Essay On Chaucer's 'That Love Ennobled The Lover'

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That Love Ennobled the Lover Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the popular and well-loved satire The Canterbury Tales during the late 1300’s. Exposing the flaws and outrageous systemization in England’s society was his motive and Chaucer did so beautifully and with light heart and humor. The great lengths that the narrator of the story goes to in order to place each individual pilgrim in his or her proper social class reveals to the readers how separate and significant nobility, clergy and the church, and the commoner were to the people during this time in history. Chaucer has created characters who either perfectly embody the class they were born into or who disregard completely the social rules of their class. Through Chaucer’s careful and humorous …show more content…

“… courtly love as Chaucer knew it was the idea that love ennobled the lover -- made him a better knight.” (Benson) The story begins with two knights and cousins, Arcite and Palamon, who are captured and imprisoned during a battle won by Theseus, the Duke of Athens. Both men are locked away in a tower overlooking the palace gardens which happens to be the place the beautiful Princess Emelye strolls throughout the day. The knights fall madly in love with her and their common love interest drives the two apart. Because of the imploring of a mutual friend of Arcite and Theseus, Arcite is released but banished from Athens. Palamon escaped the tower just as Arcite returned to Athens in disguise in order to steal Emelye away. The two cousins stumbled upon one another and when they discovered their mutual motives, they began to duel. The racket caused them to be discovered by Theseus who commanded they halt their disputing. Theseus told the lovers to reconvene in a year’s time to battle one another in a tournament and the winner would receive the Princess Emelye’s hand. Palamon prayed that he would yet marry Emelye who he loved so dearly, Emelye prayed she would marry the one who sincerely loved her, and Arcite prayed he would triumph and possess all of the glory. During the tournament, Palamon was wounded severely and was taken away. Arcite rejoiced in his victory but only for a short time, for his horse threw him to the ground and Arcite was dealt a deathly blow. While dying, Arcite pleaded with Emelye that she should marry Palamon because Palamon loved her with a love he did not possess. (Greenblatt, 263) The tale ends with romance vanquishing the fighting and bickering. The themes in the tale so impeccably resemble the themes that are present in the Knight’s paradigmatic and noble

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