night or how much he has really lost."The Book of the Duchess" was written as an elegy, honoring and celebrating Lady Blanche. In Chaucer's elegy, the Black Knight represents John of Gaunt, while the White Lady represents Lady Blanche. In the deeper meaning of the poem the lovers are married, not in an extramarital relationship. This does not follow the traditional pattern of the courtly love romance. Chaucer strays from the traditional role of the courtly love romance to make the point that marriage is a sacred thing. John of Gaunt truly loved his wife. There is no happy ending to the poem. In the elegy, Chaucer does not try to comfort John of Gaunt. Rather, he honors Lady Blanche, providing a sense of immortality and remembrance through his poetry In "The Knight's Tale" there are also elements of the courtly love romance. However, this evidence is somewhat hypocritical. In the tale, both Palamon and Arcite fall deeply in love with Emelye, who is quite out of their reach because they have been imprisoned by Theseus, King of Athens. The two men pine over Emelye, declaring their love for her, but realize that neither will ever have her."For Goddes love, tak al in pacienceOur prisoun, for it may non other be;Fortune hath yeven us this adversitte.Som wille aspect or disposciounOf Saturn, by sum constellacioun,Hath yeven us this, although we hadde it sworn:So stood the hevene whan that we were born.We moste endure it; this is the short and pleyn" (lines 226-33)."Perhaps no characters in The Canterbury Tales are less courtly in their attitude to women than the two principle lovers, Palamon and Arcite" (Jones 156). The reader is to assume that the flaw in the tale serves a purpose. "It is more reasonable to suppose Chaucer is telling the tale in the persona of the Knight and that it is the Knight-narrator who misunderstands the nature of courtly chivalry" (Jones 154). Both Palamon and Arcite display a passion for Emelye that is ...
