Independent Woman Who Don't Need No Arcite!

I love the power that women have in these tales. In the Wife of Bath and in the Knight's Tale you see women weeping to save knights from harm. They are clearly exhibiting sovereignty. Women do have a significant amount of power in these stories but I love that they use their emotions and looks to their advantage. They women in this story clearly believe if you got it, flaunt it and I believe thats important to note.

This is how I invision the women displaying sovereignty in these stories... the maiden is like please spare this man, don't kill him, and once the man gives in they are like...

  

 Also as far as the two cousins I think that its kinda funny to see them discussing who loved her first and they still try (emphasis on the try) to remain in a knightly manner. I agree that if they both do not get to see her they why didn't they both choose to be free because even Palamon's proactive plan could have been altered to actually benefit him. I would agree to the term "family over everything", because fighting over a female whom from what they know may or may not have an substance is a little idiotic. In the end of part two of the Knight's tale there are questions as two which men has it worse off and that is used to our digression. i know personally for myself I was having a hard time actually figuring out who had it worse off because I thought that both of their situations and their plans of action weren't that good.

 

When we get in to the prayers of these characters we finally get Emelye's perspective of what she wants. Emelye clearly did NOT want either of the men. She wanted to be a maiden forever and be free. She did't even want to have children. In my opinion, Emelye wanted to live in the moment of being forever young, which is understandable from a young virgin. Emelye is the epitome of  living in the moment.

Diana is my favorite though because she just pops up like "I'm sorry honey, deal with it because you have to pick one of these men."

I love that in the end everyone gets what they want. I was kind of upset that the companionship between the two cousins did not happen but I understand that if Arcite did not die that Palamon would not have his girl that he loved so much. Even though, Emelye cannot be a maiden forever, she got the man who loved her more. Adios Arcite you got that victory alright. 

Childish Drama?

I understand that these are fictional romances, and they are supposed to be dramatic for entertainment. I am done with this love at first sight stuff, though.

Can we call it what it really is? It's lust. Palamon and Arcite are locked up with each other; there are no other people--and definitely no women--to entertain them. So, of course, they're going to be immediately attracted to the first woman they can lay their eyes on! Naturally, it turns into an argument over who serves Emelye. But, why? Again, they're imprisoned. Emelye doesn't even know they exist, or it doesn't appear she does, so how can she be served? I'm left with so many questions here. What can they possibly do from a tower?

I suppose the author assumed this question was going to come up, so we meet a mutual friend of Theseus and Arcite. Suddenly, Arcite is allowed to go free as long he does not step foot on Athens grounds. Now, what made Theseus think he was actually going to follow this condition? Clearly, they're already enemies. I would expect him to return with an army, just as Palamon suggested! But the loss of his love (stalking. He was stalking Emelye from a tower window) causes Arcite to become gaunt and miserable. Until he can't take it anymore and risks his life to see this girl's face again.

It's a little much for thinking someone is pretty if you ask me.

A few years pass, during which Arcite becomes another person and continues to creep Emelye. How does she not suspect something? Commence the fight over love!

I have to give the two props. They stand by their knighthood and ensure that each is equally equipped for a duel. Such respect wouldn't occur if fights over women in 2017 included swords and shields; someone would sabotage something.

Why is the duel stopped, then suddenly just fine to continue--with a willing audience and judge--simply because it's a fight over love. But it's not love!

So far, I'm not a fan of this story. Petty fights and dramatic lust. Oh, and don't forget the argument that "she is my lady because I saw her first!" Aren't these supposed to be grown men? Why are they acting like children?

Love at first sight

One of my favorite things about this is when Arcite and Palamon fall in love with Emelye “at first sight.” Simply because this is so common in stories but I personaly don’t believe it is real. I never hear about it in real life so the idea that it is consistently placed in stories is interesting. In my eyes it kind of shows what people desire and that’s to be able to do that.

