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CLOSE READING 1 KNIGHT’S TALE The present close reading has the purpose of developing a critic analysis of a short excerpt of The Knight’s Tale written by Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales. Hence, it describes some details about the context and genre just as the contextualisation of the Greek theme and the importance of the Greek mythology involved in it. Besides, it includes a study of chivalric ideas as well as the role of women in that context. As regards contextualisation Chaucer’s excerpt, it could be orientated towards two perspectives. On the one hand, it is necessary to go back to the latest 1,300’s, specifically between 1387 and 1400, when Geoffrey Chaucer writes The Canterbury Tales. It is a difficult period from the social, economic and political point of view (Hundred Years’ War, the Black Death, parliamentary riots, etc.). Nevertheless, it is when some of the best literary pieces are written in Middle English. In fact, Chaucer establishes a new literary language. On the other hand, focusing on The Canterbury Tales, this literary work consists of 24 stories told by a group of pilgrims who travel to Canterbury. Each one represents different aspects of medieval society and are introduced at the beginning in the General Prologue. After that, one of the pilgrims tells the story titled The Knight’s Tale, being the analysed excerpt a short part of this tale (in particular from the verse 860 to the verse 985 both included). Analysing now the genre and taking into account that Chaucer uses a great variety of styles and genres; the given excerpt is a romance. This is why it tells a verse story about the adventures of a knight, Theseus in this case. Moreover, it mentions battles and struggles such as the conquest of Athens, the fight against Amazons or the suffering at Thebes. Furthermore, this excerpt includes the courtly love view since the ladies cry about their dead husbands at Thebes. A clear example is the wife of the King Cappaneus who appears in both 932 and 933 verses. As far as the Greek theme is concerned, in this excerpt some characters derived from Greek mythology are appreciated. Some examples are the Queen Ypolita and her sister Emelye, the King Cappaneus, Theseus, just as the Minotaur or the city of Athens. This is because Chaucer is inspired by Teseida, an epic poem written by Boccaccio in the previous century. He takes the same characters, albeit transforms the plot.

Now, explaining the significance of some of the Greek mythology, focusing on the most relevant myths it is important to highlight the presence of Theseus and the Minotaur. Theseus is the brave and audacious King of Athens who fights against Amazons and defeats the Minotaur (a mythical creature with a human body and a bull head) whose silhouette appears in their banner. It is said throughout the verses 975 and 980 both included. In addition, the Queen Ypolita should also be mentioned. She is the Queen of Amazons and becomes the wife of Theseus when he takes part in a campaign against Amazons. Emelye (Ypolita’s sister) appears as well, described as a beautiful lady. By the same token, the King Capaneus appears like the husband of one of the sorrowful ladies. He is a warrior who fights at Thebes and dies. Moreover, it can be found other mythology names such as Creon, current King of Thebes after the killing of the previous King at the hands of his son Edipo, or Roman mythology names like the Goddess Fortune or Clemency. Regarding chivalric ideals presented in this excerpt, two main aspects should be emphasising. Firstly, honour. Theseus has a duty to overlord and the duty to God as well. That is why he is described as a wise, chivalrous, noble, with compassionate heart, conqueror of a country with much glory and great ceremony, etc. At the same time, he shows the duty to the weak, particularly to ladies who ask for clemency. Secondly, some celebrated rituals. In this sense, some battles are mentioned such as the conquest of Athens, the fight against Amazons or struggles at Thebes. Furthermore, deeds of largesse and love when Theseus shows his generosity towards the ladies and they show their love towards their dead husbands. In this context of chivalry, the role of mourning and women should be analysed as well. According to Claudia Lucotti, the husband takes a central position establishing unequal relationships (40). Even so, this excerpt of The Knight’s Tale shows the ideal love that knights feel towards ladies who are described with adjectives which acclaim them. For instance, “the fair, bold Queen of Scithia” (882) or “and Emelye, her beautiful young sister” (972). The courtly love takes importance here by the ladies who cry because of the death of their husbands. Here, the cult of love, a cultural code of refinement and belongingness and the cult of chivalry appear. For example, “Lord, to whom Fortune

has given Victory, and (allowed) to live as a conqueror, your glory and your honour does not grieve us…” (915-917), “Some drop of pity, because of thy nobility” (920), or “Have some mercy on us wretched women, and let our sorrow sink in thy heart" (950). To sum up, the excerpt given follows the medieval literature guidelines even though Chaucer is an innovative writer in that period. It is noticed the importance of the Greek methodology as a result of the influence of Italian writers such as Boccaccio in this case. Nevertheless, Chaucer continues the innovative line giving his own perspective to the plot. However, the most significant period’s influences can be appreciated when talking about the chivalry ideals and women role, whose values fit in with the perspectives of the medieval society perfectly.

WORKS CITED 

Caballero, María. “Diferencias de género y estilo entre El Cuento del Caballero y El cuento del Molinero”. Publicaciones Didácticas, no. 82, 2017, pp. 664-665, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5a58/f7ce94eba4e5f9302fb963f575039fb8f977. pdf

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“Europa,

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https://mitosyrelatos.com/europa/mitologia-griega-romana/creonte/. Accessed 16 Apr. 2020.

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https://mitosyrelatos.com/europa/mitologia-griega-romana/teseo/. Accessed 16 Apr. 2020.

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Featherston, Cristina. “Un Nuevo viaje de Teseo: de la Antigüedad a la Edad Media y al Renacimiento Inglés”. Competencia y cooperación de la Antigua Grecia a la actualidad, http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/bitstream/handle/10915/49730/Documento_completo.pd f?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.

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González, Aurelio, and Miaja de la Peña, María Teresa. Introducción a la cultura medieval. Mexico D. C.: UNAM, Facultad de Filosofía y letras, 2006. Google Book. Web. 15 Apr. 2020.

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Lucotti, Claudia. “El tema del matrimonio en The Canterbury Tales de Geoffrey Chaucer”. Anuario de Letras Modernas, Vol.11, 31 Oct. 2003, pp. 35-46, DOI https://doi.org/10.22201/ffyl.01860526p.2003.11.755

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Muscatine, Charles. “Form, Texture, and Meaning in Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale”. PMLA, vol. 65, no. 5, 1950, pp. 911-929. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/459581. Accessed 15 Apr. 2020....