Blog Post #12:
Dante to Ventadorn
Dante
and the Troubadours both avidly describe the dualities offered by courtly love.
Like the aged authors Arnaut Daniel and Bernart de Ventadorn, Dante also uses
his poetry to delve into the often torturous courtly love. Where Dante moves
ahead is in his attempt to distinguish himself from the previous Troubadour art
form is by taking a more active role in his love life. This is in contrast to
the more passive reaction to courtly love seen in the Troubadours.
The
Troubadour poet, Bernart de Ventadorn, uses love to vent his frustrations.
There is no hint of action in his voice and it would appear he is willing to
passively accept the fate courtly love has provided for him. In his poem “You’ve
Asked, My Lords, for Song” he asks “Oh Love, what shall I do? / Shall we two
live in strife? / The griefs that must ensue would surely end my life” (85).
The question posed “what shall I do?” acts quite passively and ensures no
solution is created for Bernart de Ventadorn’s current situation. The “strife”
discussed seems quite persistent and the questioning adds to the passivity of
the poem as a whole. Bernart de Ventadorn is reactive to the problems of courtly
love and is essentially at the mercy of the ebb and flow of the love.
Conversely,
Dante attempts to adjust his fate when faced with turmoil at the hands of
courtly love. In his poem in Chapter 3 of Vita
Nuova, Dante requests the help of his ballad to aid him in fetching his
love, Beatrice. He states “Ballad, I wish for you to seek out Love / and go
with him into my lady’s presence”. Unlike the more passive Bernart de
Ventadorn, who only begs love for answers to his problems with courtly love,
Dante seeks to actively correct the issues ahead of him. He “requests the help”
of his ballad to help him correct his current predicament. Here, Dante is
moving past the woes usually associated with the Troubadours passivity and
seeks a more active path to resolutions of courtly love.
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