The Middle Ages (1400-1500)

“Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning.” (Lines 1384-1385)

In this text, Beowulf is showing what is better to him and that is in his view, revenge. He was the one killing the monsters and for him it was better to be safe than sorry. This proves the theme of personal desire because this is what HE wanted to do. This came along with the desire to prove himself to society that he IS capable of fighting off monsters to save others.

Middle English(14th and 15th centuries)

"Come live with me and be my love,And we will all the pleasures prove" (Marlowe 1-3).

"The Shepherds’ Swains shall dance and sing

For thy delight each May-morning:If these delights thy mind may move,Then live with me, and be my love"(Marlowe 20-24).

In this text, the passionate Shepherd is trying to lure his love in with persuading her with the promise of the beauty of nature. His desire to live with her and be with her is so strong that he mentions all the beautiful things that'll come with if she agrees. This is the theme of personal desire because he is willing to do anything to be with her, he is doing it for his gain.

Middle English (14th and 15th centuries)

"Hath robbed you and reft from me my joy:

Both you and me and all the world he quite

Hath robbed of joyance, and left sad annoy"(Herbert 45-48).

"But he them sees and takes exceeding pleasure

Of their divine aspects, appearing plain,

And kindling love in him above all measure,

Sweet love still joyous, never feeling pain"(Herbert 75-78).

In "The Doleful Lay of Clorinda", Clorinda if filled with personal desire and it is the main theme in the poem. Clorinda is faced with having to disguise herself in order to have the love of a knight. Her desire is so strong she goes against societal norms and disguises herself.

“Thou standest yet,” quoth she, “in such array,

That of thy life yet hast thou no surety;

I grant thee life, if thou canst tell to me

What thing is it that women most desiren"(Chaucer).

In "The Wife of Bath Tales", a knight is set out to find the answer to a question that can prevent him from being executed. The question is "what do women desire the most?" Clearly, the central theme here is desire, coming from women and himself. He is determined to find the answer because if not he will be executed, soon after he runs into an old lady who only gives him the answer to his question but only if he promises to marry her. The old lady also holds the theme of desire because she is in old age and wishes to have love from a young knight. Personal desire comes from both is a common theme in English literature that seems to be running through many texts.

(Middle Ages The Arthurian legends)

"Lordings, right thus, as ye have understand,

Bare I stiffly mine old husbands on hand,

That thus they saiden in their drunkenness;

And all was false, but that I took witness

On Jenkin, and upon my niece also.

O Lord! the pain I did them, and the woe,

‘Full guilteless, by Godde’s sweete pine;

For as a horse I coulde bite and whine;

I coulde plain, an’ I was in the guilt,

Or elles oftentime I had been spilt"(Chaucer).

Separate from the "Wife of Bath Tale" is the "Wife of Bath Prologue". In "The Wife of Bath Prologue", Alisoun is the sharing her thoughts and experiences in her past marriages. She believes in a marriage, she needs to be the one having full authority and money when she wants it or the marriage is unsuccessful. Alisouns desire is to have a husband that will give her what she wants when she wants it and if it means she ends up with so many divorces then so be it. She laughs as she tells her past stories of torturing men until she got what she wanted. The theme of extreme personal desire is very evident in this text as it shows only of what Alisoun wishes. She is inconsiderate of others desires and only wishes to reach her own. This particular theme is so common amongst many texts in english literature, its purpose is to deepen the meanings of the stories and engage readers.

"Here grows the cure of all, this fruit divine. Fair to the eye, inviting to the taste, Of virtue to make wise: what hinders then To reach, and feed at once both body and mind? (IX, 776–769).

"As I bent down to look, just opposite A shape within the wat’ry gleam appear’d, Bending to look on me: I started back; It started back: but pleas’d I soon return’d; Pleas’d it return’d as soon; with answering looks Of sympathy and love: there I had fixt Mine eyes till now, and pin’d with vain desire[.] (IV, 460–466)

In "Paradise Lost", Adam and Eve face a serious fall and deal with consequences after disobeying the rule of not eating the forbidden fruit. Eve gives in with her desire to eat the fruit and Adam can't help but follow along after he sees his love doing the same. Knowing the fault that comes with it, they still do so because their desire won over fear. Adam even warned Eve saying not to do pick the fruit, but even he gave in with the desire to share a moment with his love. The theme of personal desire runs along the novel as both Adam and Eve gave in to what they wanted, knowing it wasn't right. This is similar to other texts as they also typically think of themselves and not others.

"Now let us sport us while we may,
And now, like amorous birds of prey,
Rather at once our time devour
Than languish in his slow-chapped power"(Marvell 37-40).

"And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Thorough the iron gates of life" (Marvell 42-43).

In "To His Coy Mistress", Marvells central theme here is personal desire. The speaker in the poem has an eagerness to sleep with his mistress and he tries all types of persuasion to get her in the same bed. His worries are they will run out of time with love and if they don't sleep together soon things will go wrong. His sexual desire for his mistress is so strong that he uses offensive, seductive, and uses a very vivid tone towards her. Although it is not what she wants, he is willing to go through great lengths to get what he wants, praising each part of her body and speaking so highly of her if she gives in. The theme of desire here is different than the other texts which goes to show there are many different forms of desire.

This website included significant quotes, summary of the text,themes/symbols, character descriptions and full analysis of the poem. It also included quotes surrounding the theme of personal desire. This website aided in finding the quotes from "The Wife of Bath Prologue" and "The Wife of Bath Tale". The site did an amazing job explaining the significance of each quote and the authors motives as well.