Friday, January 17, 2020

What are the values that the knight in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales has from the beginning?

The Knight in The Canterbury Tales has the highest social rank among the travelers. He is also the first to tell a tale when he draws the shortest straw. Geoffrey Chaucer decided that the Knight should have a cliche romantic tale about two dueling knights.
The Knight's story is a parody of the glorification of knighthood and the sterile romanticism popular during that period. For example, the Knight's story of a love triangle is somewhat similar to the King Arthur tales, specifically the affair between Sir Lancelot and Guinevere.
Based on the tale that the Knight told the group, it is apparent that the Knight values what he believes to be poetic justice, or the victory of righteousness over victory of the sword. This conclusion is evident in the fact that the Knight chose to reward Arcite in the tale and made him look like the true heroic knight when the victor of the competition, Palamon, dies in an accident.
From the conclusion of the story, it can be assumed that the Knight believed Arcite's love for Emily is purer, and that fate will always favor what is genuine love. The travelers universally applaud the story, which shows they, too, value the same thing the Knight values.

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