Courtly love tradition
A medieval and Renaissance literary tradition in which love is idealised as a noble, spiritualising force, often involving a knight's devotion to an unattainable lady of higher status. Courtly love emphasises virtue, suffering, and the lover's transformation through service.
Real World
Shakespeare's sonnets follow courtly love conventions almost exactly — the speaker worships an idealised beloved, suffers beautifully in their absence, and claims the relationship ennobles him, regardless of whether love is returned.
Exam Focus
Identify specific courtly love conventions (suffering, idealization, service) and link them to the writer's deliberate manipulation of the tradition.
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