But, it also shows how shallow people can be in terms of what they are looking for which is honestly just arm candy and that is prevalent In stories especially this one. Both men “fell in love,” with someone they didn’t even actually know. All they cared about was how she looked and how beautiful she was. What I also noticed was that they fought over her, two cousins fought over a woman.

 I always here people joke about women tearing families apart and I also see it in a lot of older fictional stories. It’s just crazy how much power women have over men simply by how they look and nothing else. What happened to personality? What if she was just a compelte A-hole? Would they still just care about what she looks like? lol To be honest I’m not really sure which one had it worse because me personally would rather have my freedom but if you look at it in their eyes is life better free if they can’t be with the love of their life (then again either way they can’t really BE with her) so I don’t understand what the big deal is. It seems to me that freedom was more important because he left when I guess technically he could have stayed to be able to see her. Also, why did he leave his cousin behind? Why didn’t he try to get him set free also. Questions I have. 

Knights Tale -- tony beers

Tony beers – Knights Tale Post
3/27/2017

Although the saving/rescuing of damsels in distress is not a new concept to me, I was impressed with this knight. Theseus, certainly gets points from me rescuing so many damsels at once -- “A compaignye of ladyes, tweye and tweye” -- and in such dire distress indeed!

Although understanding the language was a challenge, as I got further into it, the rhythm and timing of the poetic aspect was really quite pleasant. Understanding the story then was a bit easier too. Admittedly this tale took me so much longer to read through (having to read over some lines several times, I wished I had time to read the whole thing over many times as the story comes to life so much more when one has a better grasp on some of the nuances.

3/27/2017 t beers
Sometimes these medieval authored tales seem over the top in their descriptions, but here in terms of the women’s situation they find themselves in, the description is merited. Certainly the horror and terrible strife they explain to Theseus warrants a full accounting: They fillin gruf and criden piteously, ‘Have on us wrecched wommen som mercy, And lat oure sorwe synken in thyn herte”’.

When the two men, Palamon and Arcite are found alive among the dead and subsequently in-prisoned, I had considerable trouble understanding the story of Theseus’ childhood friend, Duke Perotheus and his role in Arcite’s realease from prison and subsequent realization of being worse off than his brother. At first I couldn’t see in the text the transition and connection the two men had and the “deal” made with Theseus to be exiled from the “contre”.. Further, the similarity in the names, Perotheus and Palamon offered some confusion as well – for me at least.

What was easy to get was the idea of fate playing its role of comparison in the two men’s eventual lives – one escaping physical “prisoun” but stricken with the fate of never looking upon his love, Emelye, again, the other entombed forever but allowed to see Emelye every day – is a clear and classic device I recognize from other tales.

The lines chosen to describe Emelye were especially beautiful: “For her hue vied with color of the rose” – and I did like the lines both Palamon and Arcite used in describing the overwhelming pain of love’s arrow: Palamon: “He cast his eye upon Emelya”, And therwithal he bleynte and cried, “A!” (And with that he turned pale and cried, “A!”) As though he were strongen [stabbed] unto thy herte…So that it will be the death of me”.
Arcite: “And with a sigh he seyde piteously, ‘The fresshe beautee sleeth me sodeynly’” (The fresh beauty slays me suddenly).
 Great story.

Why love someone when you can just treat them like an object? - Palamon and Arcite at some point probably

Okay, after spending a large chunk of my weekend trying to decipher Middle English (I… still need a lot more practice), I think I have at least a little idea of The Knight’s Tale and its themes/plots… which mainly just seem to consist of two dudes fighting over a lady like she’s not an actual person but a toy.

But on a serious note, I do think it’s interesting how Emelye does kind of have an active role in the story at certain points, even if neither Palamon or Arcite treat her like anything other than an object of their affection. When Theseus wants to kill them, it is after all Emelye and her sister who tell the king not to do so. (I think it’s really interesting when you compare the role of the women in this story vs. their role in The Wife of Bath, and how both stories have instances of women asking their king not to kill someone and being successful. Obviously, I’m a lot more okay with it in this story, since, you know, Palamon and Arcite aren’t rapists.) She is a character who actually does things.

