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A Revaluation of Adaptations
An Analysis of an Early Adaptation and a Modern Appropriation
of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale
“BA Thesis English Language and Culture, Utrecht University”
Author: Anton van der Sluis 3509737
Supervision: Anita Auer
Date: 28-06-2012
Words: 8626 (excl. quotations)
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Contents
Summary
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Introduction
4
1. Theoretical Framework
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2. Background Information
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2.1. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale: Summary
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2.2. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale: Form and Genre
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3. Methodology
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4. Socio-historical analyses
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4.1. William Shakespeare and John Fletcher’s Two Noble Kinsmen
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4.2. Tony Marchant’s “The Knight’s Tale”
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5. Conclusions
32
Works Cited
35
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Summary
This thesis presents a philological analysis of an early adaptation and a modern appropriation
of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale, respectively John Fletcher and William
Shakespeare’s play The Two Noble Kinsmen and Tony Marchant’s TV drama “The Knight’s
Tale.” The form and genre of these adaptations are analysed in their socio-historical context
with a comparative research method. This study first provides background information for the
analysis of the adaptations in light of the concept of intertextuality. After this contextual
framework is laid down, the form and genre of the original story, namely Chaucer’s The
Knight’s Tale, is determined as a medieval English romantic verse. Taking Chaucer’s form
and genre as starting point, the analyses of the individual adaptations characterises Fletcher
and Shakespeare’s adaptation as a ‘tragicomical’ play and Marchant’s appropriation as a TV
drama series. Subsequently, this thesis connects the adaptations to their socio-historical
contexts while trying to explain the origin and effect of these transformations. Findings finally
show that both the adaptation and the appropriation have maintained some of the romantic
features as portrayed in Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale, but have generally been transformed
congruently within the changed societies in which they have been written.
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Introduction
As the first story of one of the biggest Middle English literary works, namely Geoffrey
Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, The Knight’s Tale deserves some special attention. Since its
composition in the late fourteenth century (McAlpine xxv) up until the last decade, a
considerable amount of secondary literature has been published on The Knight’s Tale. The
Tale has been edited, translated and adapted (Benson xli; Barnouw; Hammond). Until 1800
this Tale was the most frequently cited of all the Canterbury Tales (McAlpine xxvii) and even
after 1800, The Knight’s Tale continued to spark readers’ interests. The Tale has been studied
by various authors in multiple manners (i.e. Terry Jones depicted Chaucer’s Knight as a
mercenary) and it has quite recently even been adapted to other media in, for instance, the
2003 BBC drama series The Canterbury Tales.
Despite The Knight’s Tale's literary popularity, there is no study to date that compares
the adaptions and appropriations accumulated through time, examining its forms and genres in
the contemporary contexts. This thesis will therefore give an account of one early adaptation
and one modern appropriation of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale in different sociohistorical settings and will seek to address the following research question: How have the
form and genre of adaptations of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale developed over time?
The first chapter begins by laying out the theoretical dimensions of the framework,
chapter two will give an outline of the historical context of Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale and
in chapter three, the chosen adaptation, appropriation and research method will be introduced.
The actual form and genre transformations will then be analysed in their socio-historical
contexts in chapter four. In the fifth and final chapter, the analyses formed in the previous
chapters will be applied to the research question as stated above.
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1. Theoretical Framework
1.1. Intertextuality, adaptations and appropriations
In 1982, Gérard Genette provided an explanation of the relation between a later work based
on an earlier one, saying that “[a]ny text is a hypertext, grafting itself onto a hypotext, an
earlier text that it imitates or transforms” (ix). Wurth and Rigney add to this that “nearly all
texts are influenced by, and derive (a part of) their meaning and significance from prior texts,”
this process is also called intertextuality (100, translated by AvdS). In the Victorian era the
following terms were used while speaking of “reworking the artistic past: (…) borrowing,
stealing, appropriating, inheriting, assimilating (. . .), homage, mimicry, travesty, echo,
allusion, and intertextuality.” These words refer to the process of adaptation and appropriation
(Sanders 3), which are part of the overarching principle of intertextuality (Sanders 17).
The process of adaptation is never-ending; it enables the original text to live on, even
in different times, countries and cultures (Sanders 21, 24). Unlike an allusion, adaptations and
appropriations have a sustained relationship to the original text and can (re-)activate the
relevance of a work (Sanders 4). In addition, both in the adaptation - and appropriation
process, there is frequently a transition from one genre to another (Sanders 19, 26) and the
author of an adaptation will always reinterpret and thereby influence the text (Sanders 3).
Although the processes of adaptation and appropriation are interrelated, a distinction has to be
made. An adaptation's reference to the original text is more direct, whereas an appropriation's
connection, while establishing a wider cultural framework, remains rather implicit (Sanders
26, 29). In this thesis, the term ‘adaptation’ is not only used for a process distinct from
appropriation, but ‘adaptation’ will in some cases also function as an overarching term,
encapsulating both the processes of adaptation and appropriation.
An adaptation or appropriation will often be compared to the original text in terms of
differences or loss (Sanders 4). Thereby, as the text is adapted, it will regularly be relocated,
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not only generically, but also in a cultural, temporal and geographical context (Sanders 20).
Genette’s description of ‘hypertext’ correlates with the process of adaptation and
appropriation. Accordingly, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale could be called a
‘hypertext’ since Chaucer’s Tale is assumed to be an adaptation of the earlier Il Teseide delle
Nozze d’Emilia written by the Italian poet Giovanni Boccaccio (Pearsall 118; Benson 6).
1.2. Genre and Form
The Oxford English Dictionary defines genre firstly as “(a) kind; sort; style” and “(b) a
particular style or category of works of art; esp[ecially] a type of literary work characterized
by a particular form, style or purpose.” Thus the term ‘genre’ can refer to the form, the style
or even the purpose of a work of art. In this thesis a distinction will be made between genre as
a particular form and genre as a specific style or purpose. The term ‘form’ will be used to
refer to the form of the adaptation, i.e. a play or a television series. The term ‘genre’ will be
used to refer to the literary or cinematic genre, i.e. a Romance or a Tragedy. Since this thesis
also investigates modern adaptions, it is essential to make this distinction and look beyond the
original “tripartite generic and narrative division of lyric, epic and dramatic” (Whetter 16).
Wurth and Rigney define genre as “a text which can be recognised by a combination
of themes and motifs” (403, translated by AvdS). These themes and motifs are characteristic
for a specific genre. In The English Romance in Time, Cooper refers to these conventions with
the term ‘meme[s]’ (3), which she specifies as “idea[s] that behave like a gene in its ability to
replicate faithfully and abundantly, but also on occasion adapt, mutate and therefore survive
in different forms and cultures” (3). Genre is subject to change and not every work will cover
all the ‘memes’ in a specific genre. Even if a work is considered to belong to a certain genre,
it will often not show all its characteristics.
