Canterbury Tales Character Analysis Essay

Don Quixote of La Mancha has a great passion for knighthood/chivalry. Quixote reads books about chivalry and knighthood, and he believes every word in these books to be true. His dedication to become a knight is astounding. Quixote 's idealism is shown as he believes more in fantasy than reality. Don Quixote: “... I have never actually been dubbed a knight...

He becomes often associated with the image of a perfect, almighty warrior, able to prove his fame in any situation. However, the foil characters can do more than purely illuminate his positive values. With the contrast they provide, Beowulf’s faults are revealed and criticized as well. Although foil characters often point out the greatness of Beowulf, they also serve to highlight Beowulf’s flaws, teach him lessons, and allow him to change, as seen in his interactions with Unferth, Hrothgar, and the dragon.

Topics like these can consistently be seen throughout “The Wife of Bath’s Tale.” In “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, Chaucer uses irony to teach characters that appearance can be deceiving as well as knowing that there is more value to a person than just physical qualities. King Arthur and his knights were held to a very high standard. The knights had to live up to the Code of Chivalry. Everyone would look up to these knights and thought very highly of them.

“His father 's warrior were wound round his heart. With golden rings, bound to their prince. By his father 's treasure. So young men build, the future, wisely open-handed in peace, protected in war; so warriors earn. Their fame, and wealth is shaped with a sword” (Beowulf 24).

In act I scene IV he accepted that he had a big nose. He said it was a sign of pride and many other traits of respected leaders. To be a gentleman you have to respect yourself before other people can respect you. Also during act IV scene IV Cyrano told De Guiche that he would left his white plume on and continued fighting. This showed that Cyrano valued his pride over his life.

In the article “Chivalry,” it states that the chief chivalric virtues were piety, honor, valor, courtesy, chastity, and loyalty (3). In the book, King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, we meet a knight named Sir Launcelot. Sir Launcelot is thought to be one of the greatest knights in the world. However, Sir Launcelot may have been honorable, but he was not loyal and chaste.

III.

Lancelot is used in a similar manner to Arthur, being the “noblest” and “truest” knight of Arthur (Idylls – Gareth and Lynette), as well as “first intournament” and as such strong and skilled in battle (Idylls – The Coming of Arthur). Lancelot is of high moral character and of high nobility, and thus is a character to be admired and looked up to on a physical and moral level. On the other hand, as his relationship with Guenivere ‘corrupts’ him, he loses these traits and his position of the strongest knight in Arthur’s court (and is expelled from the court as well), leaving behind nobility and honor. In the end this affair is characterized as Lancelot’s fatal flaw and the sole reason why he is not the perfect

I. Machiavelli In his famous work the Prince Niccolo Machiavelli exposes what it takes to be a good prince and how only this good price and keep control over his state. There are many different qualities that make a man a good ruler but there are some that are more essential than others. In this work Machiavelli stresses the importance of being a warrior prince, a wise prince, and knowing how to navigate the duality of virtù and vices. Without these attributes there was no way that a prince could hold together their state and their people.

When hearing the word chivalry, what many people think of first is men opening doors for women, and that is chivalrous, but there is more to it than just that. In the Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, chivalry is defined multiple ways. Some definitions are “gallant or distinguished gentlemen,” “the system, spirit, or customs of medieval knighthood,” and “ the qualities of the ideal knight: chivalrous conduct” (5). Chivalry is a term that can be described as a term often related to medieval institution of knighthood referring to the codes of conduct, including courtly love, adhered to by Medieval knights with gallant knightly values, including honor, bravery, courteousness and honesty. (1) Not something we hear very often anymore, many people may not know what chivalry means.

Medieval times were a time when honor was valued above all other qualities. All knights, the highest models of medieval manhood, adhered to a code of chivalry. When properly followed, this code allowed men to be truly honorable. Among the qualities most highly esteemed were integrity, loyalty, and courage. The clearest examples of chivalry were King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.