I shall speak of love...and of hate.
It is truly a marvel, but I tell you, hatred and live may live cramped together, crouching in the same heart.
This is an extremely interesting paradox raised in this quote because it speaks to the capacity of all humans to have both love and hate inside them; which of the two is predominant depends largely to the events that happen to them during their life. All of the characters has the capacity for both love and hate and the presence of love in their heart doesn't mean that they will never hate anyone, nor does their having hate in their heart mean that hey are incapable of love. This quote speaks to the complexity of the human spirit and also to the complicated nature of Yvain himself, exhibiting both love for his cousin and hate for those who unseated and humiliated him at the same time.
The storm was so fierce and terrible that a hundred times I thought I should be killed by the bolts which fell about me and by the trees which were rent apart.
This is the first time that we learn of the magic side of the story and the more folkloric aspect of the text as well. The power of the storm is the power of nature that Calogrenant's explanation explains. It is far more powerful than anything that man can create. It also shows the strength of Calogrenant to withstand the storm that broke trees into two. It's not surprising that after experiencing the storm he was unable to duel to the best of his ability. The storm was not a surprise to the knights who were already pre-warned of it, which made it slightly easier for them to defend themselves against the angry knight.
The dung heap will always smell, wasps will always sting and hornets buzz, and a cas will always slander and vex others.
This quote pertains to the nasty character exhibited by Sir Kay who is always snide and sneering and generally disdainful of others. However rather than challenging him on this or trying to change his character in some way, Calogrenant seems to accept Sir Kay's odious character as a thing that just "is"; it is a fact of nature not a result of nurture. Just as it would be impossible to persuade a dung heap not to smell, it would be equally impossible to persuade someone with the odorous personality of Sir Kay to suddenly become more pleasant. His attitude is mirrored by Yvain who is as dismissive of his opinions as his cousin, and doesn't care about his opinion one way or another. This helps him to follow through with his quest without listening to the "white noise" from Kay.
