"We live in a conjugal age, when the couple has become the standard for all intimate relationships, the unmarried and the married, the homosexual as well as the heterosexual." Men and women are always searching for that "certain someone." Courtship is defined as wooing, but in the 17th century England it was much more. It was a session that had stages, rituals, and procedures. The parents played a huge role in the courtship and even the marriage. Traditional courtship in the 1600s was much more complex and drowns out then today's engagement. Many were arranged or based on social status. There was also a large age difference between the men and women. Marriage and courting was often thought of as a brutal and painful ordeal.

There were many problems with courting in the 17th century. Courtship was approached with caution and little romantic spontaneity that we expect from our young lovers today. Straight forwardness and personal expressions of love was not accepted. The action of courting was very impersonal. "There has never been a time in recorded history when the relations between the sexes have not been highly problematic.

The young were the owners of courtship. "Its rites expressed their needs, its symbols their desires." Family consent as well as the friends' approval had a large effect on their courtship. The couples' peers would be the first ones to know of any plans of marriage and then would have to give their blessings. The parents' partake would come second. Most of the time the girls' parents would arrange her marriage to better her life, but not always ended to their wishes.

The poetry of the 1600s reflected the traditional courtship of "wooing." In "To His Coy Mistress" Andrew Marvell used a type of poetry called "carpe diem" meaning seize the day. He expresses his live as if there were no tomorrow with the lines, "But at my back I always hear time's winged chariot hurrying near." Marvell is telling her time is ending, so why not start loving today, and seize the day. He encourages her with promises and compliments on her beauty.

In conclusion love is explainable in it's own terms and is truly felt where it is at. But in the 1600s love was thought of a physiological as well as psychological. Traditional English courtship of the 17th century had many problems with rituals and all the consents but prevailed in the end. Till this day we live by some of these guidelines of the past, cause the title is "traditional courtship."

Some common words found in the essay are:
TIFFANY NORWOOD, Shepherd Love, Andrew Marvell, Traditional English, 17th century, ENGLISH COURTSHIPS, traditional courtship, Christopher Marlowe, 17th century england, traditional english, century england, seize day, rituals procedures, posting banns,
Approximate Word count = 916
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)