THE SQUIRE’S TALE
Summary
The Squire starts his tale which concerns a Kingdom in the land of Tartary.
The King Cambuskan is to be married and he orders a lavish
celebration. An unknown Knight appears at the celebrations with gifts from his Lord the King of India and Araby.
He has a brass horse that can fly higher than any known creature.
He has a mirror which provides the owner with details of what his friends and enemies are thinking. He has another gift in the form of a ring which enables the bearer to understand the languages of creatures.
The last gift is a sword that will cut through anything.
The Franklin interrupts the story and insists on telling his own.
Although impressed by the Squire’s eloquence, it is clear that he intends to use the tale to impress the company concerning his experience in traveling in these far off places.
Interpretation
All this passage does is infuriate the reader because he never discovers how
the tale finishes. The Squire risked boring the listeners with his detailed description of King Cambuskan’s world, much as the Knight did in his tale.
Perhaps Chaucer felt he did not have the time to finish such an elaborate
tale and give it justice.
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