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2. Background Information
As this thesis focuses on adaptations of Geoffrey Chaucer’s version of the story in The
Knight’s Tale, with Chaucer’s version being regarded as the ‘original,’ the context and
background of this text will be described in greater detail than the context and background of
the adaptations.
2.1 Summary & Context
2.1.1. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale: Summary
The Knight’s Tale starts with an introduction of Theseus, Lord of Athens, after he has
defeated the amazons and married their queen, Hippolyta. When three queens arrive to beg
Theseus to free Thebes of the tyrant Creon, Theseus responds to their request and attacks
Thebes. After the battle, he captures Arcite and Palamon, two young knights of the Theban
royal bloodline and holds them captive in a tower in Athens, refusing to ransom them to
Thebes. Years pass while the two cousins are locked up in the tower, until they lay eyes on
the beautiful Emelye, Theseus’ sister by marriage. After Palamon first exclaims his love,
Arcite too is overcome with love, which causes a rift between the two cousins.
One day, Pirinthous, a friend of both Theseus and Arcite, comes to negotiate Arcite’s
freedom. Theseus frees Arcite but banishes him from his land on pain of death. Arcite then
flees from Athens to Thebes, cursing his freedom and lamenting being separated from his
beloved Emelye. He thinks Palamon has the best of it, as he can at least see Emelye. Palamon,
though not banished, likewise deplores his inability to be with her due to his captivity.
Arcite’s grief changes his appearance and seven years later, he changes his name and
returns to Athens where he first becomes Emelye’s servant and subsequently Theseus’ squire.
After being imprisoned for seven years, Palamon manages to escape from his cell and hides in
a nearby forest, where he stumbles upon his brother Arcite later that day. Both knights are still
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in love with Emelye and decide to meet again the next morning for a duel. Arcite brings food
and armour to Palamon and the fight commences.
Theseus, however, happens to be hunting in the forest that same day. When he runs
into the two knights, he demands an explanation. Palamon then betrays Arcite’s identity and
explains that they are both in love with Emelye. Deeming them both fit to marry Emelye,
Theseus suggests a tournament in fifty weeks’ time, in which the two men, each accompanied
by a hundred knights, shall compete for their love's hand.
During this time, Theseus builds an amphitheatre holding three temples: one for Mars,
god of War; one for Venus, goddess of Love and one for Diane, goddess of the Hunt and
Chastity. When Arcite and Palamon return with their hundred knights, a great feast is held in
their honour. Before the tournament, Palamon, Emelye and Arcite go to pray in respectively
the temple of Venus, Diane and Mars. While Palamon prays to Venus and Arcite to Mars for
victory, Emelye, not wanting to marry either of the two, prays to Diane she will marry the one
who loves her most in case of the inevitable. After their prayers, Venus gives Palamon a sign
signifying that his prayer will be answered, Diane appears to Emelye and tells her that the
Gods have destined her to marry one of the knights, and Mars appears to Arcite and says that
Arcite will be the victor. This consequently causes friction among the gods. As only one can
be victor, Saturn, the god of Destiny, overrules the others and puts the matter to rest.
The day of the tournament arrives and Theseus lays down the rules. The one who is
captured will lose and the winner will marry Emelye. Both knights fight savagely, yet Arcite's
men manage to capture Palamon. However, Saturn sends a wind causing Arcite's horse to fall
on top of Arcite. Too injured to claim his prize, Arcite dies. Though sorrowed by the chain of
events, Theseus declares Palamon to be with Emelye, therewith concluding the story (Benson
37-65).
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2.1.2. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale: Context
The Middle Ages & Geoffrey Chaucer
Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale has been written in the late Middle Ages, somewhere between 13801390, during the rise of the middle class. The Middle English society was made up of three
estates: the nobility, the church and the labourers. The aristocratic nobility ruled the country,
while the church guided the other classes (Pearsall 65; David and Simpson 213). Someone’s
social status was largely determined by the estate that someone belonged to. However, during
the fourteenth century the labourers started to gain more power because of events such as ‘the
Black Death’ (Pearsall 143) (i.e. the plague). The increase in wealth and influence of the
lower classes lead to a blurring of the original three estates, which made it more complex to
determine someone’s status (David and Simpson 213-14).
During this time of social change, Geoffrey Chaucer was born around 1340 (Rudd 6).
Because of his parents’ means and court connections, Chaucer eventually came to serve as a
page for Elizabeth the Burgh, the Countess of Ulster (Rudd 7, 10). When Elizabeth became
the wife of Prince Lionel, son of King Edward III, Chaucer became one of the Prince’s
attendants (Rudd 12) and later joined the King’s service (Benson xiii). Chaucer’s
responsibilities not only brought him in contact with foreigners, but with people from all
social classes, from kings to servants and from bishops to servants (Benson xi). Around 1371
Chaucer went on a trading mission to Italy (Pearsall 103) and came in touch with the Italian
Renaissance and Italian poetry through works of Petrarch (1304-1374), Dante (1265-1321)
and Boccaccio (1313-1375). Pearsall states that Petrarch and Dante were perceived as the
greater poets of these three but that Chaucer was particularly inspired by Boccaccio’s
writings, because of Boccaccio’s confidence in and pride of the Italian vernacular (120).
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Origin and influences
Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in his final years, but was not able to finish it
(David and Simpson 216). The piece consists of two parts: the framing tale and the individual
stories. The framing tale tells the story of a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury and
the fictitious Host proposes at the end of the general prologue that each of the pilgrims will
tell two stories on their way to Canterbury and two stories on their way back: the individual
stories. The Tales inspire debates about the overall message of the stories and their order
within the frame tale since only fifty-five of the eighty-four remaining manuscripts seem
complete (Rudd 106) and none of these are alike.
When considering the origins of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and specifically his
Knight’s Tale, previous studies have suggested that two authors were his main influence;
firstly, Boccaccio and secondly, Boethius (Cooper, Oxford Guide, 65). Studies have suggested
that the framework of The Canterbury Tales is inspired by the story collection Decameron
from Boccaccio (Pearsall 240). Although it has been argued that Chaucer was profoundly
influenced by Boccaccio’s work, he never mentioned Boccaccio’s name and probably did not
know that the work which inspired him was Boccaccio’s (Pearsall 121). Nevertheless, the
similarity between Boccaccio and Chaucer’s works is striking and the relationship between
their writings has therefore been widely investigated. Nicholas Havely, for example, states in
his book Chaucer’s Boccaccio that the story in The Knight’s Tale is a free adaptation of
Boccaccio’s Il Teseide (Benson 6). The story about Palamon, Arcite and Emelye has been
adapted to fit into The Canterbury Tales as it was written before Chaucer had started writing
The Tales (Benson 6).
