The Dove's Necklace

After reading all the Courtly Love poems, I think that my personal favorite would be The Dove's Necklace by Ibn Hazm. The first thing that stood out to me was the fact that even though this poem was written almost a thousand years ago, it still has many applications and examples that can be seen in today's culture. At one point, the speaker talks about how lovers often take "extreme delight" at the sound of their love's name being spoken. Another example comes when Hazm describes how someone will "love his beloved's kith and kin and the intimate ones of his household, to such an extent that they are nearer and dearer to him than his own folk, himself, and all his familiar friends." This, like several other examples that Hazm provides, is extremely accurate in the way I have seen relationships take place in my lifetime. Just recently one of my good friends started dating a girl he met last year, and since they first took interest in each other, it seems as if he has spent more time hanging out with her family than his own. I guess the reason this poem came  as such a surprise to me is due to the fact that my mental picture of romance in the 10th and 11th century was entirely different from what we see today. I thought that marriages back then were based more on social status that actual feelings for the other person, but obviously I was wrong in thinking this. It really is interesting to think of how consistent and persistent love is as it has been passed along through hundreds of years of culture and tradition. For these reasons and my ability to relate to its examples, The Dove's Necklace was undoubtedly my favorite.