Chretien de Troyes and Christ Imagery

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the relevance of Christian imagery or allegory to the main characters in "The Knight with the Lion", "The Knight of the Cart", and "Perceval", all written by Chretien de Troyes. The paper examines the thesis that the Christ allegory is increasingly removed from the main character as that character becomes more Christ-like in stature.

From the Paper:

"Throughout literary history, allegory has been an important tool in giving authors' messages an added level of legitimacy. The act of decoding a subtle message gives it that much more of an impact than a bluntly stated literal message. There is, however, an essential problem with the use of allegory; "in effect allegory seems trapped between constraint and license: unable to lift its anchor, on the one hand, and liable to go adrift on the other." Allegory can be neither completely literal nor completely abstract."

More papers on Chretien de Troyes and Christ Imagery:

• Analytical Essay # 16384 : "Chretien De Troyes' "Lancelot: The Knight of the Cart."
• Book Review # 73864 : "Christ Imagery in "The Old Man and the Sea"
• Analytical Essay # 20539 : "The Knight with the Lion' ( Chretien De Troyes )"

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