Moreover, James McGregor retraces the origins of Boccaccio’s Il Teseide, and
consequently the origins of The Knight’s Tale, via Statius back to Homer and Vergil in his
work The Shades of Aeneas. According to McGregor, Boccaccio used Statius’s Latin version
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of the Thebaid as an “indirect model” for his Teseide, while he also used a part of Vergil’s
Aeneid in his story (47). The structure of Il Teseide matches that of Statius’s Thebaid and
Vergil’s Aeneid, as Il Teseide is also divided into twelve books. Although the Thebaid deals
with the Theban cycle of mythology, Boccaccio’s Il Teseide only continues the story after
Theseus has attacked Thebes (McGregor 47). Boccaccio’s story can be considered to be an
appropriation of the Thebaid as Boccaccio describes Theseus’s attack on Thebes in four books
and then gives an account of what could have happened when Theseus returned to Athens. In
comparison, Chaucer only uses 141 out of the 2249 lines (Benson 37-65) on Theseus’s attack
on Thebes in his Knight’s Tale. The rest of the story deals with Boccaccio’s Palamon and
Arcite and their faith.
Secondly, Cooper states in the Oxford Guide to Chaucer that Geoffrey Chaucer’s
interpretation of Boccaccio’s story is shaped by Boethius’s The Consolation of Philosophy
(65). Chaucer worked on a prose translation of the Latin Consolation of Philosophy by
Boethius in the early 1380s, and therefore much of his work written during these days has
been inspired by Boethius’s ideas on fate and worldly fortune (Benson xxiv). In fact, a
substantial amount of texts had influenced Chaucer when writing The Knight's Tale. Cooper
gives a few examples of texts, such as, Roman de la Rose, Dante’s Divine Comedy and Ovid’s
Metamorphoses. In general, it seems that Chaucer’s use of these sources is “based on a finely
intimate knowledge of the text[s], rather than any process of picking out lines from the
manuscript[s] for use in his own poem” (Cooper, Oxford Guide, 65).
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2.2 Form & Genre
2.2.1. Geoffrey Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale: Form
Only during the rise of commerce in London did all the varieties of spoken English start to
develop common characteristics. This London English variety of Middle English was used by
Geoffrey Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales (Benson xxvi). Because of “the increasing use of
English in every sphere of life in the course of the fourteenth century” (Benson xxvi),
Chaucer chose to write in English and not in French or Latin as some of his contemporaries
did (Benson xxvi). The Canterbury Tales, and therefore The Knight's Tale, were composed in
Middle English verse and, due to its abundance in French loanwords, a Modern English
reader may likely find it intelligible (Garbáty 1).
During the Middle Ages, literacy was only attainable for the higher classes. Therefore,
the vast majority of the population, the lower classes, could not read and write, marking the
Middle Ages as an oral period in which most poetry and verse was presented to the public
orally (Amodio xvi).
“Because [oral] performance was the most important conduit for literary dissemination, even
the most highly literate poets in the post-Conquest period were crucially aware that their
poems would reach the majority of their audiences through the ear, not the eye.”
(Amodio 98).
Even though Chaucer's Tales were in writing, its verse facilitated the age's troubadours
in reciting it, therewith tying in with the oral tradition.
Several attempts have been made to place the origin of Chaucer’s verse in either
French or Italian literature (Baum 10). Odds are, however, that Chaucer had been influenced
by both. In his analysis of Chaucer's verse, Paul F. Baum states that Chaucer’s use of iambic
pentameters is consistent throughout his work and that Modern English versification seems to
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have started with Chaucer, since he showed much variety in the use of the “five-stress iambic
line” (11). Chaucer uses this line consistently in The Knight’s Tale and even changes the
pronunciation of Emelye’s name on two occasions to fit the metre. For example, line 871 runs
as follows: “And eek / hir yong/e sus/ter E/mely/e” (Benson 37), in which the stressed
syllables are bold, while he uses a different pronunciation in line 1077, i.e. “He cast/ his eye/
upon/ Eme/lya” (Benson 40).
2.2.2. Geoffrey Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale: Genre
Because of the diversity of the storytellers, there is a unique variety of genres in The
Canterbury Tales. Previous studies have classified Geoffrey Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale as a
Romance (i.e. Benson 6; Cooper, Oxford Guide, 63; Nolan 247), which genre Cooper in The
Oxford Guide to Chaucer describes as “one of the most widespread but least clearly
designated [of all the generic varieties available in the Middle Ages]” (63). Originally the
word ‘romance’ meant ‘vernacular’ in French (Cooper, Oxford Guide, 63). Although there is
debate about which works can be considered the first French ‘Romans Antiques,’ it can be
collected that the romance tradition started in France during the twelfth Century (Nolan 8) and
that the Romance travelled from France to Britain with the French language. Cooper gives the
following general definition of Romances (Oxford Guide, 63):
substantial narratives about [1] high-born people, [2] set far away or long ago (or both); [3]
their plots are concerned with [courtly] love or chivalry, or both; [4] the vast majority have
happy endings, (…) [5] they are concerned to express some kind of inner meaning, (…) often
related to the highest courtly or human ideals. These ideals are likely to be compatible with
Christianity, but most romances are primarily secular in focus.
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Baum also mentions another traditional romantic ‘meme’ in his book on Chaucer’s verse,
such as “[6] the art of tournament” (158).
Although Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale is assumed to be based on Boccaccio’s Teseide, the
Tale does not maintain the genre of the Teseide. The Teseide is a classical epic, like Statius’s
Thebaid but Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale is a Romance. Already in the first ten lines of the
Knight’s Tale, three romantic ‘memes’ are introduced. First of all, the Tale begins with the
word “[w]hilom” (Benson 37), which functions as the modern expression ‘once upon a time’
(OED). This expression is related to Cooper’s second romantic aspect, the indefinite time and
place. Subsequently, with the introduction of Theseus as “Lord and Governor” of Athens in
line three (Benson 37), the high-born people are introduced. Following, in line seven the third
romantic aspect is presented by the word “chivalrie,” and later in the play when Palamon lays
eyes on Emelye (line 217-220) the love-plot is brought to attention. Not only in the beginning,
but also near the end of the play we can find romantic memes. In the fourth and last part of the
story, the two knights fight each other for the hand of Emelye in a tournament with which the
sixth romantic aspect is introduced.
