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Act 3, Scene 5
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Two Noble Kinsmen, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Irrationality
Fate, Fortune, and Divine Providence
Chivalry, Honor, and Pride
Friendship
Gender and Power
Summary
Analysis
Palamon emerges from the bush where he’s been hiding. He reflects on the duel he and Arcite will have once Arcite arrives with swords and armors. If Arcite doesn’t bring these supplies, reasons Palamon, “He’s neither man nor soldier.” Now that Palamon has regained his strength, Arcite is a fair enemy once more. Palamon knows he and his cousin must duel soon, lest people think he prefers loafing around and eating to fighting like an honorable soldier.
When Palamon declares that Arcite is “neither man nor soldier” if he returns without the weapons they need to duel, he insults Arcite for not wanting to kill him. He finds it more insulting that Arcite would deny him the chance to defend his honor than if he were to kill him. Palamon’s ludicrous commitment to chivalry shows how seriously knights regarded their sense of duty.
Themes
Arcite arrives. Palamon apologizes for inconveniencing him, but Arcite insists that it “is but a debt to honor and [his] duty.” Palamon tells Arcite he wishes he’d be as honorable a kinsman as he is a foe. Arcite says they’ve done enough talking. He offers to postpone the duel if Palamon hasn’t fully regained his strength, but Palamon insists that he’s ready. The cousins select their weapons and armor, which Arcite admits he stole from Theseus. They banter affectionately with each other as they arm themselves, reminiscing about past battles. Arcite recalls striving to emulate Palamon’s valor and bravery. He offers Palamon the superior sword, but Palamon refuses because Arcite will need it to defend his life.
Like Palamon, Arcite plays the role of the chivalrous knight, reasoning that it’s no inconvenience for him to bring weapons because it “is but a debt to honor,” suggesting that it's his “duty” to do so. Palamon’s wish for Arcite to be as honorable a kinsman as he is a foe refers to his desire for Arcite to admit that he’s wrong to pursue Emilia, who is (according to Palamon) rightly Palamon’s.
Themes
Literary Devices
After the cousins finish arming themselves, they bow and exchange final words. Palamon tells Arcite that they share whatever blood they’ll shed and that he and the gods will forgive Arcite if Arcite kills him. Palamon takes Arcite’s “noble hand.” Next, Arcite tells Palamon to call him a “coward” if he dies. The cousins say goodbye to each other and are about to begin their duel when a horn sounds in the distance.
There is much formality involved in the cousins’ feud. The juxtaposition of the reason for their feud (passion, love, and jealousy) and the courtly execution of their duel is almost comical and highlights the absurdity of their fight. If they can reason their way through all the rules and conventions of the duel, one would think they could rationally take a step back and solve their disagreement without any bloodshed. And yet, they stubbornly insist on going through with the duel because they are so wrapped up in defending their honor. Lastly, Palamon’s remark that the gods will forgive Arcite if he kills Palamon reflects Palamon’s belief in divine Providence. If Palamon loses the battle, Arcite is morally in the clear because Palamon would only lose if the gods wanted it to be that way. Conversely, Arcite’s victory would be a sign that the gods favor him.
Themes
Arcite tells Palamon that the horn signals the approach of Theseus’s hunting party. He orders Palamon to return to his bush to hide, for Theseus will put him to death for escaping prison if he finds him. Palamon refuses, believing Arcite is trying to trick him into abandoning the duel and shaming himself. Arcite tells Palamon he’s crazy, but Palamon doubles down and reminds Arcite that he will kill him for getting in the way of his love for Emilia. Arcite tells Palamon that dying comes as naturally to him as speaking or sleeping, but he worries that if they proceed now, it will be the law that puts them both to death. Regardless, they begin to duel.
Palamon would rather risk being discovered by Theseus—which would most certainly have grave consequences for him, since he’s an escaped prisoner of war—than appear cowardly in front of Arcite. Once more, Palamon demonstrates that he would rather die than wound his pride. Arcite and Palamon argue back and forth, both wanting to appear braver and more chivalrous than the other. Arcite attempts to dissuade Palamon from fighting. He reasons that if they fight now and Theseus discovers them, they risk both of them being put to death by the state rather than by each other, which prevents them from suffering the noble, honorable deaths they desire. But, as per usual, Palamon fails to subdue his passion, and the cousins commence their unsanctioned duel.
