1) Why is it appropriate that the Knight should tell the first story?The story is about knights, honor, and love, all of which the knight is

qualified to talk about due to his lineage.

2) Which features of the romance are evident in this tale?Courtly love, passion, betrayal, and lust.

3) How did Arcite and Palamon become Theseus's prisoners?After Theseus conquers Thebes, he discovered the two wounded enemy

soldiers lying on the battlefield nearing death. He decided against executing the knights, instead, condemning them to a life of imprisonment in an Athenian tower.

4) About what did Arcite and Palamon argue in the tower when they were prisoners?Arcite and Palamon argued about Emily; both knights claimed their love for

her, and their friendship gave way to hostility.

5) Why was Arcite released from prison?A friend to both Theseus and Arcite arrives in Athens and secured Arcite's

release.

6) What was the one condition of Arcite's release?Arcite was released under the condition that he could never return to Athens.

7) How and why did Arcite return to Athens?One night, Mercury, the messenger of the gods, appeared to Arcite in a

dream and urged him to return to Athens, which he does. Terribly lovesick, Arcite realizes that he can enter the city disguised and not be recognized. He does so and takes on a job as a page in Emily’s chamber under the pseudonym Philostrate. 

8) How did Palamon get out of prison?Palamon got out of prison by outwitting the guards with his cleverness; then

he escaped into the woods.

9) Why did Theseus spare the lives of Palamon and Arcite when they were fighting in the woods?

Theseus took mercy on Palamon and Arcite because the women of his court begged mercy for the knights.

10) What solution to the knights' problem did Theseus have?Theseus proposes a formal tournament in one year with each knight

supported by one hundred knights. The winner of the joust will get the hand of Emilie.

11) Why is Arcite not recognized when he is employed in Emily's household?Arcite was disguised as a common peasant.

12) How is it decided who will marry Emily?Theseus proposes that Arcite & Palamon will fight in a jousting tournament to

win Emily’s hand in marriage.

13) What happens to prevent the man who won Emily's hand from marrying her?

Saturn sends a fury from Pluto to make Arcite's horse freak out. Wounded, Arcite is carried to Theseus' palace.

14) What happened to Arcite?Saturn sends a fury from Pluto to make Arcite's horse freak out. Wounded,

Arcite is carried to Theseus' palace.

15) How did Palamon come to be married to Emily?As Arcite lies dying, Arcite acknowledges that he knows no person better

than Palamon and begs Emilie to accept Palamon as her husband.

16) What characteristics of chivalry are evident in the story?Chivalry is evident both in the contests for Emily's hand in marriage and in

Palamon's offer for Calvary.

17) What is the theme of The Knight's Tale?The emphasis in The Knight’s Tale revolves around the rules of honor and

proper conduct that are the cornerstone principals of chivalry. The Knight’s Tale is a romance that encapsulates the themes, motifs, and ideals of courtly love – love becomes an illness that can change the lover’s physical appearance, influence the lover to risk death to win favor with his lady, and inspire eloquent poetic monologues. The lovers go without sleep because they are tormented by their love, and for many years they dream about being with the lady.

Another theme of the tale is the instability of human life—joy and suffering are never far apart from one another, and nobody is safe from disaster. When one person’s fortunes are up, another person’s are down. This theme is expressed by the pattern of the narrative, in which descriptions of good fortune are quickly followed by disasters, and characters are subject to dramatic reversals of fortune. When the mourning widows interrupt Theseus’s victory procession home to Athens, he senses that their grief is somehow connected to his joy and asks them if they grieve out of envy. Soon after the husbands’ remains are returned to their widows, Palamon and Arcite are discovered cast down, close to death, and Theseus imprisons them for life. But, no sooner are Palamon’s and Arcite’s fortunes dashed down than Emily appears in the garden outside their prison as a symbol of spring and renewed life. When Arcite wins his freedom, each of the friends thinks that his condition is worse than the other’s. Then when Arcite wins the tournament, he is injured by his horse and soon dies. Palamon, even though he is the loser, marries Emily, and they enjoy a happy marriage.

Good fortune and bad fortune seem connected to one another in a pattern, suggesting that some kind of cosmic or moral order underlies the apparently random mishaps and disasters of the narrative.

18) From what sources did Chaucer borrow material for this tale?Chaucer borrowed material for this tale from the gamut of people he met in

his numerous travels.