Lais of Marie de France

Throughout the Lais of Marie de France there are several themes presented as central to the various stories. Some of these themes are present in all of the lais. One such example is that of courtly love and it’s implications. Courtly love being one of the more prominent themes in all of medieval literature, it is fittingly manifested in all of the lais as well. Another theme present in two of the lais is …

…magical world of Avalon. It is there that they remain together on an island alone. Throughout the two lais isolation proved to be able to manifest itself in slightly different ways, primarily physical removal as opposed to psychological alienation. Although indeed a bit different in the exactness of their nature, both are undoubtedly linked in their ability to facilitate wondrous happenings in a world where isolation breeds magical events powerful enough to dramatically alter lives.