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Punishment In The Canterbury Tales

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In The Canterbury Tales, more than twenty pilgrims meet at the Tabard Inn, preparing to leave to Canterbury to visit the shrine of the archbishop, Saint Thomas Becket. Before the travellers had set off on their pilgrimage, a character known as the Host decided to create a game between them; all of the pilgrims would tell two tales during the entirety of the trip. Whoever would win would receive a free meal paid by the losers of the game and whoever decided to not participate in the game would be forced to pay during any stop that were made during the trip.. Two of the tales that were told during the pilgrimage included “The Knight’s Tale” and “The Pardoner’s Tale.” Once the pilgrims had returned to the Tabard Inn, the Host judged the tales based on two factors: moral education and entertainment value. If a winner was to be chosen from these two tales, then “The Knight’s Tale” would have won. In “The Knight’s Tale,” two men, Arcite and Palamon, are captured and imprisoned after their ruler, King Creon of Thebes, is slain by King Theseus of Athens. Theseus slays Creon after accepting the request of two women dressed in black, who claimed Creon was mutilating the dead bodies of his enemies. Once imprisoned, Palamon and Arcite witness a young princess, Emily, with both declaring their love for her. This interest in Emily quickly ignites a strong rivalry between the two cousins. Soon after their rivalry begins, Arcite is freed from prison, but he is banished from Athens. Arcite

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