In this essay, I intend to speak to the issue of the romance-genre in media using naturally-occurring objects as symbols. In “Guigemar” and “Laüstic”, nature is used to denote a specified meaning in each story; Guigemar has a wound that only his lady-love can heal, the physical symbol becoming metaphorical. The nightingale is a symbol for the love the knight holds for his love in “Laüstic”– once it is killed, its status is elevated beyond simple representation into a physical reminder. Both stories show that the use of an object changes the object itself and the message conveyed by using it. An entity used solely as a symbol for symbolism’s sake is an impossible idea. Using an object to mean something it not of its original purpose changes the intent of the object forthwith. I will use past and present examples of media– literature, movies, and video-games– to illustrate such a point.

Sanders’ Adaption and Appropriation will help show what an adaption of a text and an object does to the subject. The subject is irrevocably changed through its meaning, its representation, and its misinterpretation. I will subsequently relate the idea of adaption to the use of an object for representation. As an example, in “Laüstic”, to adapt the nightingale from a literal singing animal into a symbol of love lost changes the bird’s purpose but also its reception. The nightingale is no longer just a bird, but something beyond itself, taking on both human traits and its natural traits. The modern examples will be a little more difficult to show, but one example I’ve found to be intriguing is the videogame “Dragon Age: Origins”. In it, a character named Alistair offers the protagonist a simple flower. Alistair comments that he saw it, and asked himself “how could something so beautiful exist in a place with so much despair?”. The rose became more than a flower given as a gift, growing into a representation of human emotion and hope. With other evidence, I hope to show that objects take on more than their original meaning when used as symbols to represent romantic interests.

There are many places named after events or people. Think of “squirrel-neck” and “Síd Froich”. Why do you think nature is forced the take on a memory of a human event? How long do you suspect the name lasts?

“Nature” could truly be construed in new ways due to this epic poem. With much of childbirth driving the story, would you consider birth to be a part of nature? Is it outside of a woman’s control or is it her “will” to enact something upon nature and the course of man’s story? If is it something thrust upon her by nature, how do you justify this opinion? Overall, what is the relationship between woman and nature in “The Tain”?

Worms are amazing. They break down dead things into nutrients for the living things. They’re the original recycling machines. Having the author of the fable use these little guys as a metaphor, do you think he’s praising the worms or disparaging them? What do you believe they represent? How does the imagery in the poem lend itself to your argument?

On page 16, Steel suggests that the Hesse child’s story “lends itself easily to such analysis of human limitations”. The connection between the boy and his “natural state” as a wolf help the boy surpass normal limits, but also hinder him. Using evidence in the article, would you agree that the Hesse story shows limitations of people or does it prove that humans and nature should be more united, like in Bisclavret or Yonec?