Despite its glorified tales of the knightly lives of gentlemen, The Knight's Tale turns out to be more than a tragically romantic saga with a happy ending. Because beneath this appearance lies an exploration of the insignificant world of today's aristocratic class. Here, where physical substance is supplanted by appearance, reality gives way to a disillusioned canon and emotion is sacrificed to honor. Naive idealism emerges as the dominant characteristic of the seemingly perfect knight and we, as the reader, are invited to discern the effect of this fanciful quality on the story as a whole. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay To pursue this argument further, a basic premise must be established as a foundation: Theseus is the character with whom the knight most closely associates. Defending "truth and honor" in their battle conquests and noble rule, both embody the sacred rite of "chivalry". In the Knight's Tale, almost all of the attributes with which he is praised in the Prologue are used directly in correlation with the Duke. Thus, Theseus' language and actions throughout the story can be superimposed on those of the knight. These connections, along with the knight's selective narration, allow the reader to observe the essence of his bravery and the disparities that exist in this lifestyle. No doubt Chaucer intended this to be a biting attack on the aristocracy, which seemed impeccable to so many people. Generalized and idyllic, the narrator's voice offers the first clue to the knight's enigma. With well-chosen words, he tiptoes through the plot, taking care never to pass judgment on the characters and their actions. His noble language virtually excludes physical description, relying on the classification of people into types (i.e. the beautiful maiden, the young princes, the worthy duke). In perhaps the most surprising lack of significant detail, his coat of arms about Emily only tells of the color and length of her hair and uses clichés to represent her: May with new flours For with the color pink stroof location hewe, I don't know which was the finer of the two (ll 1035-1039) And the vacancy of all real emotion (except that of love and sorrow, which here are more action than feeling) gives an air of superficiality to history. For even Emily and Palamon, in the climactic conclusion, are unresponsive, serving as mere instruments for the advancement of the plot. The only passionate portraits depicted are those of the theater/arena and the funeral pyre, inanimate objects whose symbolic importance seems to take precedence over the actors involved. All these qualities combined paint the picture of a man disconnected from reality, lacking the truth. This noble style sometimes remains far from eminent and provides another important insight into his character. The continuity of his speech is often interrupted by proverbial lapses of wisdom, abrupt scene changes, and the inability to see humor in his phrasing. His affinity for the mundane blocks his exalted speech on numerous occasions, most pointedly about the prisoner's desire to return home: We are like him who is a dronke like a mouse. is there, and to a drunken man the wey is a slider. (ll 1261-1264) Likewise, his impulsive transitions from Theseus to the cousins ​​and vice versa inhibit the reader's ability to enter into the flow that the majority of his comments allow. And the unconscious humor on which he often falls, notably in the repetition of queynte (ll 2333-2336) while Emilyprays that her virginity will be spared, suggests that her ideal is blocking her vision of what is happening. As he regresses from the chivalrous tone to these errors, the reader must be aware of the errors they occur naturally. Because these glimpses show us a man who falls from his loft, only to climb back up without realizing the fall. While not as important as the knight's diction (but more so), Theseus' idealistic conduct sheds new light on the ambivalent nature of chivalry. In action, he visibly displays the disparities that exist in the knight's language. From his self-centered glorification of his own pride to his contradictory handling of situations, the Duke appears anything but enviable. His devotion to Mars and his insistence on order in a perfectly chaotic world ultimately prove that his noble intentions are blind to the events of true reality. If any doubts remain about his greatness, they are eliminated once and for all by these ideals. As the knight begins his tale, the contradictions in his character come to the fore. For upon returning from his victorious crusade, Theseus is greeted by the most unbearable and painful lamentations that human ears have ever heard. Rather than responding to the distraught women with a worried voice, he mocks them with disgusted arrogance: What have you done, that my homcomyngePertuben is my party with criyngeQuod Theseus. Have you so saluted the envy of my honor, that thus you complete and cry out (11 904-908). But perhaps more telling for the understanding of chivalry is the blind judgment with which Theseus follows this initial gesture. By trampling Thebes, he recreates the same atrocity he was avenging: Did Creon kill and win Thebes thus, Still in this feeling, he took his rest all night, And made with all the counter like a fleet hymn . To plunder in the taas of the bodyes dede, Hem to strepe the harneys and the wede, The pillors diden bisynesse and cureAfter the battle and the discomfiture. (ll 1002-1008) These lines echo those of the widows in their lamentations over their deceased (ll 940-947). In Theseus' eyes, this justification is consistent with the precepts of chivalry, because it is done in retaliation and, more importantly, he is victorious. Another breach in Theseus' philosophy is his coalition with the god of war, Mars (ll 975-979). By innocently presenting the Duke with a statue of the deity as he goes into battle, the knight unwittingly prepares the reader for a scene where the naivety of their crusade challenges all but those involved. For in the great theater, where the all-powerful Mars is illustriously illustrated, the harsh reality of his force is broken down into its basic elements: the smylere with the knife under the coat; shepne brennynge with blake smoke; the tresoun of the mordrynge in the bed;The open world, with wounds to the Bible (ll1999-2002) "Drede", "Complete, Outhees and proud Outrage" govern the mural which is the essence of Mars (ll 1998, 2012). Neither Theseus nor the knight are capable of understanding this odious scene; for them, it elegantly represents the “redoutynge of Mars and its glory” (l 2050). Here the reader is left to wonder about the utter blindness of these "great" men who are worthy enough to rule these lands, and yet are so oblivious to reality that they praise exactly what they condemn. What gives them divine providence to sit on such an eminent perch? So far, the chivalric ideal has proven to be his worst enemy. In their struggle to protect all that is sacred and honorable, an enveloping effect has distorted their view of reality, causing a mixture of truth and pretense. And in,