Analytical Comparison of the Concept of Love in the Perspectives of Geoffrey Chaucer and Mikhail Naimy, with Emphasis on Two Short Stories: The Miller's Tale and The Cuckoo Clock

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Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor of English Language and Literature, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran.

2 PhD in Arabic Language and Literature, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran

3 Assistant professor of English language and Literature Department of English Literature, Faculty Humanities, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran.

10.22111/jllr.2025.51343.3319

Abstract

Comparative literature is of utmost importance in understanding the various perspectives cultured by different societies and literatures on love. In this vein, using the content analysis method while building its basis on the American School of Comparative Literature, the present research studies and contrasts the concept of love in two short stories: The Miller's Tale, written by Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400), and The Cuckoo Clock, written by Mikhail Naimy (1889-1988). The research finds that love is transformative in both stories. In The Miller's Tale, that transformation may be best characterized by the ideas of deception and betrayal, influenced by class systems and social status. In contrast, in The Cuckoo Clock, this transformation results from the encounters brought in by modernity and cultural conflicts between the East and the West. Both authors symbolize the multiple dimensions of love: while the mill in The Miller's Tale symbolizes trickery and deceit, the cuckoo clock in The Cuckoo Clock symbolizes the seductive potential of modernity and a shift in traditional values. While love is traditionally viewed with a humorous, realistic tint in Western literature (as exemplified by Chaucer), Arabic literature (where Naimy shines) has maintained a traditionally idealistic, philosophical interpretation.

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Journal of Lyrical Literature Researches

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 20 May 2025

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