An Introduction to Love

The following is a short paper I wrote t'other day for my literature class. Obviously, you will not understand all my supporting arguments unless you have read Chaucer's work. I do believe, however, that you may be encouraged by this subtle defense on the Biblical guidelines for human love. But more importantly, this serves as an adequate introduction for a larger work I am currently studying for - some of you know the one of which I speak. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, too.

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In Geoffrey Chaucer's prolific work of The Canterbury Tales, the issue and nature of human love is discussed and discoursed – almost to a maddening level. The story, which tells of a diverse group of pilgrims traveling together from Southwark to Canterbury, is composed of twenty-four tales told by the different adventurers.

The first of which is about two knights – Palamon and Arcite – who both “fall in love” with the same woman. In the love triangle that quickly ensues, the knights can find no resolution in fighting over which one of them bears the right to gain this woman’s affections. After much battle and banter – and a treacherous involvement of the gods – this love carries out a destructive end. My intent here in not to analyze so much of the story itself (the digressions and turns are many; a plot analysis would assuredly be a work worth pursuing at a different time), but rather to take a brief look into the nature of the kind of love that is presented in The Knight’s Tale of The Canterbury Tales.

One of the first qualities of courtly love is that it hurts. When Palamon first chances to see Emily, “he blenched and gave a cry/ As though he had been stabbed, and to the heart,” (32). And just a few moments later, she catches Arcite’s gaze and “her beauty hurt him so,” (33). With this point I dare not disagree – for obviousness of the human need to pursue and capture beauty when he sees it; it is indeed a healthy habit to have a strong something – such as a woman’s beauty – to engage the senses and direction of a man in order to cause him to initiate a relationship. I suppose even this can be debated, but there is not room here adequate enough to give a convincing presentation. Therefore, I will gladly refrain from such a task.

A second quality that does deserve a brief examination is in the idea that love is not love unless it is destructive. Namely, that a love cannot be had until it is coerced through the violent slaying of all that stands in its way. For the sake of fairness I must point out that this sort of statement contains truth – but only to the slightest extent. For example, a love between a man and a woman is – strictly by definition – monogamous in all respects. Therefore, love must be protected and guarded with all godly jealousy; otherwise, nothing will prevent an intruder from stealing away what is most sacred and precious (adultery is the prime example). However, when jealousy becomes selfish ambition and all passion is unbridled and unrestrained, then love inadvertently turns to hate. The good and noble form of jealous love was displayed during the tournament where Palamon and his knights zealously fought Arcite and his in a mere display of heroic deeds (no death was involved at this point). But the untamed and destructive side of courtly love was witnessed during Palamon’s fight with Arcite in the grove (death was the goal here).

I would argue that neither of these men truly loved Emily. From their first gaze of her, till the fateful death of Arcite, both knights claimed to love and serve her more than the other, but (blinded by lust) it never crossed their minds that perhaps the love wasn’t mutual – or, if it was, then it could never be aroused in her until one of them actually took the time to truly know her. It seems to me that a sacrificial, godly love for a woman has been terribly confused with selfish, ungodly lust to have what can never be had. The first cares, protects, and perseveres while the latter wants, kills, and eventually destroys both the love and the lover.

Once again, this is by no means an exhaustive presentation of the theme of romance found in The Knight’s Tale. I have merely set forth what I believe to be some of greatest pitfalls of a love which refuses to live with itself and others. And, most often, it does not.