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The General Prologue and The Kingdom of Heaven In this paper we will compare similarities and contrast differences between Chaucer's The General Prologue and movie Kingdom of Heaven by Ridley Scott, which was released in 2005. Even though that the genres of analyzed pieces are very different, Chaucer's poem and the movie are filled with the same spirit. Characters behavior is motivated by the same reasons and the action itself takes place takes place during the Middle Ages. This period of history is strongly associated with the Crusades, which played very important role in shaping up the spiritual foundations of Western civilization.
The General Prologue is basically a description of religious pilgrims from different niches of English contemporary society, who gather is tavern, before continuing their pilgrimage to Canterbury to pay tribute to Saint Thomas Becket. Poems main idea is that, despite the fact that described characters are very different; they are nevertheless united by their idealism. This correlates to the fact that during the time of Crusades, the national borders ceased to exist in Europe. People of all ranks joined crusaders not because of their unshakable belief in Christian dogma, but because they strived towards adventures, while wanting to serve the ideals of higher good, such as justice, military valor and beauty. Only people who are able to operate with abstract categories, while taking them close to heart, can create culture. One of the most striking similarities between The Kingdom of Heaven and The General Prologue is that both: movie and the poem contain the characters of knight and his son, who personificate the noblest psychological qualities, such as unselfishness, readiness to sacrifice, courage and truthfulness.
Godfrey of Ibelin is shown in exactly the same way that Chaucer portrays his Knight: A Knight there was and that a worthy man That from the time that he first began To ride out, he loved chivalry, Truth and honour, freedom and courtesy (Chaucer, 45) Godfrey is distinguished and wealthy knight, yet he behaves in most humble manner. He teaches his son Balien to: Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Safeguard the helpless, even if it leads to your death. Thus, both characters demonstrate that Christian faith for them was nothing but a wrapping paper, for what they believed deep inside. Knights son reminds us a Balien of Ibelin, who is shown as both: sensual and courageous. Unlike his father, he is more influenced by worldly matters, but this can be explained by his young age.
He is more passionate than his father, but he is just as committed to truth and justice: He slept no more than does a nightingale. Courteous he was, lowly and serviceable, And carved before his father at the table (Chaucer, 100) It seems that reading The General Prologue served as an inspiration for movies producer Ridley Scott, because there are too many similarities between the characters of knight in his son in the poem and screenplay. There are also other characters in Chaucer's poem, who we can undoubtedly relate to movies heroes. For example, Chaucer tells us about Friar, which he describes as someone whose continuous theological studies caused him to start doubting many of Christian concepts.
The reason why he embarked on his journey is because he needed to interrupt his intellectualizing, in order to regain his faith. Still, it is very doubtful whether Friar is going to find an inner peace, because he understands that dogmatic notions have nothing to do with objective reality. Here how Chaucer describes his philosophy: For many a man so hard is of his heart, He may not weep though that he sore smart. Therefore, instead of weeping and [of] prayers Men may give silver to the poore frere's (Chaucer, 230) Friar can be compared to the character of Hospitalier in Scotts movie.
Hospitalier has lost his belief in Christian dogma, but it did not deprive him of his decency. In fact, it made him better as person. It is the religious fanaticism that he considers to be the root of all evils: I put no stock in religion. By the word religion I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will of god. I have seen too much religion in the eyes of too many murderers. The character of Tiberias in The Kingdom of Heaven has also its counterpart in Chaucer's poem, which is represented to us as Sergeant of Law.
Tiberias is educated individual, who tries to maintain social peace in Jerusalem. This peace is being continually undermined by religious fanatics, who take Bibles nonsense literally. Chaucer's Sergeant reminds us this character: A Sergeant of the law, warrant wise That often have been at the Paris There was also, full rich of excellence. Discreet he was and of great reverence (Chaucer, 310) It has been often suggested that Crusaders were nothing but religious extremists, who were only being driven by their greed.
This, of course, is far from truth. Both The Kingdom of Heaven and The General Prologue agree on this. They promote the idea that medieval concept of chivalry derives from the core of European culture, which is highly idealistic in its nature. It is the ability to abstract conceptualizing that allowed White men to establish its undisputed dominance over the whole world, up until recently. The characters of Scotts movie and Chauser's poem are driven by the same desire to serve the ideas that are higher than themselves.
It is this quality that brings them closer to God and not scrawny little man, nailed to the cross. There are many more similarities can be found about the movie and poem. However, we can also point out to some differences. First of all, Chaucer's poem is static, while The Kingdom of Heaven is very dynamic movie, filled with action. Therefore, we can say that the essence The General Prologue is ideologically-descriptive, while Scotts movie is ideologically-promoting.
Chaucer poem takes place within a familiar European setting. The Kingdom of Heaven, on the other hand, tell us about what happens when Christian values are being forcibly enforced upon people in foreign lands. The characters in The General Prologue are deprived of psychological depth. Chaucer simply describes them in epic manner.
Basically, they meant to serve as earthly embodiments of certain virtues. This is why; Chaucer's characters appear to be one-dimensional. We get to know about who they are, because author tells us of their deeds in the past. However, they do not act outside of the boundaries, prescribed to them by Chaucer. In The Kingdom of Heave, characters are being psychologically developed, throughout the movie.
Balien, for example, often acts in the most unexpected manner, when it comes to fighting or pursuing a love affair. Viewers are being kept in suspense, right to the end of the movie, because its outcome remains unclear. To conclude this paper we will need to emphasize one more time why it was appropriate to compare these two seemingly unrelated works. This is because the works of art, literature and cinematography are meant to convey a certain message. If they embark on serving the purpose of entertainment alone, this signifies the beginning of their decline. Chaucer's poem and Scotts movie help us to understand better the hidden motivations behind the development of Western civilization, as we know it.
Basically, we can say that both works are essentially the same set of ideas, expressed in different forms. But it is the essence of object that defines its true nature and not the form. The Kingdom of Heaven and The General Prologue show that peoples idealism is the most important precondition for the rise of culture and civilization.
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