In what ways, and to what effect, do ‘The Knight’s Tale’ and The Tempest portray the exercise of authority?

Abstract

This essay explores the portrayal of authority in various forms, whether patriarchal, moral, or religious, in both the medieval Christian context of Chaucer's poem 'A Knight's Tale' and that of Shakespeare's The Tempest, a renaissance play with more humanist sensibilities. By discussing Theseus' subjugation of female characters like Emelye and Ypolita and the unchecked power he exerts over the natural world in the former, it argues that his character is emblematic of an archetype defined by notions of chivalry. Nonetheless, these rigid binaries are complicated by the poet's mingling of the pagan setting, and the inclusion of roman gods as characters who intervene in the central earthly conflict, with Christian theology. On the other hand, Shakespeare blurs the boundaries within authoritarian hierarchies by exploring a morally perverse society in which his characters subvert their archetypal roles. In particular, Miranda is contrasted with Chaucer's Emelye on account of her more active role in the play, Prospero's relationship with Ariel and Caliban demonstrates the nature of his grey moral authority, and Shakespeare's use of stagecraft and meta-theatrical elements is interpreted as serving to highlight the authority which playwrights themselves exert and confer.