The Sufferings of Love

The Sufferings of Love
 
The tragic narrative of Troilus and Criseyde is set in the Trojan war—the result of another failing love story. This essay will consider the nature of love that Chaucer depicts in his poem and the ways in which it correlates and identifies with the nature of plague, sickness, and suffering.


Love is seen as contagious, spreading from Paris, to Pandarus and even to the assumedly immune Troilus. The effect of love on the body is metaphorically portrayed by Chaucer as a viral infection and how something or someone that is prized and loved above all else can become a harbour of death (Seally Giles). Although very few references are made regarding plague and disease in the text itself, the effect of love is predominantly conveyed as something similar to what causes suffering and a presence of the fatal; like disease or plague would. This essay will consider this depiction of love in extracts from the text, such as Troilus’s first sighting of Criseyde, being the spread of love; Troilus’ sufferings, being the symptoms of love; Pandarus’s medical diction in seducing Criseyde, being an attempt of finding a cure; and finally, Criseyde’s healing and betrayal of Troilus—the ultimate fatality caused by love.