Chivalry and virtues
Closely related to the Romance is the concept of knighthood and chivalry, which are also
portrayed in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale. Consequently the Tale can be classified as a
“chivalric [R]omance” (Benson 6). Chaucer often uses the word ‘gentilesse’ and derivations
of it, e.g. ‘gentil’ and ‘noble’, when referring to someone belonging to the nobility (OED).
“Originally, the word ‘gentle’ was used synonymously with ‘noble’ (…) Also, in heraldic use,
having the rank of gentleman was the distinguishing mark of which is the right to bear arms”
(OED).
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Subsequently, a ‘gentle’ person was a ‘courteous’ person (OED). The words ‘gentil’
and ‘noble’ occur over ten times in The Knight’s Tale (Benson). Chaucer describes Theseus,
Palamon and Arcite with the words ‘gentil’ and ‘noble’ as they are ‘chivalrous knights.’ In a
Romance the chivalrous knight is attributed a set of virtues which he has to uphold to be
chivalrous. In The English Romance in Time, Cooper quotes a quatrain “defining the set of
qualities required to recognise gentilesse” (9):
In whom is trauthe, pettee, fredome, and hardynesse,
He is a man inheryte to gentylmene.
Off thisse virtues four who lakketh three
He aught never gentylmane called to be.
(Any man who possesses [1] integrity, [2] compassion, [3] generosity, and [4] courage carries
a title to gentility. Whoever lacks three of these four virtues ought never to be called a
gentleman.)
These four virtues are an example of the ‘chivalrous virtues.’ In this thesis the term
‘gentilesse’ refers to the concept of chivalry and the thereby belonging virtues. A chivalric
Romance focuses mainly on love and war, but as every author does while writing in a specific
genre, Chaucer transformed the genre – likely inspired by Boethius – to a story which does
not only deal with chivalry and love but also with the concept of “aventure” (Nolan 250) and
“fortune,” which makes The Knight’s Tale a “uniquely philosophical romance” (Benson 7).
Thereby, the Tale presents non-romantic aspects as well, such as the structure, which
looks more like a classical epic (Mehl 159), which might have been an influence of the
classical roots of the Tale. John Burrow argues in his essay “The Canterbury Tales I:
Romance” that the term ‘Romance’ does not quite cover the complexity of Chaucer’s
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Knight’s Tale (Nolan 12). Chaucer himself also never refers to the story as a Romance, e.g. in
line 3111, the Miller refers to The Knight’s Tale as “a noble storie” (Benson 66).
Nevertheless, genres are “ever-changing” (Whetter 18), so not every work which is
labelled as being written in a particular genre will uphold all the aspects ascribed to that genre
and each work will be interpreted and influenced by the writer. For example, Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales include five Romances (The Knight’s, Wife of Bath’s, Squire’s, and
Franklin’s Tales, and the Tale of Sir Thopas), but each of these Romances is very different
(Cooper, Oxford Guide, 63). However, the Tale represents many of the romantic aspects, such
as described by Cooper. In conclusion, Geoffrey Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale is a chivalric
Romance which deals with the concept of ‘gentilesse’ and the virtues connected with it:
integrity, compassion, generosity and courage, while the Tale also draws attention to the
concepts of ‘fortune’ and ‘aventure.’
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3. Methodology
3.1. Research method
This philological thesis will use a comparative research method as it will focus on the
differences visible in the adaptations of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale over time. In
order to discuss the alterations, the adaptations that will be discussed will first have to be
close-read and watched so that they can be compared to the original. In the process of closereading and watching a diachronic perspective will be used. Wurth and Rigney describe this
perspective as “looking at a text while taking into consideration the influences of earlier and
later works” (313, translated by AvdS). Therefore, the cultural changes over time will be
taken into consideration to put the deviations from the original into perspective.
3.2. Data
The text that will be considered as the original is Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale as
documented in third edition of The Riverside Chaucer (Benson). The following adaptations of
Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale will be used to investigate the changes in form and genre in their
respective socio-historical contexts:
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William Shakespeare and John Fletcher’s The Two Noble Kinsmen as recorded in the
sixth edition of The Riverside Shakespeare (Evans).
-
Tony Marchant’s adaptation “The Knight’s Tale” as seen in the series The Canterbury
Tales: A Modern Re-telling Of 6 Timeless Stories, distributed in 2003 by the BBC.
The forms and genres of these adaptations will be compared to the form and genre of
Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale. Because of the influences on Chaucer’s Tale and the different
adaptations, the names of the protagonists of the story are not always identical (e.g. Emelye or
Emilia). In this thesis the following spelling will be used: Palamon, Arcite, and Emelye. Only
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in the discussion of Tony Marchant’s appropriation will Palamon be referred to as ‘Paul’ and
Arcite as ‘Ace,’ as Marchant modernised these names.
3.3. Justification
In order to draw a conclusion about how the genre and form of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Knight’s
Tale has changed over time, this thesis will discuss one of the earliest and one of the latest
adaptations of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Tale so that the chosen adaptations will differ as much as
possible from each other, regarding the proximity to the original; in time, genre and form.
Firstly, Fletcher and Shakespeare’s play The Two Noble Kinsmen will be analysed.
This play is an adaptation of Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale, as there is a direct textual reference
to the original text in the prologue: “Chaucer (of all admir’d) the story gives” (Evans 1642,
13) and because the adaptation stays rather close to the original story even though there are
some divergences. In addition to being a ‘dramatized’ adaptation, The Two Noble Kinsmen is
an ‘early’ adaptation, since it was published in 1634 (Evans 1639), roughly ‘only’ 250 years
after Chaucer’s Tale. Turner and Tatspaugh conclude that Shakespeare and Fletcher were not
the first to dramatize Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale as Queen Elizabeth visited Richard Edwards’s
play Palamon and Arcite in 1566. However, they also point out that this play no longer exists
(6). There is, nevertheless, documentation of William Shakespeare and John Fletcher’s play
The Two Noble Kinsmen, which is one of the earliest adaptations of Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale
but one of Shakespeare’s later plays (Alexander). Because this play has been somewhat
neglected due to the discussion about authorship (Evans 1639), even though Shakespeare has
influenced English literature and art for hundreds of years, it will be interesting to investigate
in what way and to what extent Shakespeare and Fletcher were influenced by Geoffrey
Chaucer.
