Slavery and Freedom in the Knight's Tale In the Knight's Tale, the lives of Palamon and Arcite are filled with adversity and slavery. Not only do they live in physical captivity, tied like prisoners of war in a tower, but they fall into the captivity of Love, which leads them to suffer the decrees of the cruel classics. Cooper writes that "there can be no moral or metaphysical justice in the different fates that befall them; yet one dies miserably wounded, while the other lives out his life with Emily 'with alle blisse'" (76). Their fates could be compared to those of Jacob and Esau: one is blessed and the other cursed so that God's providence may exist. This essay will argue (1) that although Palamon and Arcite are enslaved as prisoners of war, prisoners of love and prisoners of Saturn's decree, both knights are still responsible for their actions, and (2) that Arcite's death brings unity and restores order to Athens. Palamon and Arcite are introduced into the tale as the only two surviving knights of Creon's army. Once found by the scavengers, they are brought before Theseus and he sends them to "dwell in prison/Perpetuelly" (1023-4). It is through their physical imprisonment in the "chembre an heigh" (1065) that leads them to see Emily and fall into Love's captivity. But Cupid's imprisonment works on Palamon and Arcite in different ways. Arcite "falls in love with her irresistibly, by natural necessity...[while for Palamon,] Emelye's love is a matter of choice rather than nature, as evidenced by her repeated request that Arcite simply stop loving her (1142-43 , 1593-95, 1731)" (Roney 62). But even though their vision of love is different, they are...... middle of paper... Elbow, Peter. “How Chaucer Transcends Oppositions in the Knight's Tale.” Review of Chaucer. vol. 7. No. 2. Ed. Roberto Frank. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University, 1972. Finalyson, John. "The Knight's Tale: The Dialogue Between Romanticism, Epic and Philosophy". Review of Chaucer. vol. 27. No. 2. Ed. Roberto Frank. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University, 1992. Frost, William. "An Interpretation of Chaucer's Knight's Tale." Criticism of Chaucer. vol. 1. Ed. Richard Schoeck. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1960.Miller, Robert. Chaucer: sources and backgrounds. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.Roney, Lois. Chaucer's Knight's Tale and the theories of school psychology. Tampa: University of South Florida Press, 1990.Spearing, A.C. The Knight's Tale. London: Cambridge University Press, 1966.