Examples Of Symmetry In The Knight's Tale

This can be seen through a comparison of parallel protagonists Palamon and Ferdinand, as well as parallel antagonists Arcite and Caliban. Their many similarities reveal an insight to each author’s view of love and how it is gained. Palamon and Ferdinand are men of the heart who do not have the girl initially, nor do they claim her. Instead, they wish the best for her and are willing to work for and serve her, regardless of the outcome. In contrast, Arcite and Caliban are men of the physical who take the woman they love by force and physically serve her in order to fulfill their prideful desires, completely disregarding the wishes of their beloved. Strikingly, all four of these men are of noble birth, and all four willingly lower themselves from a position of power to a position of service in order to gain a woman’s love; however, only the men who also serve her selflessly succeed in winning her love. Both men of the heart end up “getting the girl” in the metaphorical sense, although it takes time and they must be patient. In contrast, the men who have the girl initially –Arcite and Caliban – begin by taking her by force and have her in the literal sense, but lose her in the end. All of these elements show that Chaucer and Shakespeare believe the selfless and humble approach to be the most effective way to gain

I agree with what Condren’s view on Chaucer. Chaucer shows in the story Chaucer talks about how dynamic life is and how different the people are. Life is a crazy thing but Chaucer makes it really different. He makes everything “fascinating” with everything he talks about has to have a story behind it and the people have stories behind them. He makes the people “fascinating” he talks about how they have rashes and have nasty eyebrows and the way they dress. Nothing is boring with them.

The relationship between Theseus and Hippolyta represents ideal, mature love, and contrasts with the other lovers’ relationships with in the play. Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazon, is engaged to Theseus, Athenian duke. Occasionally, they disagree about certain issues, but due to their mature personalities, they are able to confront and resolve their problems. They understand the terms of their relationship, and they know where they stand. Hippolyta is the former leader of the Amazons- a tribe of fierce warrior women whose only connection with men came when it was time to kill or time breed. She is therefore unmoved by Theseus “wooing” her. Their relationship matures throughout the course of the play. At the end of Act 4, as the sun rises,

One looking at the theme, one could easily say that it is all about the power of women. Chaucer used the strong female character to get this across, and many believe that it likely would not have worked if the author had not first established such a strong voice. Early scholars argued that the book was more about marriage than it was female strength (Kittredge, 1912). Whatever the case, it is clear that Chaucer’s primary focus was on explaining the role women might play in society if they were able to.

Once returned with armor for Palamon, the fighting ensues amidst the feuding cousins. Before their dispute concludes in death, the wise knight, Theseus, along with his wife and Emily, the cause of the knights’ quarrel, happen upon them in the grove. Although both former prisoners, and one forever exiled from the land of Athens, Arcita and Palamon truthfully reveal their identity and the motivation behind their duel as “chivalry [requires] knights…to swear loyalty to their superiors” (Thierry). Arcita and Palamon, with all loyalty to the Duke, unveil their true identities, a brave act of chivalry that nearly results in the execution of the devoted knights. Theseus, moved with compassion at the plea of the two women, pardons both Arcita and Palamon, knowing that only those in love “can be called a fool” (Chaucer 46). Theseus’ amnesty emulates the “ideal chivalric knight,” one who “[is…] compassionate [and] just…to those in distress” (Thierry). In

“The Knights Tale” is the first tale in Geoffrey Chaucers “The Canterbury Tales”. The story introduces various typical aspects of the knighthood such as chivalry, ethical dilemmas, and courtly love. Knights all have this characteristic which they call the code that they portray through out the tale. In Geoffrey Chaucers “The Knights Tale” is an effort on the knight’s part to preserve a virtuous code.

