Release date is 2005-02-01

Text file produced by Ted Garvin, Charles Franks and the Distributed
Proofreaders Team

HTML file produced by David Widger

"Dryden's Palamon and Arcite," edited by George E. Eliot, is a narrative poem that adapts Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Knight's Tale" from his "Canterbury Tales", with a focus on themes of love, rivalry, and destiny. Written in the late 17th century, it showcases Dryden's poetic craft in translating and reinterpreting classic tales, highlighting the love triangle between the knights Palamon and Arcite, both of whom vie for the affection of the beautiful Emilia. The opening of the poem introduces Theseus, the Duke of Athens, returning home victorious alongside his new bride, Hippolyta, and her sister, Emilia. Upon encountering a group of mourning women, Theseus learns of their plight: they have lost their husbands in battle and are denied proper burial by the tyrant Creon of Thebes. Moved by their suffering, Theseus vows to avenge their wrongs, setting a course for the story's unfolding conflicts. We also meet Palamon and Arcite, two knights captured during the conflict, whose subsequent rivalry for Emilia’s love leads to a series of dramatic encounters shaped by fate and their competing desires. The stage is set for their battle for love and honor, intricately woven into the backdrop of their imprisonment and hopes for freedom. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Original publication data not identified