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Secondly, Tony Marchant’s appropriation “The Knight’s Tale” from the BBC drama
series The Canterbury Tales will be compared to Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale. Although this
appropriation also tells the story of Palamon and Arcite’s love for Emelye and even though
there is a direct reference to the original story via its title, the episode of Marchant’s “Knight’s
Tale” can be regarded as an appropriation, because the story moves far away from Thebes,
Athens and the original characters. For example, Marchant modernised Arcite and Palamon’s
names and omitted the character of Theseus. Although in 2001 the film The Knight’s Tale,
starring Heath Ledger, appeared, Marchant’s appropriation is the most modern version of
Chaucer’s Tale in which the story has been transferred to the screen as it appeared in 2003.
3.4. Analysis
As this study will compare two adaptations to the original Knight’s Tale, there has to be some
basis on which these texts will be analysed. The following questions will be answered in the
examination of the form of the adaptations:
1. What form has been used in the adaptation?
2. How can this transformation be explained in light of the socio-historical context?
3. What are the effects of this form on the story?
The form will first have to be determined and put in its socio-historical setting in order
to be able to determine whether this has had any effect on the original story. Finally, the
possible generic changes of the adaptations will be discussed. In order to evaluate the effect of
the possible changes in genre, similar questions will be asked in this part:
4. What genre has been used in the adaptation?
5. How can the choice of genre be explained in light of the socio-historical context?
6. What are the effects of this genre on the story?
20
4. Socio-historical analysis
4.1. William Shakespeare and John Fletcher’s Two Noble Kinsmen
4.1.1. Background information
Although there has been some discussion about the authorship of the play (Turner &
Tatspaugh 2), The Two Noble Kinsmen was entered in the Stationers’ Register “on April 8,
1634, as “A Tragi Comedy… by John Fletcher and William Shakespeare” (Evans 1639). The
play is a Jacobean play as it was published during the reign of King James, just after the reign
of Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603).
As pointed out earlier, in the prologue of The Two Noble Kinsmen, Fletcher and
Shakespeare give credit to Geoffrey Chaucer for the origins of the story (Evans 1642, lines 930). The story which unfolds in the next four acts and epilogue is similar to Chaucer’s
Knight’s Tale in that it also tells the story of the love of Palamon and Arcite for Emelye.
However, the story is not exactly the same, for Fletcher and Shakespeare added another
storyline with the plot of the Jailer’s Daughter. The Jailer’s Daughter further complicates the
love-triangle as she falls in love with Palamon when he is in prison and later helps him escape
(Evans 1640).
4.1.2. Form and Genre
The Two Noble Kinsmen - Form
The Two Noble Kinsmen is “a dramatization of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale” (Evans
1640). Whereas Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale was written in verse and could be performed, e.g. by
troubadours, The Two Noble Kinsmen is a ‘play’ which means that it is solemnly transmitted
through performance. The story is constructed by the action and discourse of the characters
and not by the written descriptions of the author.
21
The chosen form – a play – is the result of a couple of facets of the time in which the
story was written. First of all, despite the educational expansion in the seventeenth century,
England was still massively illiterate when The Two Noble Kinsmen was written (Cressy 2).
As a result of the lack of literacy, performance remained a dominant way of telling stories.
Thereby, there was no professional theatre during the late Middle Ages (Wells and Orlin 20),
but during the Elizabethan era, professional theatre started to re-appear. “[F]or thousand years
after the departure of the Romans in the fifth-century AD no theatres [had been] built in
Britain” (Wells and Orlin 20). The origin of upcoming English renaissance drama can be
retraced to the medieval tradition of the mystery and morality plays (Jokinen; Malone). While
the themes of medieval theatre were often religious subjects and teachings, at the end of the
fifteenth century the focus gradually shifted to politics and entertainment (Jokinen).
Accordingly, while performances before the sixteenth century were mostly religious, plays
written after this period could also deal with non-religious subjects.
It is difficult to discern what effect the change of the form has had on the original
story, because there is hardly any documentation of how people ‘reviewed’ and experienced
the play during the period in which it was written.
The changes in form can be divided into, on the one hand, the experience of the
receiving party, e.g. the public, and on the other hand, the experience of the performing party.
Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale was written in verse so it could be orally performed or read.
However, every person reading or hearing the story would only hear or read Chaucer’s
descriptions and they would have to come up with their own individual imaginary
representation of the people and events described. The Two Noble Kinsmen however, was
written as a play and was consequently performed by professional actors, with costumes, in
theatres. This will have influenced the experience of the story by the receiving party, because
the public would no longer have to create individual mental versions but could collectively
22
see a physical enactment of the story. When looking at the performers of the story, it can be
said that the change in form had consequences for them as well. Even though Chaucer’s
Knight’s Tale could also have been performed by actors, there was no ‘official’ script and
there were hardly any professional actors or playhouses in his time. As a result of the change
in form, performers of the play The Two Noble Kinsmen would have had to take into account,
among other things, the increased importance of the visual part of the story because the
performers would have to follow, for example, the stage directions precisely to create an
understanding of the plot.
The Two Noble Kinsmen - Genre
While Geoffrey Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale can quite easily be characterised as a ‘chivalric
Romance,’ the genre of Fletcher and Shakespeare’s play is not as clear-cut. Although the
entry in the Stationers’ Register classifies The Two Noble Kinsmen as a tragicomedy, this
distinction has some limitations. The problem with the characterisation as a ‘tragicomedy’ is
that it fails to incorporate all aspects of the play (Potter 2). Alexander reports that several
studies have considered the genre of the play and that they have demonstrated the play’s
“failure to meet generic expectations” (192). However, genre is subject to over time changes
and the play does contain aspects of both a tragedy and a comedy. This becomes particularly
clear in the scenes alternating these genres. First of all, The Two Noble Kinsmen starts as a
tragedy in act I with the interruption of the wedding ceremony of Theseus and Hippolyta by
the three fallen queens who beg Theseus to overthrow the tyrant Creon (Evans 1643). In scene
I.ii, it becomes clear that Creon is Palamon and Arcite’s uncle. Although these two noble
cousins despise their uncle, they choose to fight on his side in defence of Thebes (Evans 1647,
lines 99-103), but to no avail, as Creon is defeated. Even though the three queens and Creon
are no main characters, this act presents them as persons of high standing who have fallen
23
from their high position, which is a returning component in tragedies (Harrison 15). In
addition, this act introduces Palamon and Arcite as main characters of high-standing whose
fate is yet undecided, which forms the base for the rest of the story.
In the second act, however, the comedy genre is introduced when the “ordinariness of
the Jailer, his Daughter and her Wooer [are] set against the idealization of the two kinsmen”
(Potter 3). Instead of battles and chivalry, scene II.i deals with the simple life of the Jailer’s
Daughter. Contrastingly, in scene II.ii Palamon and Arcite are eloquently conversing about
their imprisonment, as the noble men they are, i.e. (Evans 1651, lines 68-76):
Arc: “Shall we make worthy uses of this place // that all men hate so much?
