The Lais of Marie de France

There is no more prevalent theme in Marie's lays than love. Her stories consider various perspectives on love relationships, including marriage, extramarital affairs, love between lords and vassals, and love between parents and children. Each lay considers how different types of love either bring happiness, as in "Guigemar," or how they lead to unhappiness, as in "Equitan." Sometimes a sacred, happy love is quashed by the world outside it, as in "Laustic," whereas other times selfish loves are punished, as in "Bisclavret." Every single one of the poems can be understood in terms of this theme.