The value of love can be seen in contrasting yet similar positions based on the underlying theme of a passage. In the three passages from the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer describes love differently through the viewpoint of each speaker in relation to the nature of the rules of courtly love, utilizing diction, juxtaposition and multiple rhetorical devices to emphasize the idea of submission between the lovers involved. ((The tale of the knight, the miller, and the wife of bath are similar despite their conflicting outtakes and interpretations on the rules of courtly love. They use different techniques to convey the idea of submission.))
In the first passage from the Knight’s Tale, the knight upholds the rules of courtly love and highlights the values of the chivalric code through the use of sorrowful diction and juxtaposition. As Arcite makes his way back to Thebes, his laments for Emily draws the value of love into the reader’s view using diction such as “cold”, “alone”, and “feeble” to depict the miserable state he is in after being separated from Emily. The figure of Mercury in …show more content…
“Handy Nicholas” approaches Allison, addressing her as “dear” and “my darling” to woo her while her husband has gone, elucidating the Miller’s value of sweet talk to win one over. Nicholas’ actions lack courtesy, feeling her “good below the waist” and slyly catching her “by the twat”, showing his lewd ways of fulfilling his desires. The Miller’s tale shares similar traits with the two other tales through the submissive tone of Allison, as she promises to “be at his [Nicholas’] commandment”. This draws clear, however, from the Knight’s tale nature of courtly love for it depicts love as something acquired for individual pleasure, therefore eliminating its purpose if one must risk their life for
In the first passage from the Knight’s Tale, the knight upholds the rules of courtly love and highlights the values of the chivalric code through the use of sorrowful diction and juxtaposition. As Arcite makes his way back to Thebes, his laments for Emily draws the value of love into the reader’s view using diction such as “cold”, “alone”, and “feeble” to depict the miserable state he is in after being separated from Emily. The figure of Mercury in …show more content…
“Handy Nicholas” approaches Allison, addressing her as “dear” and “my darling” to woo her while her husband has gone, elucidating the Miller’s value of sweet talk to win one over. Nicholas’ actions lack courtesy, feeling her “good below the waist” and slyly catching her “by the twat”, showing his lewd ways of fulfilling his desires. The Miller’s tale shares similar traits with the two other tales through the submissive tone of Allison, as she promises to “be at his [Nicholas’] commandment”. This draws clear, however, from the Knight’s tale nature of courtly love for it depicts love as something acquired for individual pleasure, therefore eliminating its purpose if one must risk their life for