Pal: “How, gentle cousin?”
Arc: “Let’s think this prison holy sanctuary // to keep uus from corruption of worse
men. // We are young and yet desire the ways of honor, // that libery and common
conversation, // the poson of pure spirits, might, like women // woo us to wander from.
This contrast between the ordinariness of the Jailer’s Daughter and the two ‘gentle’
knights creates a comic effect, plus, it enforces the comic effect of the part in scene II.ii when
the noble cousins lay eyes on Emelye. While Arcite is still speaking, Emelye enters the stage
and Palamon, spellbound by her appearance, fails to respond to Arcite, who in turn has
noticed that Palamon is no longer listening (Evans 1651, lines 118-132). In addition, the
storyline of the Jailer’s Daughter may have caused laughter in spite of tragic events. This is
for instance illustrated in scene III.v, where the Jailer’s Daughter’s insanity, caused by her
unrequited love for Palamon, comes to light (Evans 1660).
The combination of ‘tragicomical’ features found in The Two Noble Kinsmen can be
explained in light of the context of the play. Shakespeare and Fletcher were influenced by the
classical tragedy while writing their play because the play was written during the English
24
Renaissance. More precisely, Renaissance literally means ‘rebirth’ in French and in this
period people started to re-appreciate classical history. Thereby, since the play is an
adaptation of Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale, The Two Noble Kinsmen has Roman roots as Chaucer
was influenced (via Boccaccio and Statius) by Ovid and Vergil and classical history. As a
result, the play has features through which it can be characterised as a classical Roman
tragedy.
However, Shakespeare departed from the tragic genre by adding comic elements
(McEachern 5). Previous studies have reported that in the Jacobean period, during which The
Two Noble Kinsmen was published, people no longer wanted to be confronted with tragedies
with serious issues (Maguire 390). McEachern points out that the principle of adding comic
aspects to the tragedy derives from the mystery and morality plays, in which the devils and
villains were ridiculed (5). She also points out that Shakespeare used these comic aspects as a
“safety valve forestalling the kind of inappropriate laughter that scenes of great tension and
high passion are likely to provoke” (5). Potter reasons that the tragicomedy presented an
approach to break down the barriers between social classes (Maguire 391). This aspect brings
us back to Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale in which the blurring of the social classes was already an
important concept.
The change from a romance in Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale to a tragicomedy in The Two
Noble Kinsmen has correspondingly changed the original story. As the play is an adaptation of
Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale and tells a similar story, there are also romantic elements in
Shakespeare and Fletcher’s adaptation, i.e. the main characters are high-born people, Palamon
and Arcite fight in a tournament, and the plot revolves around a love interest. Also, Chaucer’s
romantic concept of ‘gentilesse’ is present in this tragicomedy, i.e. the first queen in act I calls
upon Theseus’ ‘gentility’ (Evans 1643) and in the first line of scene II.i, Palamon calls Arcite
‘noble cousin’ (Evans 1650). However, Shakespeare and Fletcher have changed some of these
25
romantic characteristics and added other aspects to the story, which was most likely to better
fit the genre of tragicomedy.
First of all, whereas the tournament in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale is fought
between hundreds of knights, whose most prominent ones are described in great detail and
with great emphasis on their status and chivalry (Benson 53-54, lines 2095-2184), the
tournament between Palamon and Arcite in The Two Noble Kinsmen is fought between the
cousins, accompanied by only three knights, who are described with less emphasis on status
and chivalry and more emphasis on their fighting skills (Evans 1668-1669, lines 73-142). In
addition, Chaucer gives a detailed account of the fighting during the tournament, laying extra
emphasis on this romantic aspect, whereas in Shakespeare and Fletcher’s adaptation the
fighting takes place off stage. As a result, there is more focus on Emelye’s emotion during the
tournament in The Two Noble Kinsmen and therefore, the outcome of the tournament is more
dramatic. Secondly, although Shakespeare and Fletcher’s play also deals with the story of
Palamon and Arcite’s love for Emelye, they have created an additional dimension to the lovetriangle by adding the storyline of the Jailer’s Daughter. Even though this storyline deals with
the Jailer’s Daughter’s love for Palamon, it does not add to the romantic elements in the play
but only creates comic sections which are in contrast with the tragic scenes.
Furthermore, Shakespeare and Fletcher changed other parts of the play to magnify the
tragedy, i.e. they added a level of suspension to the scenes in which Arcite and Palamon meet
in the forest before they duel (i.e. scene III.i, III.iii and III.vi). In The Two Noble Kinsmen, the
two cousins meet two times beforehand, whereas in Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale they only meet
once. First they meet in scene III.i and while they decide to duel each other, they hear the
foreboding wind horns of Theseus for the first time (Evans 1657). In scene III.iii, Arcite
brings food to Palamon and only in scene III.vi, five scenes later than their first encounter, do
they actually start duelling (Evans 1658,1662), during which they hear the wind horns for the
26
second time. The third time they hear the wind horns, Theseus runs into the two knights.
Consequently, this delay of resolution adds a tragic element to scene III.vi.
4.2. Tony Marchant’s “Knight’s Tale”
4.2.1. Background information
The BBC ONE’s press office announced auditions for The Canterbury Tales, and in their
press release of December 2002, they described the programme as “six tales, filmed as single
contemporary dramas, interpreted by a range of both new and established writers.” The
episodes include “Man of Law’s Tale,” “The Miller’s Tale,” “The Sea Captain’s Tale,” “The
Wife of Bath’s Tale,” “The Pardoner’s Tale” and also, Tony Marchant’s “The Knight’s Tale”
(BBC, “New Drama”). Marchant’s appropriation is the third episode of the series broadcasted
in 2003. The aim of the BBC when creating this appropriation was “to extend drama into new
areas” (BBC, “New Drama”). At the outset, TV drama was primarily produced as fiction,
according to a standard formula, for the mass, and its development was connected to the
development of television itself (Dunleavy 2, 11). However, as recording technologies
improved and television became one of the most important media, TV series changed
accordingly, to answer to the specific target audiences. In a second press release, in February
2003, BBC ONE’s press office declared that “the themes of sex, greed, romantic love,
religion and race have been preserved and adapted (…) to reflect Britain in the 21st Century”
(BBC, “Talent Offer”). The following sections will research to what extent the form and
genre of Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale has been changed when it was appropriated into
‘Britain in the 21st Century’ in Tony Marchant’s appropriation “The Knight’s Tale.”
