Knoetze, Retha. “Social Flux in the Knight’s Tale: Chaucer’s Fourteenth-Century Reworking of a Romance.” English Academy Review, vol. 34, no. 1, 2017, pp. 85-98.
Knoetze argues that the Knight’s Tale reflects a narrator who admires the important role of the nobility, and yet is working to adapt to the changing societal expectations that are outside of his control. During Chaucer’s time, “the chivalric worldview was coming under threat” (92), however “the Knight himself ultimately upholds traditional ideas about political and economic power, class structure and gender roles, stressing that individuals should accept the subjugation of their desires to the will of the ruler” (95). Knoetze’s reading focuses on the Knight, who is socially aware enough to understand that the role of the aristocracy has changed substantially over his lifetime, and yet reasonable enough to understand that certain aspects of his roles are still needed: most notably compassionate rule, ruling thoughtfully and rationally, and to embrace aspects of change that allow this approach to flourish. Theseus, although imperfect, embraces these characteristics throughout the Knight’s Tale, and becomes the aristocratic template during Chaucer’s to follow or potentially be rendered obsolete.
