Love in Medieval English Literature

During the Renaissance and into the Age of the Enlightment, people returned to thinking with a
focus on reason and common humanity. Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, developed a theory known as
the “hierarchy of essential needs”, which defines love, friendship, and power as necessities to human
survival (Maslow A Theory of Human Motivation). When examining love, friendship, and power in
English literature during the Middle Ages, love is the strongest theme, as it is the most prevalent and
creates the most character and plot development.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, love is a contributor to the conflict. At first glance, one might think that
power is the strongest theme in Macbeth. However, the main protagonist Macbeth was initially driven
to seek power for his him and his love Lady Macbeth. In fact, the two sacrifice and support one another
throughout the play. For example, after receiving Macbeth’s letter, Lady Macbeth gives up her
weakness, gentleness and frailty to be strong enough to support her husband’s pursuit of the throne.
She begs, “Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown
to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty” (Shakespeare Macbeth IV.iii). As a result, Macbeth, seeking only the
best for his love, he kills multiple people to prove his love and determination to his wife by becoming
king through whatever means necessary. When his plan crumbles and his wife commits suicide due to
her delusions caused by her husband’s crimes, Macbeth is heartbroken as he utters that life “…is a tale.
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.” After losing his love, he believes none of his
cruel actions were worth it (Shakespeare Macbeth V.v).

Another example of love in Medieval literature is Amoretti, one of the most infamous poems by
Edmund Spenser. In the sonnet, love transforms the behavior of a man. What starts as sweet and trivial
admiration of a woman who seems to play hard to get becomes obsession (Spenser Amoretti XXX).
Persistently, the narrator refuses to give up his pursuit of the woman who continually rejects him. Yet, at
the end of the sonnet he begins to question his actions as he states, “Such the power of love in gentle
mind, that it can alter all the course of kind”, concluding that, love is so strong that it can make a person
go against what is natural or rational (Dahiya “Amoretti - Sonnet 30 Edmund Spenser: Notes.”).

Although power is a human necessity, due to the lack of order and general mistrust in authority
during the medieval times, power is the weakest theme in Medieval English literature. For example, in
Macbeth, Shakespeare ridicules and criticizes the general political corruption that took place during the
Middle Ages through his portrayal of the Scottish monarchy as a bloody, nefarious disaster. However,
what is comical is Shakespeare’s illustration of society’s distrust in authority by using witches, symbolic
for one’s inner evil and darkness, as a means of telling the future (Lorcher “Macbeth Study Guide: Witch
Symbolism and Other Symbols.”). By Macbeth trusting the witches’ prophecy, it shows that leaders were
often led astray by their own amoralities and selfishness.

In an era where everything seemed to be going wrong, the people of the Middle Ages could find
solace in the evocation of love, friendship, and power. However, love remained the greatest theme in
Medieval literature due to its pervasiveness and contribution to plot and character development.
 Works Cited

Dahiya, Anuj. “Amoretti - Sonnet 30 Edmund Spenser: Notes.” UGC NET English, 18 Dec.
2014, ugcenglish.com/sonnet/amoretti-sonnet-30-edmund-spenser/797/.

Lorcher, Trent. “Macbeth Study Guide: Witch Symbolism and Other Symbols.” Bright Hub
Education, 17 Jan. 2012, www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-help-literature/61498-
symbols-in-macbeth/.

“Macbeth: Entire Play.” Macbeth: List of Scenes, shakespeare.mit.edu/macbeth/full.html.

Maslow, Abraham H. A Theory of Human Motivation. Merchant Books, 2013.

Spenser, Edmund. “Amoretti XXX: My Love Is like to Ice, and I to Fire by Edmund Spenser.”
Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50271/amoretti-
xxx-my-love-is-like-to-ice-and-i-to-fire.