Still, both of the guys fighting over her don’t seem to actually care about her as anything more than an object. I think it is really interesting how themes and plot points from the stories we have read in class can be so transferable to a modern time? Trying to be seen as something more than an object by men is something that a lot of women still deal with, since we live in a society that oftentimes treats women like we exist for male pleasure. This story spends a lot of time going into the guys’ feelings on their situation (namely that one apparently called dibs, and his friend just doesn’t care), but neither of the guys take a second to consider that Emelye might actually have an opinion on the matter. (Unless that did happen and I just didn’t understand it in Middle English, which I am going to be honest it possible…)

For me personally, even though Palamon or Arcite are in slightly different circumstances throughout the story, I still basically see them as one and the same. They both are “in love” with Emelye without knowing anything genuine about her, and they both treat her like an object instead of an actual freaking human being. If I were her, I wouldn’t want to be with guys who didn’t respect my autonomy enough to just ask me who I would rather be with, and I would probably ditch them both for a sexy Brazilian guy. 

#TeamPalamoun

I’ve actually enjoyed Parts One and Two of “The Knight’s Tale” more than I anticipated, mostly because I assumed I had already read every possible plot outline for a story about a knight, and I assumed any tweaks Chaucer made would fail to impress me, but I was wrong. Chaucer provides us with a rich backstory about King Theseus, Queen Ipolita, their kingdom, and their two prisoners: Arcite and Palamoun. The unique dynamic the backstory sets up between knight and lady is rather exciting for me. As we’ve seen a few times before, there are actually two knights who love one lady, and it’s clear from Part One that there will be some sort of struggle between the two knights over that lady. However, in this story, the two knights are also brotherly cousins and rightfully locked up in the dungeon; they can see and hear the lady they both claim to love, but they cannot speak to or touch her. In addition, one knight is granted freedom from the prison but is exiled so that he could not possibly have a chance to speak to or touch the lady.

At the end of Part One, Chaucer asks us who is worse off: Arcite or Palamoun? I thought I’d make a list of pros and cons:

Arcite                                                                          Palamoun

Pros	Cons	Pros	Cons
·      Not in prison ·      Free to find another lady ·      Free to start a war with Theseus	·      Cannot see, hear, speak to, or touch Emelye	·      Can see and hear Emelye	·      In prison ·      Cannot speak to or touch Emelye

As you can see, the only thing Palamoun initially has over Arcite is that he can still see and hear Emelye. Arcite has much more over Palamoun, so his lack of sensory stimulation altogether doesn’t seem to matter so much. Besides, the pros and cons don’t really matter anyways when both nights disobey their fate. Arcite disguises himself so that his cons are entirely eliminated; then, Palamoun escapes prison to fight Arcite to the death. At this point in the tale, I feel like Palamoun deserves Emelye more than Arcite. I mean, he stays locked up for some seven years, finds out Arcite hasn’t been banished from Emelye after all, and he’s still down to fight to the death over her. Palamoun is a true knight. #TeamPalamoun.

Chaucer adds another exciting quality to this tale: Theseus provides both knights with an entire army to fight each other. (At least, that’s my understanding of what’s about to go down in Parts Three and Four.) Wait a second…why do they need armies if the fight is between the two of them? Are they still going to fight each other as knights would, meaning the armies are for show, or are they going to sit back and compete their war strategies as kings would? Couldn’t Theseus just give the better army to the knight he favors? Couldn't he conduct the demise of both prisoners, since they both ulitmately committed more crime and disobeyed their fates? I don’t know man, but this story is heating up, and I’m really nervous to find out what happens in Parts Three and Four. Poor Emelye, by the way…it's hard to choose between two guys who aren't good enough in the first place. I mean, she's a fresh, bright, flower goddess (flowers most likely signifying her virginity); are these prisoners really the only guys trying to court her?

"The Knight's Tale" in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer