Theseus’s construction of the stadium through the end
of the tale Fragment 1, lines 1881–3108
Summary: The Knight’s Tale Part Three
Theseus prepares for the tournament by constructing an
enormous stadium. By its gate, he erects three temples to the gods—one
for Venus, the goddess of love; one for Mars, the god of war; and
one for Diana, the goddess of chastity. The Knight provides a lengthy description
of each temple. The tournament nears, spectators assemble, and both
Palamon and Arcite arrive with impressive armies. The Sunday before
the tournament, Palamon visits the temple of Venus and supplicates
her in the night. He tells her of his desire for Emelye and requests
that she bring him victory in the name of love. The statue of Venus
makes an enigmatic “sign” (the reader isn’t told what the sign is),
which Palamon interprets as a positive answer, and he departs confident.
That dawn, Emelye also rises and goes to the temple of Diana. Desirous
to remain a virgin—“a mayden al my lyf” (2305)—she
begs Diana to prevent the impending marriage. But an image of Diana
appears and informs her that she must marry one of the Thebans.
Obedient, Emelye retires to her chamber.
Arcite walks to the temple of Mars and begs the god of
war for victory in the battle. He, too, receives a positive sign:
the doors of the temple clang, and he hears the statue of Mars whisper,
“Victorie!” (2433). Like Palamon, Arcite
departs the temple in high hopes for the coming day. The scene then
shifts to the gods themselves. Saturn, Venus’s father, assures her
cryptically that despite Mars’s aid to Arcite, Palamon will have
his lady in the end.
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Summary: The Knight’s Tale Part Four
The Firste Moevere of the cause above,
Whan he first made the faire cheyne of love,
Greet was th’effect, and heigh was his entente.
(See Important Quotations Explained)
After much feasting, the spectators assemble in the stadium.
The magnificent armies enter, appearing evenly matched. After Theseus has
sternly delivered the rules, the bloody battle of flashing swords and
maces begins. Though Palamon fights valiantly, Arcite sees his chance
and brings Palamon “to the stake”—he claims him with a sword at
his throat. Emelye rejoices as Theseus proclaims Arcite victorious.
Venus, on the other hand, weeps with shame that her knight lost,
until Saturn calms her and signals that all is not over. At Saturn’s
request, the earth shakes beneath Arcite as he rides toward Theseus.
The knight’s horse throws him, crushing his chest. Gravely wounded,
the company transports Arcite to bed, where physicians attempt in
vain to heal him. Arcite expresses his love to Emelye, and then
tells her that if she decides to marry another, she should remember Palamon,
who possesses the qualities of a worthy knight—“trouthe, honour,
knyghthede, / Wysdom, humblesse” (2789–2790).
All of Athens mourns Arcite’s death. Emelye, Theseus,
and Palamon are inconsolable. Theseus’s father, Egeus, takes Theseus
aside and tells him that every man must live and die—life is a journey through
woe that must, at some point, come to an end. After some years pass,
the mourners heal, with the exception of Emelye and Palamon, who
continue to go about sorrowfully, dressed in black. During one parliament
at Athens, Theseus berates the two for grieving too much. He reminds
them that God ordains that all must die, and refusal to accept death
is therefore folly. He requests that they cease mourning, and that
his wife’s sister take Palamon for her husband and lord. They obey,
and as they realize the wisdom of Theseus’s advice over many years,
Emelye and Palamon enjoy a long, loving, and happy marriage.
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The Knight’s Tale Part Four →
Analysis
Because Egeus has lived long enough to witness Fortune’s
rising and falling pattern, he is the only human character in the
Knight’s Tale who understands that Fortune’s wheel is the plot’s
driving force. Egeus is therefore the only man capable of comforting
Theseus amid the general lament over Arcite’s accidental death.
In his final speech to Palamon and Emelye, Theseus shows that he
has learned his lesson from Egeus. Echoing the old man’s words,
the duke argues that excessive mourning over disaster is inappropriate.
His speech conveys a message of humility, instead of an attempt
to explain the meaning of Arcite’s death. A benevolent order may
exist in the universe, Theseus asserts, but human beings should
not seek to pry into it, or set themselves against it by prolonging
mourning too long.
The gods, whose role is to develop instability in the
lives of the characters, are the instruments of Fortune. The Knight’s
extensive descriptions of the symbolic decorations of the temples
of Venus, Mars, and Diana help shed light on the gods’ roles. The
walls in Venus’s temple depict the traditional sufferings of the
courtly lover—sleeplessness, sighing, and burning desire. But they
also portray the sinfulness that love can cause—lust, jealousy,
idleness, and adultery—a more Christian, moralistic message. Moreover,
these walls also present love’s invincibility and irresistibility,
in scenes taken from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The
relationship among these three ideas of love is left unresolved.
