War is not a thing to be celebrated and this clear-cut summation is frequently most poignantly expressed by those that experience it firsthand. Chaucer’s knight is such a character and as such, his insertion into the tale creates a unique perspective to any serious reading of the Temple of Mars. The notion that war and crime are one in the same similarly alters the reader’s perceptions of Arcite. Arcite’s willing entreaty to the divine incarnation of bloodshed and slaughter, paints a picture of a knight that has forgotten the true nature of nobility and honor. Arcite’s selfish desire for victory and adulation are augmented by the images that surround him during his prayer to the embodiment of human cruelty. The reader is left to ponder the
