The Art of Courtly Love by Andreas Capellanus

This book is Andreas Capellanus's guide to courtly love. Capellanus was chaplain at the court of Marie of Champagne, and supposedly wrote the book at her request to portray conditions at the court of Eleanor of Aquitane, who was Marie's mother. The first book describes what love is (pain--and, by the way, it can't be experienced between a husband and wife) and how to woo a lady (with descriptions giving sample conversations between eight different couples of different social statuses); the second book describes how to retain love once you've wooed someone; and the third book is a palinode that suggests rejecting love in favor of religion. The book reminded me a lot of Machiavelli's The Prince in genre and style (and perhaps even in content at times). There were some really lovely allegories scattered throughout the book, which added interest to its narrative.

The Analogy of the Faerie Queen by James Nornberg

This monograph contends that The Faerie Queen's complex and self-reflexive structure is best accounted for in a criticism that understands the work as a whole. Books are connected reflexively (so the private virtues of books I-III [holiness, temperance, and chastity] are reflected in the public virtues of books IV-VI [friendship, justice and courtesy]). Norhnberg contends that whatever the original plan (Spenser originally meant to write twelve books), the poem as it stands is complete to itself. The monograph is quite erudite, as Norhnberg first situates The Faerie Queen in an epic and romance tradition, and is continually contextualizing it with other works of literature, especially the Bible (there's a nice reflexivity in his reading of Book I as the word of God and Book VI as the words of men). There's not much analysis of the formal features of the poetry, but as a guide through the allegory (a mode, not a genre) and narrative structure of the poem, this book excels.

Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel

I enjoyed this book much more than The Life of Pi, Martel's previous bestseller. At times it struck me as a bit smug (Henry seems to stand in pretty obviously for Martel), and at times the violence of the text really shocked me (although I don't know that it was inappropriate in a book about the Holocaust). I was really intrigued by the play Beatrice and Virgil: I thought it was very well done, in the manner of Beckett. I know this book will remain in my mind for a long time--there's a lot to ponder.