#mostly just that shakespeare invented hippolyta and emilia convincing theseus to go to thebes | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

suits-of-woe · 4 years

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I’m reading Chaucer’s “The Knight’s Tale” and I knew that was the source for Two Noble Kinsmen and I knew vaguely what era it was supposed to be set but I never put two and two together until now that Palamon and Arcite’s tyrant uncle is fucking CREON, like from Antigone. This fact has rocked my world. (Edit: I just went back and they DO say his name in the play, I just haven’t revisited it in a hot minute and never noticed)

I kind of assumed that Creon had learned his lesson about the whole desecrating prominent people’s dead bodies thing and had a depressing but peaceful reign after that but APPARENTLY NOT.

#i'm ?????#i guess i hadn't read antigone when i first read tnk #granted i'm not sure if chaucer is altering the myth #maybe the queens (and duchesses in his version) are supposed to like stand in for antigone?#or creon just REALLY likes leaving bodies out to rot and never learns #i'll keep you posted if anything else exciting happens #chaucer is interesting but takes a long time to read #and i feel like it would be even worse if i hadn't read so many early modern works #not too many differences between the story and the play so far though #mostly just that shakespeare invented hippolyta and emilia convincing theseus to go to thebes #chaucer's theseus is a Very Chivalric and needs no convincing #two noble kinsmen #antigone #mine #this is niche sorry

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