'It is a tragedy that the journey is often more fulfilling than the arrival.' With reference to your wider reading, explore the presentation of illusionary love in Rapture and The Great Gatsby.

Within the two texts, Duffy and Fitzgerald criticise the values of their respective societies by presenting protagonists who, through the contemporary societies of the writing; will have to journey in order to pursue their dreams. In these contexts within which the texts were produced, the characteristics of both the voice and Gatsby were perceived as unorthodox; from a modernist view, they are demonstrative of liberal free thinkers, initially, resisting the restrictive nature of their societal structures. This is clearly exemplified through Gatsby's pursuit of his American Dream Daisy despite his exclusion from the favourable 1920s 'old money' society, and, similarly, the voice's willingness to be eagerly led by their desired love regardless of the unconventionality of the relationship that disregards the traditional love stereotype. This decisive refusal to be refrained by social parameters-specifically the expectation of love to conform to societies temperamental values-is explored 'intensely' by both authors in The Great Gatsby and Rapture. Crucially, however, it is only with the arrival of the two plots that the essences of the social commentaries materialise, at this point both protagonists finally yield, ultimately surrendering into a tragically clichéd defeat by adhering to societal constructs, therefore symbolising their consequential role as the victim of a society they previously rejected. Although the literary journeys are structurally homogeneous with apparent similar stages, conforming to Freytag's pyramid theory, their outcomes are significantly different. Fitzgerald's arrival can be considered more tragic due to Gatsby's oblivion in terms of societies vanquishment of his nonconforming love whereas Duffy's arrival is made less so through the voice's awareness of the crippling affliction of a lost love in the face of the 'judgement' of society. The predominant authorial message in both poetry collection and novel is that despite the maverick's impassioned journey to resist it's pressures, societal rule is inescapable in both 1920s America and early 21st century Britain, and, therefore, the final denouements may be further interpreted as individually arguing: 'it is the journey that matters, in the end'..........

Both authors commence their Freytag adhering journeys using allegorical expositional epigraphs to introduce their readers to the fundamental contexts through which their protagonists will have to journey, contending with 'almost a complete anthology of the practices of the (social) doctrine of romantic love'. In Rapture, Duffy opens with a Shakespearean epigraph 'Now no discourse, except it be of Love' directly confirming 'Love' as the inescapable issue informing the poetical journey whilst enlisting an ostensibly traditional context to invite comparison with the unconventionality of the voice's love. Superficially the quotation appears to conform to the quintessential romantic form through its typical 'passion that reaches religious fervour', apparent in the references to 'fast, dine, sup', each verb highly connotative of spirituality. However, underlying this seemingly traditional conformity is Shakespeare's mockery of conventional courtly love, a theme central to Two Gentlemen of Verona, a play that explores the contest between love and social relations, a concept a the forefront......