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paraklausithyron

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Also known as παρακλαυσίθυρον

Paraklausithyron () is a motif in Greek and especially Augustan love elegy, as well as in troubadour poetry.

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literary topos
Image
Nicolai Abildgaard - Tibullus Lamenting outside the Door of his Beloved - KMS3473 - Statens Museum for Kunst.jpg
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native label
παρακλαυσίθυρον
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Paraklausithyron () is a motif in Greek and especially Augustan love elegy, as well as in troubadour poetry.

The details of the Greek etymology are uncertain, but it is generally accepted to mean "lament beside a door", from παρακλαίω, "lament beside", and θύρα, "door". A paraklausithyron typically places a lover outside his mistress's door, desiring entry. In Greek poetry, the situation is connected to the komos, the revels of young people outdoors following intoxication at a symposium. Callimachus uses the situation to reflect on self-control, passion, and free will when the obstacle of the door is removed.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “paraklausithyron” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.