27
4.2.2. Form and Genre
Marchant’s “Knight’s Tale” - Form
In the analysis of the form of this appropriation, the change in socio-historical context must be
taken into consideration. Whereas Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale was written in
Middle English verse around 1400, during a time in which most stories were transferred
orally, Marchant’s appropriation was written in the twenty-first century in which electronic
communication is widespread and most stories are watched on television and computer
screens. In their book Imagination and Play in the Electronic Age, Dorothy and Jerome
Singer state that at the beginning of the twentieth century the silent films “dominated the
attention” (2), but that, once “talkies” (2) (films in which is talked) were perfected around
1930, the storytelling of film became the predominant medium (2). In July 1930, the BBC
broadcasted the world’s first TV drama: The Man with the Flower in his Mouth, an adaptation
of a play by Luigi Pirandello. Subsequently, until 1950, the single play was the predominant
form for early TV drama (Dunleavy 17). From 1960 onwards however, “TV drama developed
new forms and styles, distinct from theatre and radio, under influence of the commercial and
public objectives and the development of new recording technologies” (Dunleavy 17). As
television had become one of the principal forms of storytelling during the twentieth century,
the choice to adapt Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, and as a part of it, The Knight’s Tale¸ to
a television series might be expected. But what is the result of this transformation?
Because the original medieval story was mostly transferred orally, people would
receive and appreciate it while being ‘out and about’ among other people. As Marchant
transferred Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale from Middle English verse to an episode of a modern
English TV series, he ‘moved’ the story indoors. His “Knight’s Tale” would be generally
watched in the confines of one’s own home on a TV screen. As a result, the episode would in
28
most cases be watched alone or with acquaintances. This would have had an effect on the
reception of the story, which would have become more personal in this way.
In addition, a TV series will have ‘flow,’ a concept introduced by Raymond Williams
and defined as “a single irresponsible flow of images and feelings and experience” (78-118).
In Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale, the story is segmented into four parts (Benson), while Marchant’s
appropriation to the TV screen tells the story in one stream of information with no direct
logical order. The only ‘segmentation’ in “The Knight’s Tale” episode, is the concept of
segmentation, such as introduced by John Ellis: “rapid alternation between scenes and a
frequent return to habitual locations and situations rather than any sustained progression
through sequential logic of events” (120). For example, the first scenes alternate in rapid
succession between Paul, Ace and Emelye. After the introductory quote Paul is introduced
arriving in prison (Marchant 0.30-2.45), after which the viewer is given a first glance at
Emelye during her job interview in prison (Marchant 2.45-3.04), and subsequently, the third
main character, Ace, joins Paul in his cell (Marchant 3.10), this all happens within three-anda-half minutes. As a result of the practice of ‘flow’ and ‘segmentation,’ the viewers will have
to take on a more active role while watching the TV series, as every element contributing to
the story will be added fragmentarily and in no defined order.
Marchant’s “Knight’s Tale” - Genre
On the back of the DVD-cover of The Canterbury Tales it says “Genre: Drama.” However,
Trisha Dunleavy explains that “[t]elevision drama can be understood as a ‘meta-genre’ within
which a diversity of programme genres (…) can be identified” (17-18). Subsequently, she
defines seven genres that she considers to comprise “the broader genre of television drama”
(18), namely: anthology drama (…), telefeature, drama series, sitcom, continuing soap opera,
29
‘high-end’ serial and docudrama (18-22). In “The Knight’s Tale” aspects of only two of these
genres are portrayed, i.e. the ‘anthology drama’ and the ‘drama series’.
Dunleavy first describes three features of the anthology drama. It is “[1] a packaging
service for successive self-contained ‘single plays,’ which are [2] usually of less than one
hour’s duration,” and in addition, “[3] there are “no overt connections between the individual
plays in terms of concept, story, characterization or theme” (18). At first sight, Marchant’s
appropriation shows no direct interrelations with the other episodes. However, all episodes do
have an indirect connection via their origin, namely Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. As
for the first two features, the series The Canterbury Tales does ‘package’ six of Chaucer’s
individual Tales in episodes of less than one hour. However, the genre of “The Knight’s Tale”
cannot be termed an anthology drama, as the episode itself only includes one story.
Corresponding to the anthology drama, the drama series are [1] self-contained,
however, the length is usually [2] a little longer, about one hour, and [3] in the end the plot is
resolved (Dunleavy 20). John Ellis further adds that drama series tend to [4] revolve around
conflicts and/or problematic situations, which is why [5] many drama series portray police
stations, hospitals and law firms (154). When considering “The Knight’s Tale,” it can be
concluded that it is an independent episode that does not need the other episodes from the
Canterbury Tales series for the progress or interpretation of the story, therewith answering to
the first feature described by Trisha Dunleavy. Although the length of the episode is only fifty
minutes (Marchant), the duration almost corresponds with the second aspect. The following
characteristic of the drama series however provides a subject for debate. Even though the
main plot, concerning Paul and Ace’s love for Emelye, is resolved at the end of the episode
([3]), Emelye’s last sentence runs “you tell them it [Paul’s autobiography] is not finished yet”
(Marchant), from which it is possible to conclude that the (love-)story between Paul and
Emelye will continue in a next episode. The fourth and fifth aspects of the genre are
30
interrelated in “The Knight’s Tale,” because Paul and Ace are in prison ([5]) and they both
fall in love with the same woman ([4]), who they cannot be with ([4]) as she is their teacher in
prison (Marchant). Thus, as four out of five aspects apply to Marchant’s appropriation it can
best be characterized as belonging to the genre of drama series.
It is always difficult to retrace the choices made in an appropriation process. The main
reason for the choice of a drama series is probably the importance of the love plot in the
original story, which has been appropriated from the original. If Marchant would have chosen
to write an action series, he would have been required to appropriate his version even further
away from Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale, because the main plot, namely the love plot, would lose
part of its importance. Another reason for his choice for a drama series can possibly be found
in the context of his appropriation. Ben Singer claims that because of the rise of urbanization,
modern cities became “more crowded, chaotic, socially heterogeneous and stimulating than
ever before” (59) and that “urban modernity entailed an intensification of nervous
stimulation” (61). This ‘intensification of nervous stimulation’ may have led to a preference
for a genre that was fast-moving and revolved around conflict: a drama series.
As a result of the transformation of the genre, several aspects of Chaucer’s Knight’s
Tale have changed in Marchant’s appropriation. Of the aspects of the original Romance genre,
only two did apply to the episode of the TV series. As “The Knight’s Tale” episode also deals
with the love of Palamon (Paul) and Arcite (Ace) for Emelye, it partly upholds the third
aspect of the Romance genre because “[the] plot [is] concerned with [courtly] love or
chivalry” (Cooper, Oxford Guide, 63). Cooper’s fourth feature, concerning happy endings,
also applies to the appropriation: When Emelye visits Paul in prison in the last scene, she
refers to their on-going contact as a relationship: “(…) isn’t it the test of this relationship
would be what happens at the end of your sentence (…)?” (Marchant).
