Who better to ask about love than a bunch of poets? That's what happens in The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, anyway, where a bunch of dudes come together to talk about what love should be—by way of poetry.
For Petrarch, love is serious business—no laughter allowed. It's sublime—a burning feeling in one person for the other. Boccaccio, on the other hand, prefers a little butt-pinching to lighten the situation. Call him a pragmatist, we guess.
For the others, to love is to be inspired and to be loved means to be one with the beloved—even at the expense of that beloved (think of the girl who gets smacked for her superior swimming skills). Love hurts.
But somehow, if you ask these poets, love is still the remedy for all ills. We're not sure that Kundera really believes this, but the idea of someone loving another completely, serious warts and all, is compelling. Even if it means that someone's going to suffer for all that devotion.
Questions About Love
- What are the characteristics of love, according to Kundera?
- In what ways do Petrarch and Boccaccio disagree about love?
- How does Karel view love? What about Marketa and Eva?
- What do you think is behind Tamina's undying and dangerous attachment to her late husband?
Chew on This
Contrary to popular opinion, love can be some very ugly things.
Lermontov's view of love, while scorned by the others, is really the only rational approach in the book.