debat
debat — noun
1. A poem or dialogue written in the Middle Ages where allegorical characters — suc
A poem or dialogue written in the Middle Ages where allegorical characters — such as Love, Death, or Justice — take turns arguing opposite sides of a question.
In English class, Pim analysed a medieval debat between the body and the soul.
collocation: a medieval debat between [X] and [Y]
The most famous debat in Old French literature pits Lady Fortune against the poet.
Rachid compared the debat's alternating speeches to a modern courtroom argument.
Padma wrote an essay about how allegorical debats taught moral lessons to medieval audiences.
A debat usually ends with no clear winner, leaving the question open for readers.
- tenson
a narrower term for a Provençal troubadour debate poem, typically on love
- débat
the French spelling of the same medieval form
- altercatio
a Latin debate poem, usually on moral or religious questions
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 2: sense 1 refers to a specific medieval poem genre whose characters are allegorical figures, while sense 2 describes any extended literary argument within a work regardless of period or form.
常見錯誤
2. A prolonged exchange of opposing views between two fictional characters, through
A prolonged exchange of opposing views between two fictional characters, through which a writer explores a difficult question about life, morality, or society.
The debat between Dr. Faustus and Mephistopheles raises questions about good and evil.
collocation: debat between [character A] and [character B]
Shirin noticed that the debat in the novel's third chapter never reaches a clear conclusion.
In Camila's favourite poem, a philosophical debat unfolds inside the dream of a young knight.
The author uses the debat to let both characters speak without taking sides herself.
Kenji found the debat hard to follow because both speakers raised equally strong arguments.
- dialogue
more neutral; a debat is a dialogue that stresses disagreement
- disputation
more formal; suggests a structured logical argument rather than a creative one
- philosophical debate
a broader phrase; 'debat' is the narrower literary term for this device
用法筆記
Unlike sense 1, this sense does not imply a poetic form or a medieval setting — it describes the content (an extended dispute) rather than a specific genre.