White Rose of Avalon

Love

  • Heathcliff as Byronic Hero

    Anyone who knows me knows that I adore classic literature, and my favorite classic novel is Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights!    In honor of this today’s post is devoted to the character of Heathcliff.   Heathcliff is often named as a Gothic Villain, and he does bare many markers of the term, but he better…

  • Lady Susan

    Lady Susan is an early epistolary novella written by Jane Austen.   This short novel is unique within the Austen canon for being written in this style (epistolary being written entirely in letters) and for having a protagonist who is rather unscrupulous.   Lady Susan Vernon is a woman of means who had lost her…

  • Love in Edgar Allan Poe Work

    Poe is arguably the American Gothic horror master!    He wrote numerous short tales and poetry that continues to inspire us today.   He was also one of the premier literary critics of the Victorian era, often critiquing his contemporaries.   His personal life, though, was littered with utter tragedy. He fell in love with…

  • Orpheus and Eurydice

    The tragic tale of Orpheus and Eurydice is one of the great romantic myths of the Greco-Roman pantheon.   Orpheus was the best musician of the ancient world.  He was gifted his lyre by Apollo himself!   When Orpheus fell in love and married Eurydice their happiness was short lived. Eurydice would die not long…

  • Ariadne: Wife of Dionysus

    Ariadne was the wife of Dionysus in the Greek myths.    She was the daughter of King Minos of Crete, and his wife Pasiphae.    Pasiphae was the daughter of the sun god Helios and Oceanid Perse (an Oceanid was a type of water nymph).    This gave Ariadne divine origins through her mother’s side. When…

  • Royal Mistresses

    Monarchs throughout time have taken mistresses to satisfy their desires.   Especially French kings had special places at court for their mistresses.   There was in fact a particular title in the French royal court for a king’s mistress.   The king’s official mistress is known best by the original French term, maitresse-en-titre.    One…

  • Medieval Poetry

    Medieval poetry is a type of literature that was inspired by the legends that were popular at the time.   The medieval period was the time of the epic poem.    The Canterbury Tales, The Decameron, and The Romance of the Rose are examples of this poetry.   The Lais of Marie de France was…

  • Arthurian Love Triangle

    The most famous of the romantic Arthurian legends is of course the love triangle amongst Lancelot, Guinevere, and Arthur.   I am someone absolutely obsessed with the romantic relationships within the world of Arthur!   I actually love both sides of this love triangle, and I go back and forth over which relationship is my…

  • My Top Five Shakespeare Love Quotes

    Number 5:’I would not wish any companion in the world but you’ (The Tempest – Act 3, Scene 1) ~This quote reminds us that friendship is important in romantic love!  Number 4:’Her passions are made of nothing but the finest part of pure love’ (Antony & Cleopatra – Act 3, Scene 5) ~I love this…

  • Great Lovers

    Throughout history there have been many great lovers!   Many of these lotharios are men of nobility and royalty.   Today I want to look at some of the most famous.   I have chosen three lovers that exemplify the great romance and sexual awakening of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe! The…