Although it was not uncommon for authors of Chaucer's time to incorporate Roman and Greek mythology, I was surprised to find such a stark allusion to the Greek classic Antigone. The Knight's character Creon is not only guilty of the same crimes as Sophocles', but Chaucer also briefly addresses a similar issue: that there moral laws ultimately more binding than the rule of man. In arguing who has a "right" to the Emelye's love, Palamon reminds his cousin Arcite of the unspoken contract he is bound to as a cousin. Arcite's defends his claim to Emelye as a right of love, which is of higher law than the rules to which Palamon alludes. It seems this was a political issue which still perplexed society at Chaucer's time.
I was also surprised by the petty story line of Part 1, which culminated in a sort of "the grass is always greener" tale. As far as things that are shockingly stupid go, it seems a bit absurd that the two cousins would determine their luck based on "love" for a woman they've never even met--in fact, they can't even decide if she's a goddess or the real deal.
Chaucer's lengthy description of Emelye is reminiscent of Sir Gawain's flowery language. Although Chaucer briefly describes the beauty of the sunrise and the garden in which Emelye paces, her "yellow hair...a yard long" and the grace with which she "gathers flowers, mixed white and red,/ To man an intricate garden for her head" certainly steals the show (lines 1049, 1054). Emelye's description almost tricks the reader into believing the cousins' infatuation isn't so ridiculous after all.
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