Book contents
- Frontmatter
- 1 The social and literary scene in England
- 2 Chaucer’s French inheritance
- 3 Chaucer’s Italian inheritance
- 4 Old books brought to life in dreams
- 5 Telling the story in Troilus and Criseyde
- 6 Chance and destiny in Troilus and Criseyde and the Knight’s Tale
- 7 The Legend of Good Women
- 8 The Canterbury Tales
- 9 The Canterbury Tales I
- 10 The Canterbury Tales II
- 11 The Canterbury Tales III
- 12 The Canterbury Tales IV
- 13 Literary structures in Chaucer
- 14 Chaucer’s style
- 15 Chaucer’s presence and absence, 1400-1550
- 16 New approaches to Chaucer
- 17 Further reading
- Index
- Series List
6 - Chance and destiny in Troilus and Criseyde and the Knight’s Tale
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 May 2006
- Frontmatter
- 1 The social and literary scene in England
- 2 Chaucer’s French inheritance
- 3 Chaucer’s Italian inheritance
- 4 Old books brought to life in dreams
- 5 Telling the story in Troilus and Criseyde
- 6 Chance and destiny in Troilus and Criseyde and the Knight’s Tale
- 7 The Legend of Good Women
- 8 The Canterbury Tales
- 9 The Canterbury Tales I
- 10 The Canterbury Tales II
- 11 The Canterbury Tales III
- 12 The Canterbury Tales IV
- 13 Literary structures in Chaucer
- 14 Chaucer’s style
- 15 Chaucer’s presence and absence, 1400-1550
- 16 New approaches to Chaucer
- 17 Further reading
- Index
- Series List
Summary
At a crucial moment in Book ii of Troilus and Criseyde, Criseyde is left alone to reflect on Pandarus's astonishing revelation that Troilus is dying with love for her. And as chance would have it, at this very moment Troilus rides past her window.
But as she sat allone and thoughte thus,
Ascry aros at scarmuch al withoute,
And men criden in the strete, ‘Se, Tr
Hath right now put to flighte the Grekes route!’
With that gan al hire meyne for to shoute,
‘A, go we se! Cast up the yates wyde!
For thorwgh this strete he moot to paleys ride;
For other wey is fro the yate noon
Of Dardanus, there opyn is the cheyne.’
With that com he and al his folk anoon
An esy pas rydyng, in routes tweyne,
Right as his happy day was, sooth to seyne,
For which, men seyn, may nought destourbed be
That shal bityden of necessitee.
(610–23)- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Companion to Chaucer , pp. 93 - 111Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004
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