write a custom essay sample on Pure Love Displayed in â€Å"Lanval† specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Pure Love Displayed in â€Å"Lanval† specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Pure Love Displayed in â€Å"Lanval† specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Despite the elaborate description of the â€Å"beautiful bed,† with â€Å"bedclothes† far more expensive than a castle and Semiramis’s beauty that â€Å"surpass[es]† even the most beautiful of flowers, Lanval seems to be oblivious (85-100). It is not untill she explains how she â€Å"Loves [him] more than anything† that he looks at her and realizes â€Å"that she is beautiful† (116-117). The love between them is pure because Lanval thinks that she is beautiful because of their love rather than the material things surrounding her. This true-love that Lanval and Semiramis share begins unveiling the Queen’s beauty, while granting Lanval beauty and wealth that he did not posses before. Lanval transforms from â€Å"a strange man† to with little friends and little to offer into a man full of â€Å"rich gifts† for strangers and friends alike as his mistress continues to shower him with good fortune (36, 209). Because the love between Lanval and Queen Semiramis grants the Queen recognition of her inner beauty while granting Lanval eauty through good fortune, their love symbolizes the idea that pure love betters us. The purity of the love shared between Lanval and Semiramis is also displayed through constant symbolism of white that coincides with the mention of the mistress. Even at their first meeting, although â€Å"her whole side is uncovered,† this image is portrayed as elegant rather than seductive due to the â€Å"white ermine† that she is draped with (102). Not only is Queen S emiramis draped in white, it also explains that she is â€Å"whiter than the hawthorn flower† herself (102-105). Although she has many superficial objects, including all the riches in the world, as well as more beauty than anyone has seen, the confession of her love is humble. Semiramis addresses Lanval as â€Å"sweet love,† and continues on to explain how she loves him â€Å"more than anything† (116). In her purity, she is oblivious of her own worth as she so humbly offers herself to Lanval. The purity of Semiramis’ being remains constant throughout â€Å"Lanval† as she reappears ridding a â€Å"white palfrey† while wearing a â€Å"white linen shift† (150,160). Although it is Lanval who betrays Semiramis, she humbly states before the King Arthur â€Å"I do not want him to suffer† (618). The constant symbolism of purity relating white to Semiramis’ being further supports the importance of the pure love shared between Lanval and Semiramis. In contradiction of purity it is mentioned that Semiramis â€Å"granted [Lanval] her love and her body† (133). Yet, the way Queen Semiramis offers herself to Lanval is not in a way that displays her body as an object as in most pieces in Lais of Marie de France. This offering of Semiramis’ body is more of an expression of the love and devotion she has for him. Lanval is informed by his Queen Semiramis that not only must their affair be secrete, but she will not be there to â€Å"satisify all [his] desires† (168). Regardless he is â€Å"very happy† just to have her love (171). Rather than an in depth description of how Semiramis offers her body, there are brief moments that display vulnerability. Just before leaving his new found love, â€Å"[Lanval] kissed his lady often and held her close†, displaying a form of innocent affection that is not often shown in fictional pieces of Marie de France’s time (187). Innocence is a form of purity, that is also portrayed as Lanval is before King Arthur, the sight of Semiramis causes â€Å"the blood to [rise] to his face† (595). The repetition of purity throughout the piece continually brings the theme back to the idea of pure love. The purity experienced between Lanval and Queen Semiramis strengthens their love while bettering each other. As they obtain knowledge of each others’ beauty and nobility they become strong enough to face the outside world and all its impurities, such that King Arthur’s Queen. With the absence of love derived from solely physical desire, as well as the purity of Semiramis’ being; Lanval and his mistress are an epitome of pure love in a genre that seldom displayed such emotions between adults. ? Work cited Marie de France. Lanval. Trans. Robert Hanning and Joan Ferrante. The Lais of Marie de Frane, Grand Rapids, MI: Bake 2 Books, 1995.

