Patel 1

Love
(Ahan Patel)

The word love has many definitions, but the Oxford English Dictionary defines love as “A feeling
or disposition of deep affection or fondness for someone.” Although the concept of love manifests in
nearly every piece of canonical literature; , its meaning shifts over time and between different segments of
literature. In religiously affiliated texts with strong presences of overarching powers/deities, love is
appears as a broad affection that the said deities feel towards humans and vice versa. On the other hand,
love is portrayed as a conduit for interpersonal improvement in the more secular texts.
In Genesis, the reader sees the manifestation of the keyword through the recurrence of the phrase
“And God saw that it was good.” (1:4). God displays his love towards all humans (a broad affection) by
creating multiple entities such as light and nature and making sure that all of these entities are good so
that humans can live a paradisiacal life on Earth. The same type of love is witnessed later in the Bible
during the Gospel of Mark. In Mark, Jesus preaches that the Kingdom of God is on Earth and it just has to
be fulfilled. He claims that “[...] the measure you give will be the measure you get [...].” (4:24-25). Jesus
declares that the Kingdom of God can be fulfilled by every person if he/she shows equal amounts of
bountiful love to each other and to God. This example keeps with the trend of broad affection because it
treats love as something God gives to his children (all humans) and something the children give to each
other and back to Him. A similar theme is depicted with Raven in “The Creation.” Raven shows his love
for his human creations by carefully teaching them how to survive and thrive on Earth just as a father
would teach his son how to ride a bike. Raven longs for his creation to live successfully and flourish
alongside nature. By assuming a motherly form and empowering her to fix every problem that humans’
encounter, Nu Wa’s love is identical to Raven’s. When Nu Wa’s “greatest fears come true,” and the Earth
cracks alongside water rushing to flood the land, Nu Wa exhibits her broad affection by desperately trying
to help the humans (135). The Confessions is not as primitive as the creation stories or the Bible, but love
still manifests in the same ways as its earlier counterparts. St. Augustine comes to the conclusion that true
love is only found through a connection with God and a subsequent harmonization with his creations. He
realizes that God’s love or broad affection is everywhere after he connects with Him during the tolle lege
scene and acknowledges that the actions of people like his mother were powered by God’s love.
“Trojan Women” is the first instance where the reader witnesses an appearance of love as a Formatted: Font: Not Italic
method for interpersonal improvement. This appearance is shown through the lack of love in the story.
Before the devastation brought by the war, people such as Hecuba relied on her their family members to
improve herself. For instance, love was used as a method to improve the rate of her Hecabe’s own and her
husband’s happiness through the comfort and security that they provided each other. After everyone loses
their loved ones, they are all in pain because they have lost not only the interpersonal bonds but the future
opportunity for interpersonal improvement. In Book VIII of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, he describes
three types of friendship, and the most righteous one is a friendship that is based on loving the other
person as much as possible and striving towards interpersonal improvement. Coming from his teacher,
Plato’s Symposium proffers many definitions of love until the “right” one appears given by Diotima
(through Socrates). She claims that “[...] love is wanting to possess the good forever.” (52:206A).
Socrates goes on to elaborate that Diotima’s definition means that love means desiring wisdom, beauty,
and all the good things in others and yourself. This expression translates to the definition of love as a
means of interpersonal improvement. The final text offers the most modern version of love as a corrupt
concept through jealousy. In The Decameron, the reader sees love used as a deviant method of
interpersonal improvement during Day Seven’s Fifth story. The husband uses his jealousy caused by a
twisted version of love to improve his own level of security and the wife uses love to satisfy her sexual
desires and improve her own sense of satisfaction by sleeping with the neighbor. Concluding sentence?
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Bibliography

Aristotle. “Book VIII.” Nicomachean Ethics, translated by W.D. Ross, The Internet Classics

Archive, 2009, classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.8.viii.html

Augustine. The Confessions, edited by John E. Rotelle, translated by Maria Boulding, 2nd ed., Formatted: Indent: Left: 0"

New City Press, 19972016. Formatted: Indent: Left: 0", First line: 0.5"

Boccaccio, Giovanni. The Decameron. Translated by Peter Bondanella and Mark Musa, Signet

Classics, 2010.

“Brahmanas: Creation from an Egg.” Primal Myths: Creation Myths Around the World, edited

by Barbara C. Sproul, Harper Collins, 1991, pp. 184-186.

“Bumba Vomits the World.” Primal Myths: Creation Myths Around the World, edited by

Barbara C. Sproul, Harper Collins, 1991, pp. 44-45.

Euripides. “Trojan Women.” Electa and Other Plays, edited by Richard Rutherford, translated

by John Davie, Penguin Books, 2004, pp. 175-217.

Hesiod. "Theogony." Hesiod: Theogony, Works and Days. Translated by A. Athanassakis, Johns

Hopkins University Press, 1983, n.p.

Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. N.p.: American Bible Society, 1989,

pp. 1-3, 910-930

“love, n.” 1. OED Online. Oxford University Press, 2017. Web. 12 December 2017.

Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Edited by Gordon Teskey, Norton Critical Edition, W.W. Norton &

Company, 2005.

Ovid. Metamorphoses. Translated by Anthony S. Kline, Poetry in Translation, 2000.

"Pan Gu and Nu Wa." Classical Chinese Myths. Edited and translated by Jan Walls and Yvonne

Walls, Joint Publishing Company, 1984, p. 135.

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Plato. Symposium. Edited and translated by Christopher Gill, Penguin Classics, 2003.

Translated by Alexander Nehamas and Paul Woodruff, Hackett Pub. Co., 1989.
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Category

Total Points
Scoring Criteria
Points Earned

The entry effectively presents the keyword, establishes a working definition

for the term, and explores how this definition changes in the context of each 15 15
work.

Addresses the manifestation of the keyword in all of the texts we have

Content

studied to some degree, making intentional choices about which texts to 10 10

privilege over others.

Includes relevant textual examples that help the author demonstrate nuances
10 10
of the keyword.

Presents a complex understanding of the keyword that is derived from the

materials we have studied, and reflects a genuine effort to think critically 5 5
about the definition based on these readings.

Information is presented in a logical sequence and is cohesive. 10 10

Organization and Style

Transitions within the entry are smooth and draw attention to substantive
10 10
connections between materials.

Quotations are effectively integrated into the entry and, when appropriate,
5 5
are followed by adequate analysis.

Diction is appropriate and varied. Entry is thoroughly proofread and free

10 10
from repetition.

Keyword serves as the title for the entry. It is centered and bolded, with no
5 5
underline, italics, or quotations marks.
Formatting

The keyword and its related forms appears in bold throughout the entry. 5 5

Proper parenthetical citations are included for all quotations, and are
5 5
formatted according to MLA standards.

The Keyword Entry is accompanied by a Bibliography, which is properly

10 9
formatted according to MLA standards.

Total: 100 99

Letter Grade: A

Comments: Throughout this entry you showcase the different ways that love manifests in the ancient texts we
have studied, distinguishing between the positive and negative outcomes we see in works like The Confessions
and “Trojan Women.” The entry is very well organized, leading the reader through a cohesive set of points. This
is a rich word, and one that you do a nice job exploring. I look forward to watching your presentation and seeing
how love compares in the modern world. Nice work!
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