Page 83 - DENG405_BRITISH_POETRY

British Poetry

Notes 9.2 The Knight’s Tale

The Knight begins his tale with the story of Theseus, a prince, who married Hippolyta, the queen of
Scythia, and brought her and her sister, Emelye, back to Athens with him after conquering her kingdom
of Amazons. When Theseus returned home victorious, he became aware of a company of women
clad in black who knelt at the side of the highway, shrieking. The oldest of the women asked Theseus
for pity. She told him that she was once the wife of King Cappaneus who was destroyed at Thebes,
and that all of the other women lost their husbands. Creon, the lord of the town, had simply tossed
the dead bodies of the soldiers in a single pile and refused to burn or bury them.
Theseus swore vengeance upon Creon, and immediately ordered his armies toward Thebes. Theseus
vanquished Creon, and when the soldiers were disposing of the bodies they found two young
knights, Arcite and Palamon, two royal cousins, not quite dead. Theseus ordered that they be
imprisoned in Athens for life. They passed their time imprisoned in a tower in Athens until they
saw Emelye in a nearby garden. Both fell immediately in love with her. Palamon compared her to
Venus, and prayed escape from the prison; similarly, Arcite claimed that he would rather be dead
than not have Emelye. The two fight over her, each calling the other a traitor.
This happened on a day in which Pirithous, a prince and childhood friend of Theseus, had come to
Athens. Pirithous had known Arcite at Thebes, and at his request, Theseus set Arcite free on the
promise that Arcite would never again be seen in Theseus’ kingdom. He now had his freedom, but
not the ability to pursue Emelye, and lamented the cruelty of fate. Palamon, however, envied Arcite,
since he did now have the option of raising an army against Theseus to conquer Athens. The Knight
asks which of the nobles has it worse: Arcite, who has his freedom but not access to Emelye, or
Palamon, who can see Emelye but remains a prisoner?
Two years passed. After spending two years in Thebes, one night Arcite dreamt that he saw the god
Mercury standing before him, bidding him to be free of hope and care, and telling him to go to
Athens to relieve his grief. Arcite decided to disguise himself, return to Athens and pass unknown.
Arriving at the court, Arcite offered his services, and took a post with Emelye’s steward under the
name of Philostratus. Arcite worked as a page in Emelye’s house and was so well loved that Theseus
soon made him squire of his chamber. Meanwhile Palamon had lived for seven years in his dungeon,
before, eventually, he escaped from the tower and fled the city, with the intention of disguising
himself and making toward Thebes. That morning Arcite went horseback riding. In the area outside
of the city, he dismounted and began to speak to himself, lamenting life without Emelye. Palamon,
overhearing, leapt out and revealed himself to Arcite. Since neither had weapons, they made a vow
to meet in the same place tomorrow and fight to the death over Emelye.
They returned the next day armed for battle. At the same time, and in the same place, Theseus,
Hippolyta and Emelye were out hunting, and, reaching the area where Arcite and Palamon were
fighting, Theseus stopped the battle. Palamon told Theseus that Arcite is the man who was banished
(and that he has returned, disguised as Philostratus), while he himself is the escaped prisoner. He
also told Theseus that both men love Emelye. Theseus ordered the death of both, but the queen and
Emelye took pity on the two men, and begged Theseus for mercy. Considering how much they
loved Emelye to risk death by not escaping to Thebes, Theseus asked them to swear that they will
never make war against any realm of his. Theseus then decided that the two will wage war on each
other, each with one hundred knights, in order to decide whom Emelye will marry.
Theseus commissioned the building of a stadium a mile in circumference for the duel between
Arcite and Palamon. This stadium was opulent, featuring carvings and portraits as well as temples
honoring Mars, Diana and Venus. When the day of the duel approached, Palamon brought Lycurgus,
the king of Thrace, to fight with him, while Arcite brought Emetreus, the king of India.
The night before the duel, Palamon prayed to Venus to solace his pains of love, asking Venus (goddess
of love) to let Arcite murder him if Arcite will be the one to marry Emelye. The statue of Venus
shook, an omen that the goddess was listening. Emelye prayed at the shrine to Diana, the goddess

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