Chaucer’s “The Knight’s Tale”, incorporates many of the Middle ages most respected attributes including chivalry, bravery, romance, and sacrifice which contributes to many of his stories becoming very popular and talked about and taught for centuries. Out of Chaucer’s stories, “The Knight’s Tale” is one of the most widely interpreted short stories within The Canterbury Tales. What most individuals don’t realize however, is that Chaucer’s work encompasses many attributes from famous philosopher Boethius’s work from “The Consolation of Philosophy”. When looking at each piece individually, these two sets of literature look like they are unrelated and about different topics. When looked at closely though, the reader can identify that there are many similarities related to each other. Chaucer uses Boethius’s work throughout “The Knight’s Tale” as a narrative to show how to seek and attain true happiness without getting distracted by earthly issues and the problems that may arise from it. …show more content…
Like most individuals, this wish is a common but often misconstrued aspiration. Boethius believed that true happiness is defined as “that which makes a man self-sufficient, strong, worthy of respect, glorious, and joyful.” (The Consolation of Philosphy) One must not only possess power, but become self reliant with this power. What distinguishes these two men according to Boethius is simply the different in their thinking and the ways they separately wish to attain their happiness. The decisions made separately are what makes the difference between Palamon ending up with Emyle and Arcite ending up alone and deceased. Eternal happiness in this story is represented by Emyle. Both men believe she is the key to truly becoming happy and thus the story revolves around their attempts to seek
The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, is an older book containing a entertaining storytelling contest between a group of pilgrims on a pilgrimage. The pilgrims, on their pilgrimage, venture from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas á Becket. During their pilgrimage, the Host introduces the idea of a storytelling contest. He claims the trip to the shrine of Saint Thomas á Becket will be boring to travel in silence. The Host lays out the plan of each pilgrim telling two tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on the way back from their adventure. Upon their return, the winner, decided by the Host for the most entertaining and meaningful tale, will receive a meal paid by the rest of the pilgrims. At his own cost, the Host guides the group of pilgrims, while the pilgrims pay for their adventure. To decide who starts the contest off, the members draw straws. The admired Knight is up first.
In his Canterbury Tales, Chaucer fully explicates the cultural standard known as courtesy through satire. In the fourteenth century, courtesy embodied sophistication and an education in English international culture. The legends of chivalric knights, conversing in the language of courtly love, matured during this later medieval period. Chaucer himself matured in the King's Court, as is revealed in his cultural status, but he also retained an anecdotal humor about courtesy. One must only peruse his Tales to discern these sentiments, for Chaucer’s view of courtesy can seem shocking and, all together, obscene at times, it’s the similarity of the differences that make Chaucer’s tales superior. An example of this can be seen through Nicholas’ attempt at “courting” Alison versus Arcita and Palamon’s endeavors at courting Emily. Nicholas' anxious and lewd behavior, in conjunction with his explicit sexual connotation, demonstrates Chaucer’s more farcical side; where as, the manner in which Arcita and Palamon court Emily can seem more satirical. In the Miller's Tale, Chaucer juxtaposes courtly love with animalistic lust, while in the Knight’s tale, the subject of chivalry is held with much higher regard, and used as a florid, glorious attribute. These numerous references provide the reader with a remarkably rich image of the culture and class structure of late fourteenth century England.
Fairy tales have been engraved into human culture since the beginning of time. They are passed orally or sometimes written down in books and poems. Childrens fairy tales can be used to inspire ideas and dream while as serving as fear factor to keep the youth in line. Adults look at fairy tales more as a far away fantasy that they will never be able to reach, because of the constraints of the real world. Fairy tales will be around forever because they provide a staple in society for the lessons they teach and the entertainment they bring. “The Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth , and the Water of Life” is a tale of the youngest of three sons completing a quest for his elder blind father.
Boethius was wrongfully accused of treason and imprisoned, leading him to question as to why God would allow bad things to happen to good people and how you can not be completely happy and there is never true happiness. The fear of losing happiness destroys happiness. "No man is so completely happy that something somewhere does not clash with his condition. It is the nature of human affairs to be fraught with anxiety; they never prosper perfectly and they never remain constant" Boethius (30). This quote represents the fear of losing happiness destroys happiness in my
The collection of stories comprised in both The Decameron By Giovanni Boccaccio and The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer illustrate a frame story where both parties are going on an adventure. In particular the characters in The Decameron are fleeing the city of Florence and the Black Plague, while in The Canterbury Tales the characters are making a pilgrimage. Each collection has one notable story that could be seen to have a common theme. In The Decameron the tale of “Federigo’s Falcon” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” in The Canterbury Tales both have similar themes of sacrifice. Whether this theme necessarily means the same thing to both tales is questionable. Despite this, it is clear that both do share a theme involving sacrifice, as well as having some subtle differences in what that sacrifice means to the character.
The structure Geoffrey Chaucer chose for his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, of utilizing a melange of narrative voices to tell separate tales allows him to explore and comment on subjects in a multitude of ways. Because of this structure of separate tales, the reader must regard as extremely significant when tales structurally overlap, for while the reader may find it difficult to render an accurate interpretation through one tale, comparing tales enables him to lessen the ambiguity of Chaucer’s meaning. The Clerk’s Tale and The Merchant’s Tale both take on the institution of marriage, but comment on it in entirely different manner, but both contain an indictment of patriarchal narcissism and conceit.
