Part IV: Here the Knight turns to a description of the banquet and the elaborate decorations of the stadium and the rituals connected with the funeral at the end of the tale. This type of richness and magnificence would appeal to a man of such distinction as the Knight, with its special emphasis on form, ritual, and code of behavior — elements upon which knighthood is based.
In this tale, the Knight (or Chaucer) implies that the lives of men are influenced by what seems to be chance but, in actuality, is a Prime Mover (God) who controls the ostensibly chance occurrences of the world. The women at the beginning of the tale bemoan the harshness of fortune. By chance, Emilie walks beneath the prison. Later,. aAgain by chance, Duke Perotheus recognizes Arcite. Arcite is employed by Emilie and later accidentally meets Palamon. Chance also brings Theseus to the same plot where Arcite and Palamon are fighting. Finally, the god of chance (or fortune or destiny) determines how the story will be solved. The universe, then, is not as incoherent and disorderly as might first be expected. Behind all the acts of the universe is a logic or controlling purpose, even though man might not understand it.
What is central in The Knight’s Tale is a concern with the right ordering of the elements that make up a person’s total soul — essentially a concern with justice. A person who has control of his or her emotions and reason is a person who acts honorably in dealing with others. Early in the tale, for example, both Palamon and Arcite fall hopelessly in love with Emilie, and their love (emotion) for her controls their behavior. In such a state of emotional disarray, their reason fails them and hostilities ensue. Only when Theseus, symbol of right reason and justice, intervenes in the knights’ duel, does reason, synonymous with justice, again reign. Note, too, that both Palamon and Arcite receive the reward that they seek, albeit ironically: Palamon wins Emilie’s love but loses the battle to Arcite; Arcite wins the battle but loses his life and thus Emilie. Out of this mayhem, justice is reestablished, and each man gets what he asks for. The two tales that follow (The Miller’s Tale and The Reeve’s Tale) develop these themes on a baser, or lower, level.
