Theseus and the 'Right Way' of the 'Knight's Tale'
- Author / Editor
- Van, Thomas A.
Theseus and the 'Right Way' of the 'Knight's Tale'
- Published
- Studies in the Literary Imagination 4.2 (1971): 83-100.
- Description
- Assesses Theseus in KnT as a character who is capable of anger, self-centeredness, pity, reason, restraint, and charity, considering him in light of Boethian philosophy and Boccaccio's characterization of Teseo in the "Teseida." Central to Chaucer's character is the "forgiveness scene," when Theseus finds Palamon and Arcite battling in the forest, condemns them, and then changes his mind; thereafter, Theseus "represents the best an earthly king or a pilgrim should aspire to."
- Chaucer Subjects
- Knight and His Tale
- Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations