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The master mined and mimed: Shakespeare's use of Chaucer in "The Two Noble Kinsmen"
Abstract
Traditional scholarship has relegated Shakespeare's adaptation of Chaucer's "The Knight's Tale" to a position among the least of his works and has even denied his authorship of portions of the play, ascribing them to John Fletcher most often. However, a close reading of The Two Noble Kinsmen in light of Shakespeare's treatment of Chaucerian materials in other plays, and with an understanding of social conditions and political programs in the court of King James, reveals the drama to be an adaptation which shows coherence of design and deep appreciation of Chaucer's intentions and eikastic scheme in The Canterbury Tales. Shakespeare's alterations of his source reflect stage exigencies and changes in custom and political climate. Providing a mirror for his Stuart monarch just as Chaucer flatters and instructs Richard II, Shakespeare praises King James for his familial interpretations of monarchy, for his opposition to duelling, and for his defense of popular pastimes. At the same time the play points at problems in the Jacobean court: the unilateral character of the monarchy and its preoccupation with fashion and favorites. Shakespeare provides role models in Emilia and Theseus for instructing King James, his family, and his court about the need to respond to counsel, the advantages of politically channelled eros, and the obligations to serve the common good. In the subplot of The Two Noble Kinsmen, Shakespeare generalizes beyond the court to instruct the populace in responsible behavior, especially the obligations of legitimate love, just as Chaucer expands the scope of the Knight's tale in tales told by the Miller and Reeve. My conclusion is that Shakespeare understands Chaucer fully, is faithful to his philosophy, and is no more cynical than he took Chaucer to be. Shakespeare turns Chaucer's explication into action, converts his description into character, and translates into stage idiom what Chaucer narrates. In intention and effect, if not in method, Shakespeare is perfectly faithful to his medieval master.
Subject Area
British and Irish literature
Recommended Citation
Holland, Nancy Bernhardt, "The master mined and mimed: Shakespeare's use of Chaucer in "The Two Noble Kinsmen"" (1987). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8803753.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8803753