The Squire's Tale
"The Squire's Tale" is a tale in
The original source of the tale remains unknown.[1] According to some critics the source of the tale is The Arabian Nights.[2]
Plot
A subplot of the tale deals with Canace and her ring. Eagerly rising the next morning, she goes on a walk and discovers a grieving
The second part ends with a promise of more to come involving Genghis Khan's sons and the quest of Cambalo to win Canace as his wife. When the Squire briefly describes the third part of the story that he is about to tell, there is a hint that in it Canace and her brothers will commit incest,[5] as happens in John Gower's version of the story.[6] However, it is unlikely that Chaucer intended to finish the tale. Instead the Franklin breaks into the beginning of the third section with elaborate praise of the Squire's gentility—the Franklin being something of a social climber—and proceeds to his own tale.
Criticism and continuations
Early critics were admiring of the Squire's tale. John Milton was convinced that Chaucer had intended to conclude it. Authors of the Elizabethan period, including Edmund Spenser, used characters from the tale in their own works; some, like John Lane, wrote complete continuations of it.[7]
In general, modern critics have not paid it much attention, and consider it Chaucer's way of poking gentle fun at the young Squire's love of romance literature, which frequently contains somewhat pretentious digressions, and his lack of narrative self-control. Compared to the tale told by his father, the Knight, which is formal, serious, and complete, the rambling and fantastical story shows the Squire's inexperience. Some critics see the gifts as symbolic of the powers of poetry, which the Squire is still learning to use.
There is no clear source for the story, which is a collection of ideas and themes from many romances, as befits the Squire, a lover of such literature. The extravagant details on Eastern kingdoms come from the
Notes and references
- ^ Michael Delahoyde, Washington State University. Accessed 14 October 2015
- ^ Narayan Gangopadhyay Rachanabali, volume 11, page 357
- ISBN 978-0-19-955209-2.
- ISBN 9780520034921.
- )
- ^ II 78-9
- ^ Furnivall, FJ, ed. (1890) [1888]. Continuation of Chaucer's Squire's Tale. Ch Soc. Sec. Ser 23, 26.
See also
- The Ebony Horse – Folk tale of the Arabian Nights