The Iliad, The Knight’s Tale
Although both the Iliad and the Knight’s Tale depict heroism, the depiction of heroism is different in context. In the Iliad, there is heroism emanating from the intervention of the deities. The gods are involved in war and also in aggression. This is totally different from the knight’s tale since there is no involvement of gods. War is taken to be a glorifying thing in the Iliad (Wilson 10) which is different in the knight’s tale. The knight’s tale does not in any way encourage fighting as a way of becoming a hero, but war is taken as a way of becoming a hero in the Iliad. Because of the fighting involved in the Iliad, warriors are taken as heroes; however, this is different in the Knight’s tale since there is no involvement of war and warriors do not participate in becoming heroes. The fighting in the Iliad is a depiction of what fighters can do in becoming heroes (Wilson 16), but in the knight’s tale, individuals do not engage in fighting which is a depiction that individuals do not have to fight in order to become heroes. Therefore, warfare is taken as a common thing in becoming a hero in the Iliad, but it is not in the knight’s tale. Besides, in the Iliad, there the involvement of various individuals that become heroes; however, this is different in the knight’s tale since there is the involvement of a few individuals that become heroes (Bloom 22). In the Iliad, military glory is viewed as a stabling thing in becoming a hero; hence, military fighters are viewed as heroes, but this is not the case in the knight’s tale.
Works Cited
Wilson, Donna F. Ransom, Revenge, and Heroic Identity in the Iliad. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print.
Bloom, Harold. Geoffrey Chaucer. New York: Bloom’s Literary Criticism, 2008. Internet resource.