What Great Thing Is Emotion

In the Miller's Tale, the plot revolves around a shared passion for a single woman, inciting men to do thing out of the ordinary. By recurring to the theme of women, for we saw it present in the Knight's Tale, it is possible that there is a foreshadowing of future tales happening. If this is so, and every tale revolves around some sort of love story, then as readers we may be obliged to find meaning beyond it, in the characters and their actions as segments of a greater understanding. It is evident that throughout the tales every character has a distinct personality described in detail such is introduced. Take the Clerk, for example, of whom much is said at his mentioning by the lines of "clever Nicholas. Of secret love he knew and of its satisfaction (3199-3200)." Every character has some trait described beyond necessity, some thought alien to the plot, some detail that appears as excess, but then, when importance is given to these description, one understands that its not excess in any matter. It is through these characterization that the tales truly evolve and stand apart from each other.

But why? Why is it that it happens in the first place? Well this is only a humble guess: to create emotion. It is necessary to create certain connection between reader and character if the author intends to provide an emotional connection with the text. And this only makes sense, for if I was writing my masterpiece, I would strive for an emotional reaction, something beyond a momentary entertainment. The narrator shares my thoughts regarding this point when including "Lo, what a great thing is emotion (3611)." Is the text bluntly suggesting its objective, is it secretly targeting our unconscious self? I don't really know, but then again, it makes no difference to me as long as we have that established.

And why establish? Well, because it has become clear to me after much reading that the approach taken towards the text determines the outcome. It is here that I have come to a realization and a correction of my mistake, or at least a change towards a new one. I am not suggesting that you ignore the plot. All I propose is that you question your priorities as you read and give more importance to the characterization prior to the action. It is only when you understand a character to its deepest detail that you begin to understand his motives.

Unexpected Details

The Knight's Tale finale is one that blends small details of surprise in an expected tragedy. It had been foreshadowed in many ways that the story wouldn't end in a gay manner, but the author manages to enhance the text with small changes on the expected, maintaining the general mood of a tragedy. An example of such is Theseus, who's behavior constantly illustrates the point. The reader expected a war for the one love, a massacre in the name of Emelye, but to our surprise the noble Theseus commands that there be no killing and the battle by simply a competition free of blood.

"The lord has of his great sound judgment

Considered that it would be destruction

To gentle blood to fight in the manner

Of mortal battle now in this undertaking.

Wherefore, to arrange matters so that they shall not die,

He will modify his previous plan.

No man therefore, upon punishment of loss of life,

No sort of arrow, nor battle-axe, nor short knife

Send into the lists or bring there;

Nor short sword, to stab with piercing point,

May no man neither draw, nor bear it by his side.

And no man shall ride at his opponent

More than one course with a sharply honed spear;

Let him thrust, if he wishes, on foot, to defend himself.

And he who is at a disadvantage shall be taken

And not slain, but be brought unto the stake (2537-2552)."

It is so that as we read our way to the end we know where we are trying to get to, but are in constant surprise of how we get there. It is not until the last line that we may say we concluded the plot. I find this extremely gratifying to a certain level. This is so because I am not very fond of this sort of stories, and where they not constantly challenging my expectations, I would find myself questioning their value.

A Love Story?

In the first two parts from The Knight's Tale, a different type of writing jumps to view. And by different I refer to something unusual, at least in my personal experience. It is not often that I read a text with this characteristics, and by this I intend to describe beyond the historical context in which it was written or its organization and structure, onto the words themselves. As I concluded my reading I wondered how it took so long to read such a simple story. How can it take a thousand lines to tell a love story like any other? Maybe it is not a love story. It might as well be a story of oneself in the midst of an impossible love. No, i do not intend to ignore the romantic situation, but i intend to go beyond that into Theseus: his personality. I couldn't help notice how he appeared to be perfect after all. Yes, he was the author of the tragedy, but in the midst of it all he goes out idolized. His mistakes (if they may be called such) happen to be the product of ignorance or any other reason, but never obscure intentions. It is from one moment to another that the evil Theseus becomes a hero as he shows understanding and compassion for the two trespassers. This can only take my skeptic mind into question. Who is writing these tales? It is obvious, at least to me, that there is some heightening of characters going on. What's going on?