Palamon and Arcite is part of '' Fables, Ancient and Modern'' written by

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

and published in 1700. Palamon and Arcite is a translation of

The Knight's Tale "The Knight's Tale" ( enm, The Knightes Tale) is the first tale from Geoffrey Chaucer's '' The Canterbury Tales''. The Knight is described by Chaucer in the "General Prologue" as the person of highest social standing amongst the pilgrims, t ...

from '' The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. Although the plot line is identical, Dryden expanded the original text with poetic embellishments. The source of Chaucer's tale was

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was some ...

's Teseida. Translations include those by Percival Ashley Chubb (1899) and

Walter William Skeat Walter William Skeat, (21 November 18356 October 1912) was a British philologist and Anglican deacon. The pre-eminent British philologist of his time, he was instrumental in developing the English language as a higher education subject in th ...

(1904).Chaucer, G., Skeat, W. W. (Walter William). (1904)
The knight's tale: or, Palamon and Arcite
London: Alexander Moring, limited, The De la More press.

Characters

The four central characters remain the same as in Chaucer's story. Palamon, possible cousin of Arcite, is at least "brother-in-arms" according to Dryden. Arcite is a knight of royal blood, although this is not fully explained in the text. Emily (Emelye or Emilye) is the princess and stepdaughter or possibly niece of the king. And King

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describ ...

is the Duke of Athens

Plot

Two knights Palamon and Arcite are imprisoned by Theseus when he found them after a battle. They are held in a dungeon from which they can see into a courtyard. One day, Palamon, while looking through the bars of his cell, sees Emily. Falling in love instantly, Palamon cries out, causing Arcite to ask what's wrong. Palamon declares his newfound love for Emily, and as Arcite listens, he sees Emily. Turning to Palamon, Arcite claims that because he first recognized her as mortal and not a goddess, Arcite has the right to woo Emily. Later, one of Arcite's friends begs Theseus to free his prisoner; Theseus agrees, but banishes Arcite. The love-struck knight returns, disguised as one of Theseus's servants. The story unfolds as each knight endures different challenges to prove his love for Emily. Meanwhile Palamon escapes the tower and pretends to be one of Emily's servants. Arcite finds Palamon one day and they organise a fight in order to see who will win Emily. At the fight, Arcite wins, but his horse gets shot by an arrow and so his horse topples over and crushes him. On his deathbed, Arcite apologizes, as they had once been as close as brothers and now they were rivals in love. Arcite tells Palamon to marry Emily, and then he dies. After a while, Palamon marries Emily.

References

External links

Fables Ancient and Modern. Palamon and Arcite: or the Knight’s Tale. From Chaucer: Book I

To Her Grace the Duchess of Ormond, with the following poem of Palamon and Arcite.
{{Authority control Poetry by John Dryden Works based on The Canterbury Tales Cultural depictions of Theseus