Biblical Analogy and Secondary Allegory in Chaucer's The Knight's Tale

Author / Editor
Curtis, Carl C. III.

Title
Biblical Analogy and Secondary Allegory in Chaucer's The Knight's Tale

Published
Christianity & Literature 57 (2008): 207-22.

Description
Biblical analogies embedded in KnT constitute an implied critique of the pre-Christian setting: Palamon and Arcite's first sight of Emelye accords with David's first sight of Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:2); loving Emelye reorganizes Arcite's psyche and morals as love of Christ revolutionized Paul's (Philippians 3:3-9); the representation of "womman travaillynge" in Diana's temple recalls Revelation 12:1-2 and--as a sacramental image that both heathens and Christians would recognize--Romans 1:20. Familiar to the audience although not to the characters, these analogies point to broader moral allegory.

Chaucer Subjects
Knight and His Tale