Boethius places an increased emphasis on God’s eternal goodness to prove He can neither causes nor condone wickedness, intending to provide comfort for the virtuous affected by injustice. Boethius’s belief concerning the interaction of evil and justice in the Consolation of Philosophy intends to comfort the virtuous from the seemingly wicked world. Lady Philosophy, representing reason, soothes Boethius’s initial concerns by explaining how evil, the absence of good, can never defeat justice, and that the wicked will receive their punishment when Providence sees fit. Boethius also places an increased emphasis on God’s eternal goodness to clarify the role of Providence in the natural plan of the world. Boethius advises the reader that true happiness can only be found in the stability of the self and a virtuous lifestyle.
Romance can be defined as a medieval form of narrative which relates tales of chivalry and courtly love. Its heroes, usually knights, are idealized and the plot often contains miraculous or superatural elements. According to Tony Davenport the central medieval sense of romance is ' of narratives of chivalry, in which knights fight for honour and love.' The term amour coutois ( courtly love) was coined by the French critic Gaston Paris in 1883 to categorise what medieval French lyricists or troubadours referred to as ' fin armors'. Romances and lyrics began to develop in the late fourteenth century England, author like Chaucer or Hoccleve produced some of the first english medieval narratives. But how does medieval literature present the expericence of romantic love. In order to answer this question this essay will focus on two tales from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales: the Knight's Tales and the Franklin's Tales. It will show that medieval romance can be used as a vehicle to promote chivalric behaviour as well as exploring a range of philosophical, political, and literary question.
Boethius lived during the Medieval period in Italy, where the city-states warred with each other constantly. His was not an easy life, since it was one of politics and accusations. He was eventually exiled and executed, but not long before that occurred, he wrote the Consolation of Philosophy in which he shows how his philosophical teachings helped him rationalize and survive the trials he faced. His book deals with many themes, some of which are fortune, life, despair and death. Because of his life, he is now in a position to consider these themes.
Throughout literature, relationships can often be found between the author of a story and the story that he writes. In Geoffrey Chaucer's frame story, Canterbury Tales, many of the characters make this idea evident with the tales that they tell. A distinct relationship can be made between the character of the Pardoner and the tale that he tells.
The Knight’s Tale and The Miller’s Tale are both told by pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. Although the two stories are set in the same time period and have a similar theme, they each have a distinctive tone. The Knight tells a romantic story that reflects his higher social class during the era in which he lives. The Miller tells a story in which lust, not love, is the guiding motive for the characters. The Miller is in fact drunk when he tells his story, so the Miller’s Tale contains lots of dirty jokes and complicated tricks. The Miller’s tale mirrors the Knight’s tale in a lot of ways. Both of the stories contain a love triangle.
He deems that although fortune determines much of one’s life, “she never associates with good men and does not turn into good men those with whom she associates” (Boethius 40). From this quote, one can determine that fortune is also interwoven into the backstory of an individual’s fame because fortune favors those who are not necessarily good people. Comparatively, Boethius continues his discussion of fortune following his conversation about fate. It is interesting to observe how Boethius’ opinion on fortune changes after exploring the influences concerning fame. He expounds upon his original interpretation of fame by stating that “bad fortune is more useful than good fortune,” as bad fortune is always truthful and people can learn from its teachings (Boethius 44).
An interesting aspect of the famous literary work, "The Canterbury Tales," is the contrast of realistic and exaggerated qualities that Chaucer entitles to each of his characters. When viewed more closely, one can determine whether each of the characters is convincing or questionable based on their personalities. This essay will analyze the characteristics and personalities of the Knight, Squire, Monk, Plowman, Miller, and Parson of Chaucer's tale.
In the Middle Ages, when The Canterbury Tales was written, society became captivated by love and the thought of courtly and debonair love was the governing part of all relationships and commanded how love should be conducted. These principles changed literature completely and created a new genre dedicated to brave, valorous knights embarking on noble quests with the intention of some reward, whether that be their life, lover, or any other want. The Canterbury Tales, written in the 14th century by Geoffrey Chaucer, accurately portrays and depicts this type of genre. Containing a collection of stories within the main novel, only one of those stories, entitled “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, truly outlines the 14th century community beliefs on courtly love.
Two of the greatest masters of British literature, Shakespeare and Chaucer, tended to look to the classics when searching for inspiration. A lesser-known example of this lies in an ancient tale from Greece about two star-crossed lovers. There are many variations on the names of these lovers, but for the purpose of solidarity, they shall henceforth be referred to as “Troilus and Criseyde” for Chaucer and “Troilus and Cressida” for Shakespeare. Chaucer’s “Troilus and Criseyde” offers up a classic tale of love that is doomed, whereas Shakespeare’s “Troilus and Cressida” is not only tragic but also biting in its judgment and representation of characters. This difference may be due to the differences in time periods for the two authors, or their own personal dispositions, but there can be no denying the many deviations from Chaucer’s work that Shakespeare employs. Shakespeare’s work, by making the characters and situations more relatable, builds upon Chaucer’s original work, rather than improving it or shattering it.