Chaucer's the Knight's Tale and the Limits of Human Order in the Pagan World

by Curtis, Carl C., III

• ISBN13: 9780773450592
• ISBN10: 0773450599
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-12-05
• Publisher: Edwin Mellen Pr

Summary

Chaucer's A Knight's Tale is primarily a poem about the world, symbolized by Athens, based upon ancient ideals of philosophy, politics, and, ultimately, theology, in which men who try to act upon these ideals find themselves in crises that undermine the very ideals in which they have placed their confidence. This failure emphasizes the pagan misunderstanding of the nature of the world, implicitly a misunderstanding that can be rectified only by Christianity. Hence, Chaucer's tale is placed squarely within the context of the Christian pilgrimage of The Canterbury Tales. The study of Chaucer's plan for approaching and understanding this deficient world follows involves five major points: first, the medieval interest in classical thought; second, the presence in the poem of the pagan concerns for heroism, fame, virtue, and immortality, all contributing to the ancient search for the best life; third, Chaucer's use of allegory; fourth, the ordering of Athens in accordance with the classical concept of order (chiefly the order of the soul); the fifth, the collapse of that order, underscoring the deficiencies of classical antiquity mirrored in its failure. In pursuing this train of thought, Chaucer does not merely dismiss paganism as ungodliness, but rather offers an analysis of its virtues-those of order and love-and shows how they might be more fully realized within the order of Christendom

Author Biography

Carl C. Curtis III is associate professor of English at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
The Medieval Critique of Paganism	p. 3
Modern Critics and The Knight's Tale	p. 14
The Heroic Ideal and the Heroic Life: Prima Pars	p. 43
The Knight's Tale in Context	p. 44
The Knight: Teller and Man	p. 53
Image and Reality in the Prima Pars	p. 63
The Two Allegories: Prima Pars and Pars Secunda	p. 89
The Allegory of Rule	p. 95
The Allegory of Love	p. 110
Concupiscence contemplativa: Arcite's progress	p. 118
Concupiscence activa: Palamon's strategy	p. 131
Order Intrudes: The Fight in the Wood	p. 136
The Constitution of Athens: Pars Tercia	p. 153
The Importance of Mercy	p. 154
The Control of Fortune	p. 160
The Theater of Trial: Theseus's "O"	p. 164
The Contestants	p. 177
The Prayers of the Fresh Young Folk	p. 185
The Grand Emendation	p. 195
The Failure and Refounding of Athens: Pars Quarta	p. 201
War and the Athenian "O"	p. 203
Saturn's "Art" and Arcite's Death	p. 21
The Refounding and Consolation of Athens	p. 224
Bibliography	p. 251
Index	p. 259
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