The Influence of the Conception of Love in Plato’s Symposium on Virgil’s Aeneid and the French Ene.docVIP

The Influence of the Conception of Love in Plato’s Symposium on Virgil’s Aeneid and the French Ene 　　1 Full-time Lecturer, Department of English Language and Literature, Tafila Technical University, Jordan. 　　*Corresponding author. 　　 　　Received 23 January 2012; accepted 23 March 2012. 　　Abstract 　　This paper explores the influence of the conception of love in Plato’s Symposium on Virgil’s Aeneid and the French Eneas through a comparative analysis methodology that highlights the shared thread and influence between Plato’s Symposium and Virgil’s Aeneid and the French Eneas. The study mainly focuses on showing the readers how the Greek concept of the spiritual and heavenly love is highly praised and favored by Virgil’s Aeneid and the French Eneas because it is an everlasting and healthy kind of love. 　　Key words: Earthly love; Spiritual love; Divine love; Greek concept of love; Plato’s Symposium; Virgil’s Aeneid; The French Eneas; Platonic love; Absolute love 　　Hassan Ali Abdullah Al-Momani (2012). The Influence of the Conception of Love in Plato’s Symposium on Virgil’s Aeneid and the French Eneas. Studies in Literature and Language, 4(2), -0. Available from URL: /index.php/sll/article/view/j.sll.1923156320120402.1045 　　DOI: /10.3968/j.sll.1923156320120402.1045 　　There is no subject which has been ever thought of or written about in literature, particularly in poetry, more than the subject of love. Apart from the universal interest of poets in love, the fact remains that almost all human beings, primitive or civilized, must have experienced a kind of love in one way or another. Many great men of letters such as Plato and Ovid tackled the theme of love because it is a vital phenomenon which preoccupies the minds and hearts of men and women as long as there is life on earth. 　　 Virgil’s Aeneid and the French text Eneas depict the conception of love from different perspectives, in which there is clear evidence that Virgil’s Aeneid and the French text Eneas