Theory and Practice Behind the Creeping Barrage of WW1

Theory and Practice Behind the Creeping Barrage of WW1 The creeping/rolling barrage is a slowly moving artillery attack acting as a defensive curtain for infantry following closely behind. The creeping barrage is indicative of the First World War, where it was used by all belligerents as a way to bypass the problems of trench warfare. It did not win the war (as once hoped)  but played an important role in the final advances.   Invention The creeping barrage was first used by Bulgarian artillery crews during the siege of Adrianople in March 1913, over a year before the war began. The wider world took little notice and the idea had to be re-invented again in 1915-16, as a response to both the static, trench-based, warfare into which the swift early movements of the First World War had stalled  and the inadequacies of existing artillery barrages. People were desperate for new methods, and the creeping barrage seemed to offer them. The Standard Barrage Throughout 1915, infantry attacks were preceded by as massive an artillery bombardment as possible, intended to pulverize both the enemy troops and their defenses. The barrage could go on for hours, even days, with the aim of destroying everything under them. Then, at an allotted time, this barrage would cease - usually switching to deeper secondary targets - and the infantry would climb out of their own defenses, rush across the contested land and, in theory, seize land which was now undefended, either because the enemy was dead or cowering in bunkers. The Standard Barrage Fails In practice, barrages frequently failed to obliterate either the enemys deepest defensive systems and attacks turned into a race between two infantry forces, the attackers trying to rush across No Mans Land before the enemy realized the barrage was over and returned (or sent replacements) to their forward defenses...and their machine guns. Barrages could kill, but they could neither occupy land nor hold the enemy away long enough for infantry to advance. Some tricks were played, such as stopping the bombardment, waiting for the enemy to man their defenses, and starting it again to catch them in the open, only sending their own troops later on. The sides also became practiced at being able to fire their own bombardment into No Mans Land when the enemy sent their troops forward into it. The Creeping Barrage In late 1915/early 1916, Commonwealth forces began developing a new form of barrage. Beginning close to their own lines, the creeping barrage moved slowly forward, throwing up dirt clouds to obscure the infantry who advanced close behind. The barrage would reach the enemy lines and suppress as normal (by driving men into bunkers or more distant areas) but the attacking infantry would be close enough to storm these lines (once the barrage had crept further forward) before the enemy reacted. That was, at least, the theory. The Somme Apart from Adrianople in 1913, the creeping barrage was first used at The Battle of the Somme in 1916, at the orders of Sir Henry Horne; its failure exhibits several of the tactics problems. The barrages targets and timings had to be arranged well beforehand and, once started, could not be easily changed. At the Somme, the infantry moved slower than expected and the gap between soldier and barrage was sufficient for German forces to man their positions once the bombardment had passed. Indeed, unless bombardment and infantry advanced in almost perfect synchronization there were problems: if the soldiers moved too fast they advanced into the shelling and were blown up; too slow and the enemy had time to recover. If the bombardment moved too slow, allied soldiers either advanced into it or had to stop and wait, in the middle of No Mans Land and possibly under enemy fire; if it moved too fast, the enemy again had time to react. Success and Failure Despite the dangers, the creeping barrage was a potential solution to the stalemate of trench warfare and it was adopted by all the belligerent nations. However, it generally failed when used over a relatively large area, such as the Somme, or was relied upon too heavily, such as the disastrous battle of the Marne in 1917. In contrast, the tactic proved much more successful in localized attacks where targets and movement could be better defined, such as the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Taking place the same month as the Marne, the Battle of Vimy Ridge saw Canadian forces attempting a smaller, but much more precisely organized creeping barrage which advanced 100 yards every 3 minutes, slower than commonly tried in the past. Opinions are mixed on whether the barrage, which became an integral part of WW1 warfare, was a general failure or a small, but necessary, part of the winning strategy. One thing is certain: it wasnt the decisive tactic generals had hoped for. No Place In Modern War Advances in radio technology – which meant soldiers could carry transmitting radios around with them and co-ordinate support – and developments in artillery - which meant barrages could be placed much more precisely - conspired to make the blind sweeping of the creeping barrage redundant in the modern era, replaced by pinpoint strikes called in as needed, not pre-arranged walls of mass destruction.