Interpret the symbolic meaning of TWO features from Nature that appear in the lais, “Bisclavret” and “Chevrefoil,” by Marie de France.

Interpret the symbolic meaning of TWO features from Nature that appear in the lais, “Bisclavret” and “Chevrefoil,” by Marie de France. In his chapter on “Mentalities, sensibilities, and attitudes” in medieval times, Jacques Le Goff discusses the prevalence of “symbolic thought,” associating it with “hidden meanings,” and arguing that “symbolic thinking was only the elaborated, decanted form, at a learned level, of the magic thinking in which the popular mentality was bathed” (330). “Nature,” he explains, “was the great reservoir of symbols” (332). This meant that “veils” were thought to conceal a hidden reality. “Intellectual or aesthetic progress in the middle ages,” Le Goff declares, “was above all an unveiling” (343). Please use your interpretive skills to “unveil” the meaning of symbolic figures from the two lais. When you quote from one of the lais, do not assume that your reader will find the meaning of the passage obvious—do not “hit-and-run.” Instead linger over the language lovingly, explaining it. That explanation is your chance to shine and show what a skillful and insightful critic you are.