The allegory of love in Roman de la Rose

The Allegory of Love in Roman de la Rose
The Romance of the Rose is an allegory of courtly society and courtly love. It is a narration of a love affair described through the device of dream vision. These two narrative devices (allegory and dream vision) provide the text with a form of authority and legitimacy.
The narrative device of dream vision has the following functions in the text: (1) it allows the free play of allegory, (2) it is a vehicle of didactism (through the character of Reason and God of Love) and (3) it makes the sometimes perplexing and mystifying world of personificati…