31
Conversely, Marchant removed several romantic features in his appropriation and
added dramatic parts in order to create his dramatic genre. On the one hand, Marchant
modernised the characters of Palamon and Arcite, excluded the character of Theseus and
omitted the entire tournament as described by Chaucer. Consequently, the modern
appropriation no longer deals with knights, kings and the romantic concepts of tournament
and ‘gentilesse.’ On the other hand, Marchant added extra dramatic conflict in the respective
storylines of his TV series episode. Whereas in the original story Palamon and Arcite do not
have any direct contact with Emelye, the biggest part of the modern appropriation deals with
the direct contact Paul and Ace have with Emelye. This direct contact adds another layer of
drama to the story, because that what Paul and Ace want the most is literally in front of their
eyes, i.e. the scene in which Paul comes to talk to Emelye about his project (Marchant 13.37),
and the scene in which Ace implicitly, with his choice of words and tone of voice, declares his
love to Emelye (Marchant 23.50) and the next scene in which Paul explicitly shows his
interest in Emelye (Marchant 24.37) (Marchant).
In addition, Marchant adds additional conflict to the drama series episode in Emelye’s
storyline. When Paul escapes from prison, Emelye wants to look for him and consequently,
she has a conflict with her boyfriend (Marchant 35.36), after which she leaves and asks Ace
for help to find Paul. Ace, however, is hurt because Emelye has come for Paul and he gets
upset (Marchant 37.41). The following scene ends in a climax, when Emelye runs into Paul
just when she is leaving Ace (Marchant 39.56): While Paul is angry as he thinks she chose
Ace over him, Ace has followed her and is enraged when he sees Emelye with Paul, resulting
in a fight between the Paul and Ace, only to be broken up by the arrival of the police
(Marchant). This follow-up of conflicting situations is representative for a drama series (Ellis
154).
32
5. Conclusions
This study has given an account of, and a reason for, the changes made in form and genre in
an early adaptation and a modern appropriation of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale. In
this thesis, Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale has been considered the ‘original’ text to which the
adaptations were compared. The chosen adaptations were John Fletcher and William
Shakespeare’s play The Two Noble Kinsmen and Tony Marchant’s drama series episode “The
Knight’s Tale.” The discussed texts and results are presented in the following table:
Table 1: Results of the socio-historical analysis of adaptations of Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale
Author
The Knight’s Tale
The Two Noble Kinsmen “The Knight’s Tale”
Geoffrey Chaucer
John Fletcher and
Tony Marchant
William Shakespeare
Publishing year
1380-1390
1634
2003
Considered as
the original
an early adaptation
a modern appropriation
Form
Verse
Play
TV series
Genre
Chivalric Romance
Tragicomedy
Drama
In Table 1 an overview is given of the timeframes in which the adaptations have been
written, their form and their genre. As every story is influenced by an earlier text (Genette),
the aim of this investigation was to assess how the form and genre of Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale
was transformed in adaptations over time. The relevance of this study is clearly visible in
Table 1 as it shows that Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale has been a source of inspiration for writers
up until the twenty-first century. In addition, not only the form of Chaucer’s Tale, but also the
genre has been subjacent to change in adaptations over time. These changes were traced back
to the respective socio-historical backgrounds of the adaptations.
33
To recapitulate, Shakespeare and Fletcher have changed the form of the story to a
play, because during the period in which their adaptation was written, theatre had just
emerged and was the predominant medium for storytelling. In addition, they have turned the
genre into a tragicomedy, congruently to the classical roots of the story, the influences of the
English Renaissance and the Jacobean era, in which tragedies were to be taken lightly.
Subsequently, Tony Marchant has changed Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale from Middle English
romantic verse to a Modern English drama series, as a result of the period in which he wrote
his appropriation. In his version of Chaucer’s Tale, Marchant moved further away from the
original and he showed no direct reference in his story to its origin. Therefore, Marchant’s
“The Knight’s Tale” can best be seen as an appropriation. He transformed the form and genre
of the original story with the context of the twenty-first century in mind. In modern England,
television has become the principal medium for ‘telling’ stories and thereby, his appropriation
had to adhere to the new “intense” and “nervous” society (Singer, B. 59, 61).
Although this thesis examined an early adaptation and a modern appropriation of a
single source text, there are some conclusions that can be drawn. Although Geoffrey
Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale has been transported and adapted into two very different timeframes,
by different authors, and has been changed accordingly, the adaptations still maintained some
of the romantic aspects of the original story. The evidence from this study suggests that every
story preserves some aspects of the original genre of its ‘“hypotext” (Genette), no matter how
far it may be removed from its origin. Nonetheless, this dissertation also showed that every
“hypertext” (Genette) will be influenced by the author and his socio-historical background
while being adapted (Sanders 3). Moreover, the findings in this study suggest that of the two
researched concepts, form and genre, form will be most subjacent to change in an adaptation.
However, as this study has only examined two adaptations of one text, it is recommended that
further research be conducted in this area.
34
Considerable more work will need to be done to determine what aspects have changed
in adaptations of Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale over time. Although the current study produced
some valuable insights, these will have to be analysed more thoroughly through the
examination of other adaptations of Chaucer’s Tale in diverse socio-historical contexts. In
addition, whereas this study only explored the areas of form and concept, a comparable
investigation could focus, for example, on how the concepts of ‘fate’ and ‘fortune’ have
transformed in adaptations over time. Likewise, it would be interesting to find out to what
extent the romantic ‘chivalric virtues’ are represented in non-romantic adaptations as this
thesis only studied the change of ‘gentilesse’ as described by Cooper in The Oxford Guide to
Chaucer (63).
As a final suggestion, the adaptation by Baba Brinkman should be recommended as a
subject of research to any scholar studying Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale or his Canterbury Tales.
In her version of The Canterbury Tales, Brinkman has transported the original text to a
modern rap version, in which she uses a combination of modernised medieval English and
colloquial modern English. This is for instance illustrated in the following fragment in which
Arcite responds to Palamon who has judged him for loving Emelye (Brinkman 94-99):
Arcite laughed as if touched, with a covered smirk:
“In other words, since you loved her first,
I’m supposed to pretend like it doesn’t hurt,
And I’m not even allowed to covet her,
When I’m the one who suffers worst.
Why should I thirst, while my brother flirts?”
To be continued…
35
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