Introduction
Chaucer’s twenty-four ‘Canterbury Tales’, told by pilgrims travelling from London to the shrine of St Thomas Becket in Canterbury in the late 14th century, open with the Knight’s Tale. A curious blend of Norman chivalry and classical mythology, it reminds us that any civilisation worthy of the name is firmly founded on Greco-Roman culture.
ONCE upon a time, some widowed noblewomen begged Theseus, King of Athens, to avenge the death of their husbands by sacking the city of Thebes.* Theseus obliged, and captured two wounded Theban youths, Arcite and Palamon, whom he imprisoned in Athens.
One day Emily, the Queen’s sister, passed by their prison. Arcite fell hopelessly in love with her on first sight, and his sighs brought Palamon to the window. Palamon too instantly fell in love with Emily, so that the two cousins suddenly found they were enemies.
At length, Arcite was released through the good offices of an old friend; but though he was free, he was banished from Athens, never to see Emily again. Palamon remained, daily seeing Emily, but unable to speak to her.
Neither one could bear his torture. Eventually, Arcite crept back to Athens, disguised as a servant in Theseus’s court, and Palamon drugged his guard and escaped, determined to raise an army in Thebes and claim his bride.
This is Thiva, the city in Beoetia, Greece, thirty-two miles northwest of Athens, and known to the ancients as Thebes of the Seven Gates. The Egyptian city of Thebes, now part of Luxor, was known as Thebes of the Hundred Gates.
Précis
In the first of the Canterbury Tales, a knight tells how two Theban youths, taken as as prisoners of war, fell in love with Emily, the sister-in-law of King Theseus of Athens. One, Arcite, was released but banished; the other, Palamon, remained in jail, but eventually both contrived to escape their sentences, and come in search of the forbidden Emily. (60 / 60 words)
In the first of the Canterbury Tales, a knight tells how two Theban youths, taken as as prisoners of war, fell in love with Emily, the sister-in-law of King Theseus of Athens. One, Arcite, was released but banished; the other, Palamon, remained in jail, but eventually both contrived to escape their sentences, and come in search of the forbidden Emily.
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Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, if, may, not, ought, since, unless, until.
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Why were Arcite and Palamon jailed?
Suggestion
They were taken as prisoners of war. (7 words)
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Arcite and Palamon were cousins. They fell out. They fell in love with the same woman.