"Wood Leoun" . . . "Crueel Tigre": Animal Imagery and Metaphor in "The Knight's Tale"

<p>The people of the Middle Ages believed animals were disconnected from themselves in terms of ability to reason and ability to resist passions. Humans and animals were created by God, but he bestowed man with a soul and the ability to resist earthly delights. When men were described in terms of their bestial counterparts it was conventionally meant to highlight some derogatory aspect of that character. Chaucer makes use of the animal-image throughout The Canterbury Tales, especially in "The Knight's Tale," to stress a break in each character from humane reason or to emphasize a lean towards a bestial nature. The degree of this departure is showcased in the ferocity of the animal-image in question and the behavior and nature of the character, i.e. the animals of a more timid nature or neutral standing highlight a much less negative nature than the ferocious predators present in the battle scenes.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis-Restricted

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Year

2011

Author dc:creator

• LaBurre, Jennifer

Contributors dc:contributor

• Marti, Kevin
• Verner, Lisa
• Gonzalez, Daniel

• Canterbury Tales
• Geoffrey Chaucer
• "The Knight's Tale
• " Animal Metaphor
• Animal Imagery
• Bestiary
• Arcite
• Palamon
• Theseus
• Emelye

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/125

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.uno.edu:td-1124