Before I started reading The
Knight's Tale, I wondered (and
maybe and hoped a little) that the story would be like the movie A
Knight's Tale with Heath Ledger. I'm going to be honest, I was kind of
disappointed when it turned out to be completely different. I mean, come on,
who wouldn't love a story about a guy "changing his stars" (as the
movie puts it), and getting the girl of his dreams despite lying about who he
is at first?!
Well, although the story we read for
class is completely different, I suppose it was still a good story.
I was a little taken aback by the setting of this
story in particular because I do not generally associate Ancient Greece with
the medieval romance stories about kings, queens, and knights. I guess it still
works though because they still had the aspects of courtly love and medieval
romance in general in the story. They had the knights fighting for what they
love...aka a beautiful woman that they do not even know, a king to guide them,
and rules, of course.
I just want to take this opportunity to talk about
how accommodating the gods/goddesses are...well kind of. They come to a
compromise of sorts. Mars and Venus get what they want for Arcite and Palamon,
while Diana has to tell Emelye that she has to marry one of the them (which she
kind of said was okay if she could not get what she really wanted− to remain
unmarried). So, thanks to Saturn, everyone sort of gets what they asked for.
Overall, I think this story was interesting, but I
feel bad for Emelye. Yeah I know she got her second choice, but she's really
the only one losing in this situation.
Hmmm...well Arcite kinda loses in this situation too...I mean, death, right? Even though he (kind of) got what he wanted. To me, this is a kind of "be careful what you wish for" situation. And isn't that almost every single story in Greek mythology? They ask the Gods for something, and get a version of what they want. I really don't feel bad for Emelye because she was wishy-washy. Sorry, if you're putting your trust in Greek gods...not the best thing to do. But maybe Chaucer used Ancient Greece to be cheeky. Maybe it was meant to poke fun at the culture (since Mars is actually Roman, and Aries is the Greek equivalent).
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about the typical fairy tale like plot, but we can't always have that right? The whole Ancient Greece thing got to me too. For me, when I think of Greece, I think of mythology or like Romans. This story kind of took away from that, but in some cases, the God's in the story played a huge role.You're right, they all get pretty much what they ask for. I wished the knights were most specific with their wish, and completely make it one wish instead of having a second guest...Emelye! Overall, I just didn't like the story at all. It was weird and just off balanced to me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rebecca. Initially I felt bay for Emelye as well...but then I remembered that in every story I have ever read about the Greeks, you have to be firm in what you want...and she definitely did not do that. And yeah it is interesting isn't it? Reading a medieval romance that uses ancient greek mythology. I was surprised by that as well, but I like it because the greeks are also known for their romantic tales, and I thought it worked well within the story.
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