Canterbury Tales the Squire: Love and Loss

Love and Loss

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales in “The Squire’s Tale” the Squire is the hopeless romantic. “A lover and cadet, a lad of fire” (Chaucer 5). His passion for the love of other is overwhelming. Throughout the tale different type of romances were explored. No matter if you were a bird or person dealing with a broken heart, finding love, and defining your meaning of romance is a challenge. Romance has evolved very little though the modernization of romantic tales has altered the view of traditional romantic values. King Cambuskan of Tartary was brave, lenient, and wise; everything you can ever want in a king. The young great king had two sons named Algarsyff and Cambalo and a daughter named Canace. In the midst of a celebration a mysterious Knight burst into the image. He rode in on a bronze horse and carried a huge mirror. He wore a golden ring and had a naked sword saddle to his side. After introducing himself as Gawain, he exposed his true reason for being there. He was sent by the king of Araby in honor of the king’s celebration. There were four magical gifts a bronze horse, a mirror, a sword, and a ring. The bronze horse had the power of teleportation. The mirror can predict the thoughts of the king’s enemies and friends. The third gift was the sword which had the ability to cut through the strongest armor and heal wounds with a single touch, and finally the golden ring which gave the wearer the ability to understand birds. The mirror and the ring were gifted to the king’s daughter. The next working Canace went for a walk wearing her newly gifted ring. The ring gave meaning to the beautiful music sung by the birds, so when she heared the heartrending sounds from the falcon she is able to empathize. Canace finds out that the falcon’s lover the hawk left her for a kite. During a battle the magical horse and sword bestowed upon Cambuskan’s sons gave them the ability to overcome many obstacles. The tale is never finished. Even though the tale was left unfinished the Franklin takes time to praise the Squire for his narration. Chaucer may have intended to leave the tale unfinished so the reader questions what happens next.
Romance is a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love. Whether your feelings towards love are negative or positive also depends on whether you believe in the power of love. There is no determining who you romance with because love is unpredictable. No one would have ever predicted that the hawk would have fall in love with a kite, but that’s how the cookie crumbled. It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but romance is no different. I may believe that romance starts with an unselfish bond, yet someone else could be under the impression that romance is what you can benefit from the person who romances you. The Squire has an undeniable connection with romance. He lives his life as if one day he will find his soul mate. The Squire definitely embodies the true meaning of romance. There are many reasons why “The Squire’s Tale” falls under the category of a chivalric romance. The story of love can last forever. The tale doesn’t end because love is unpredictable and love itself never ends. There is no such thing as a happily ever after so therefore there is no ending to the story. For this same kite my love was clean forgot, And thus he broke his faith in foul delight And thus my love is servant to a kite And I am lost and there’s no remedy(Chaucer 406).
Although the love story between the falcon and the hawk ended with a broken heart, it truly reflects the superficial romance in today’s society. People tend to leave the ones they truly love for what seems more appealing, but what is appealing now will eventually fade away. There is a difference between real love and infatuation. In the relationship between the falcon and the hawk, the falcon expressed real love towards the hawk yet the hawk was infatuated with a kite. The Squire pushes for real love, a romance not infatuation. The chance of a romance lasting in today’s society is the same percentage of a romance lasting in the fourteenth century.
The Squire lacks the obvious maturity of his father, the Knight. When narrating the Squire’s rhythm isn’t natural, they’re either “too forcefully elaborate or too systematically simple” (Jones). Throughout the tale there is a lack of narrative description which can leave the reader confused. The Squire has a unique form that differs from all other pilgrims. Even though his narration isn’t as mature and his rhythm is choppy, throughout the tale you get a real sense of the Squire and how he interprets situations. Each line has a different meaning that coincides with feelings that we are able to empathize with. “[T]he Squire as a poet who is, as yet, unable to control and contain such complex rhymes, Chaucer identifies a pervasive anxiety which may accompany an author/poet as he learns the craft of balancing his rhyme scheme.”(Jones). The Squire narration reveals him as a young immature man. He has great pressure to live up to the expectations of his father. When the Squire finally perfects his craft he will be a great poet. The Franklin follows by saying: Your power,’ said the Franklin. ‘For a youth, You speak most feelingly, and that’s the truth; In my opinion there is no one here Will equal you in eloquence, or near (Chaucer 407)
The Squire is the son of the knight, and as such he is very familiar with chivalric mannerisms. Because of this the Squire is more prone to tell tales of chivalric romance. There is, however, a deeper connection between the story and its teller. The story seems to directly reflect the Squire’s personality. The Squire and the falcon are both hopeless romantics. Even though the Squire comes across as an arrogant player he eventually wants to find his soul mate. Much like the Squire the falcon is now love deprived. The Squire pursues a new love while the falcon is forced to deal with a broken heart and the loss of a love. Is it for grief in death, or loss of love?
For as I think these have the greatest part
Among the sorrows of a noble heart (Chaucer 401).
One of the greatest tests in life is whether you’ve fallen in love. No wonder the first two questions Canace ask were about death and love. Without love in your life, your life is practically meaningless. When the falcon loss her love she inflicted pain on herself, because she couldn’t live without him. The Squire may not go to the extent of inflicted pain on himself but he does live for find a soul mate.
Chaucer’s made the Squire an easy choice for reticule. Unlike the Knight, Chaucer does not have the same respect for the Squire. Although the Squire was a member of the feudal class he did not live a humble life like that of a future Knight “With locks as curly as if they had been pressed.” (Chaucer 5), you would never have guessed that he would one day be a Knight. Chaucer attempted to make the Squire more complex. Everything about the Squire is ironic from his perception of love compared to other men of his time and his ability to empathize with stricken lovers (Hardman).
“…the Squire’s Tale respectively: one analyses the relationship of bereavement, grief, and compassion, while the other brings under scrutiny the pain of abandonment and betrayal” (Hardman).There are several emotion that affect the outcome of the Squire’s tale. Pity and compassion are similar definitions but also completely different. “…the Squire’s Tale as a “dual form” combining complaint and narrative, observes that the falcon is “presented as an image of violent sorrow” and the Canace is placed “in a stance of pity,” a relationship that provides the context of the complaint” (Hardman). In this case Chaucer created the teller so we have a way of empathizing with the tale. We are able to distinguish pity from compassion.
The unfinished tale suggests that closure in romantic relationships doesn’t exist. Romance within society has not changed only the perception of it has been altered due to the modernization of society.

Work Cited

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. London: Penguin Classics, 1951. Print.

Hardman, Phillipa. "Chaucer 's Man of Sorrows: secular images of pity in the 'Book of the
Duchess, ' the 'Squire 's Tale, ' and 'Troilus and Criseyde. ' (Geoffrey Chaucer)." The Journal of English and Germanic Philology 93.2 (1994): 204+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Oct. 2011.

Jones, Lindsey M. "Chaucer 's anxiety of poetic craft: the Squire 's Tale." Style Fall 2007: 300+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Oct. 2011.

Cited: Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. London: Penguin Classics, 1951. Print. Hardman, Phillipa. "Chaucer 's Man of Sorrows: secular images of pity in the 'Book of the Duchess, ' the 'Squire 's Tale, ' and 'Troilus and Criseyde. ' (Geoffrey Chaucer)." The Journal of English and Germanic Philology 93.2 (1994): 204+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. Jones, Lindsey M. "Chaucer 's anxiety of poetic craft: the Squire 's Tale." Style Fall 2007: 300+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Oct. 2011.