Women should be at one with their being and be able to speak on social and psychic truths. Chaucer is an author that goes against what would be considered normal for this time period. He attempts to write as a female to represent a female perspective and enter into debate about the role of a woman. Stated in the text, “We can argue straightforwardly that women were marginalized and subordinate, that women lived and suffered under patriarchy.”(Treacher133). Women were viewed as being inferior. Are we to believe and follow the views created by men and for men? Chaucer is a man who creates a story told by a woman for woman and men. He seeks to show that women can speak up and does not need approval by men, “But that the Queen and other ladies as well implored the King to exercise his grace, so ceaselessly, he gave the Queen the case and granted her his life, and she could choose whether to show him mercy or refuse.” (Chaucer157). In the example, the King and the Queen represents at a higher power how a male and female is to be equal. It is shown that the Queen’s opinion and a woman’s opinion in general are just as important and purposeful as the King’s opinion. Chaucer uses the scenario of two powerful authority figures, the King and Queen, as an example for others to follow. The idea of the queen being able to make decisions concerning the knight, and the husband passing his power to his wife shows an equal relationship. The king and queen was used as a symbol that

of them can attain being imprisoned and even when they do battle to determine who wins Emily’s hand that is ultimately left to fate as the gods intervene when Arcite initially wins the bout. They make no attempt, as romantic heroes, to romance the object of their affection. Furthermore, despite the Knight’s tale being a romance, its center is more on the competition between the two men as opposed to the relationship Emily would have with one of them. Chaucer devotes two pages to their argument on who deserves Emily more, Arcite who loves towards her is a “love as to a creature” or Palamon whose love Arcite mocks as an “affeccioun of hoolynesse ”. It is this lack of agency and the different affections that Chaucer subverts in the Miller’s

1. In the anthology book, The Canterbury Tales (1478), Geoffrey Chaucer asserts that control and rules do not always work out how they were envisioned to play out no matter how much someone tries to enforce them. The author supports this claim by showing how Palamon and Arcite’s knightly oath to be loyal to each other did not work out how they thought when they both fell in love with the same girl, Emily. The author purposely chooses to have Arcite die in the end just as he was about to win the girl of his dreams in order to show that nothing can be perfect no matter how much someone tries as disorder and entropy will always exist.

In the Knight’s Tale, Duke Theseus of Athens is returning home from his occupation of Scythia, where he has won a wife, Hippolyta, and a sister-in-law, Emily. Along the way, he runs into a group of old women dressed in black, weeping. The women wearily explain to Theseus that their husbands, who had been kings and dukes, had been slain by King Creon of Thebes, and are now being refused proper burial. They beg Theseus to take vengeance on him. Theseus takes pity on the women and defeats Creon. After taking the city, Theseus claims two Theban hostages, cousins Palamon and Arcite. He throws them into a cell, where he intends to leave them until they die. Years pass, and one morning in May, Emily is picking flowers in the garden. Palamon and Arcite

There is no question that contradictory values make up a major component of The Canterbury Tales. Fate vs. Fortuna, knowledge vs. experience and love vs. hate all embody Chaucer's famous work. These contrasting themes are an integral part of the complexity and sophistication of the book, as they provide for an ironic dichotomy to the creative plot development and undermine the superficial assumptions that might be made. The combination of completely contradictory motifs leads to the unusual stories and outcomes that come to play out in the tales. And these outcomes draw focus on the larger universal issues that in many cases transcend the boundaries of vernacular periods to all of

of the poor outfit of the Knight. Instead he attempts to point out that the

“It so happened, by chance of luck, / that through a window / he cast his eye on Emily / …. / The beauty of the lady whom I see / wandering yonder in the garden / is the cause of all my cries and my woe. / I do not know whether she is a woman or a goddess” ( Chaucer 216-219, 240-243). On the other hand, when Arcite saw Emily, he instantly was infatuated with her as a woman and not as a goddess.

love” makes evident Chaucer’s skewed views of love and marriage with underlying tones of misogyny. He expresses these views throughout the work, however, the theme of love and sex is most evident in the sub-stories of The Wife of Bath and The Miller’s Tale.

The Medieval Period in history brought along scores of fables about everything from knights engaging in courtly love to corruption in the Catholic Church. The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer expertly encapsulates many of the great motifs of the era. The Tales are a series of stories and descriptions of characters of all social classes that were composed in the late 1300’s. Chaucer utilizes a multitude of literary techniques to convey his personal views of people, and ultimately, what they represent in society. The author uses such devices when depicting two morally contrasting characters, the Parson and the Summoner, that are documented in the Prologue.