Geoffrey Chaucer's “Knight's Tale,” written separately but included in his unfinished anthology The Canterbury Tales, is considered one of his greatest works. It could be a number of things at once: a dark meditation on providence, a parody of the chivalric stories that were gaining popularity at the time of its publication, or a work perhaps heavily influenced by Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy. Chaucer might be called many things, but he was clearly not a writer of simple intent. If one draws on Chaucer's other short stories as well as analyzes of his works, one can conclude that the poet had great insight into his generation and his surroundings and often took pains to weave social commentary and criticism into his stories. With "Knight's Tale", the author turns his skeptical gaze towards the cherished sentiments of the time, not only in popular chivalric literature, but in the everyday culture of which Chaucer was a part. He observed social institutions and highlighted their weaknesses. This commentary is found particularly in Chaucer's depictions of chivalry, providence, and, through the fascinating character of Emelye, women. By approaching all these topics with a sense of irony, Chaucer knocks idealized and chivalric romance down from its pedestal and, to a certain extent, mocks its senseless structure. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Using the style and wit for which he became famous, Chaucer delves first into the nature of "chivalrous" writings and ideals. He highlights it, so to speak, and by overemphasizing what was considered chivalrous behavior, he exposes the undignified side of what used to be called “chivalry.” In short, it satirizes and perhaps sometimes parodies the concept of what it means to be a knight. This satirical tactic of extremes and irony (i.e., to explain away traits that are “bad” or “stupid” by definition and linking such traits to titles of high respect or acclaim) is applied most heavily and severely to the Church and representations of the Church. clergy in other Canterbury Tales, but this does not mean that chivalric ideals escape the critic's pen. He sees clearly what is unheroic in displays of chivalric heroism and writes with the aim of bringing them to the attention of his reader. In the "Knight's Tale", the two main characters, Palamon and Arcite, fight a violent battle, which results (somewhat indirectly) in death. The battle is not only tragic, but also senseless: it is fought for the love of a woman with whom neither of them is very familiar. Neither spoke to her at the time of the duel, nor does she want their attention, but one of them dies for "her good" anyway. When Arcite dies, he cites Emelye as the reason for his death: "Mercy, Emelye" (verse 2808). Perhaps, then, Emelye only serves as a symbol of something to die for to allow Arcite to feel chivalrous, even though there is clearly nothing dignified or courageous about a needless death. As silly as the dueling friends-turned-rivals appear, the character who displays Chaucer's most biting satire is Theseus, the prince and presumably the most “noble” character. Theseus, the "model ruler" in every way (Woods, p. 281), spouts platitudes in a sense endorsing Arcite's death and his severed friendship with Palamon, and his words are revered as wisdom. “Just as no one has ever died,” he said, “who has not lived on the earth to some extent.” His wordsthey seemingly provide comfort to its audience. The reader can immediately assume that Theseus is not saying anything useful; his words are obviously simple and artificial. However, since his position is considered noble, his words carry weight and “cure” the situation (stating, more or less, that people tend to die sooner or later, everyone's morale is lifted by Arcite's tragic death) . More interesting than his reaction to death, however, is his response when he encounters Palamon and Arcite as they begin to fight. He stops them at first, but when he learns of their problem, instead of advising them not to destroy each other, he instead insists that they destroy each other properly. After all, Chaucer seems to say, there is a protocol for a chivalric death. And so, at Theseus' behest, the dueling pair summons one hundred knights each to fight with them, including a pair of kings, and the duel becomes a war. Of course, Chaucer seems to be saying sarcastically, because this is the way things are done, this is the way they must be. Another character who sets the tone for the whole tale is the narrator, the Knight himself, who seems very much in love with his ideals and seems to think that his story is an excellent example of his courtly values ​​- or at least this can be assumed from his enthusiasm for the story, which begins with "myrie cheeres" in line 859 of the general prologue. We can also assume that the Knight agrees with Theseus' clichés - indeed, agrees with every attitude of the rather pompous Theseus - as he describes the princely character with reverence, basking in his "wisdom and chivalry" as described in verse 865 (Robertson, p. 438). He also describes scenes of chivalric honor, as far as he judges it, in great detail, as seen in the account of Arcite's funeral arrangements. The Knight reveals that: Whose every being was thoroughly merry and happy, / And told his tale, as it had sounded, / With anticipation and composure, / Like herds; what do you need words? / And when this good man said it was so, / As he who was and obedient / To keep his advance with his free assent, / He seyde, sin I will play the game, / What, welcome be the cut, in the name of God! (Verses 846-854)Chaucer, however, mocks this from the beginning. The Knight boisterously says that he will respect the cut, but if the company had decided not to draw lots to determine the order of the narrators for their pilgrimage and had instead chosen to proceed by class or rank order, the highest-ranking character he would have said at the first story. That person would obviously be the Knight. By more or less saying that providence chose him, the Knight seems to be saying that he was destiny's first choice. Perhaps he implies that, even though he travels among people of lesser stature than his, he has been chosen and honored by God to begin telling, as if his story were somehow superior. However, the Knight does not take into account the fact that if the pilgrims had chosen in an orderly way (perhaps exactly what they wanted to avoid), then he would have found himself in the same position without any divine intervention. With this slightly funny phrase After all, the writer Chaucer sets to work to build a world of principles according to our now familiar Knight, and it is not surprising that in this world providence is king. The main characters - Palamon, Arcite and Emelye - appear to have little to no say in their lives and how they unfold. They claim to be at the mercy of the gods and their policies or whims. When they are not at the command of the gods, their fate is in the hands of the prince, who is also an avid fan and preacher of providence and its ways:. 2009.