Parts 3 and 4 of The Knight's Tale provide further evidence of "literature in motion;" Egeus consoles Theseus after Arcite's death by describing life as "a thurghfare ful of wo" in which they are "pilgrymes, passynge to and fro." The pilgrims telling the stories are travelling by foot through literature, and the characters in The Knight's Tale are travelling by foot through life.
The description of the altars in the battle stadium evoke negative images. "Love's servants" experience "sacred tears" and lamenting" instead of the joy and happiness one typically associates with love. I believe there is a message in The Knight's Tale that humans cannot rely on Gods to make their prayers come true. The Gods seem to bring about nothing but trouble in this story, besides Saturn, who ultimately brings Palamon and Emelye together, but who does so through killing Arcite. Mars helps Arcite win the battle, but Arcite only stays married to Emelye for a few days. In fact, Theseus is the final factor in allowing Palamon and Emelye to be together. For these reasons, I believe The Knight's Tale conveys the fact that humans are responsible for their own actions. Is it Chaucer or just the knight telling the tale who believes this?
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