Themes
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Just then, Theseus, Hippolyta, Emilia, and Pirithous arrive. When Theseus spots the dueling knights, he calls them traitors and angrily tells them they will die for fighting without his permission. Palamon tells Theseus to hold his breath and comes clean about everything: he and Arcite are traitors, yes, but not how Theseus thinks. He explains that he is Palamon, the escaped prisoner, and he reveals the truth about Arcite pretending to be a lowly servant. Palamon tells Theseus he came here to punish Arcite for his treachery. If Theseus only lets Palamon finish the task of killing Arcite, he will beg Theseus to kill him when the duel ends.
In their efforts to defend their honor, Arcite and Palamon have committed a grave courtly faux pas by engaging in a duel without Theseus’s permission. They are so stubbornly committed to upholding their own honor (and, in turn, vanity) that they end up behaving unchivalrously, which contributes to the absurdity of their feud. What’s more, Palamon would be willing to die for the chance to kill Arcite. The cousins are so invested in preserving their honor, then, that they actively seek out death if it means they can defend their pride.
Themes
When Theseus refuses to relent, Arcite offers some words of his own. Arcite tells Theseus that he and Arcite aren’t looking for mercy. He claims that he only acted disobediently after Palamon denied that he had been an honorable and worthy servant to Emilia, whom he loves. Arcite suggests that Emilia decide whether or not he’s a traitor.
Unlike Palamon, who repeatedly begs for bloodshed if it means a chance to retaliate against his cousin, Arcite seems more conflicted about how far he will go to defend his honor. Here, he seems to exploit Emilia’s merciful nature to spare his own life. Arcite’s strategy is clever since it allows him to live while potentially indebting himself to Emilia and thus pulling one over Palamon.
Themes
Palamon interjects to beg Theseus to show neither of them any mercy. He pleads with Theseus to let them die together, as long as he can kill Arcite slightly earlier so he can be sure Arcite never has Emilia. Theseus honors Palamon’s request, citing the undeserved mercy he showed Arcite by freeing him after the cousins initially committed the same crime.
Palamon interferes with Arcite’s attempts to manipulate his way out of capital punishment. Palamon’s petty request that Theseus kill them both—but that he kill Arcite slightly sooner—plays for comedic effect and also underscores the extent to which Palamon’s supposedly honorable quest to defend his pride is, at least in part, nothing more than an impassioned, impulsive campaign to get back at Arcite.
Themes
Hippolyta turns to Emilia and pleads with her to show mercy on the men and beg Theseus not to put them to death. Emilia admits that while she doesn’t want the cousins to die, they brought their fates upon themselves. Nevertheless, she resolves to “be woman and have pity.” She asks Hippolyta to stand by her as she calls upon “the powers of all women.” Hippolyta and Emilia take turns addressing Theseus in short, fragmented speech. Pirithous kneels to support the women’s request for Theseus to show the cousins mercy.
Theseus finds some logic to Palamon’s ridiculous request for more bloodshed. In contrast, the women seem more attuned to the senselessness of the situation: even though it’s undeniable that the cousins have dug themselves into a hole, it would be just as easy for Theseus to “have pity” on the cousins and let them go. Emilia’s invocation of “the powers of all women” casts women as naturally more merciful and understanding than men. In calling on “the powers of all women,” Emilia combats Theseus’s harshness with mercy.
Themes
Theseus asks Emilia what she’d suggest as an alternative to killing the cousins. Emilia suggests banishment. However, Theseus fears that if he lets Arcite and Palamon live, they’ll inevitably kill each other over their competing love for Emilia. He suggests that it's better for the cousins to die “by th’ law than one another” and reminds Emilia of the oath he made to put the brothers to death.
Theseus's ethical stance rests on the chivalric notion that it is worse to lose one's honor than die. Therefore, he thinks it's preferable for the brothers to face certain, honorable death in Athens than risk the possibility of dying in a senseless, dishonorable scuffle after being set free and left to their own devices. Even though the former option guarantees bloodshed and the latter does not, Theseus finds the former morally preferable because it actively preserves honor.
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Literary Devices
Emilia reminds Theseus that he made this oath in a state of anger. She also reminds Theseus of the oath made earlier, which has a foundation of love and authority, and which he hadn’t made in a fit of rage: to “ne’er deny [Emilia] anything.” Emilia asks Theseus to uphold this earlier oath and honor her request to spare the cousins. Moreover, she insists that the cousins’ deaths will ruin her reputation in the eyes of the cousins’ mothers and the women who have loved them. Emilia asks Theseus to spare Arcite and Palamon their lives on the condition that they stop fighting over her, never again interfere in Theseus’s kingdom, and remain “ever strangers / To one another.”
Emilia shrewdly uses Theseus’s commitment to the chivalric code to get him to spare Arcite and Palamon. She knows that Theseus’s commitment to chivalry means he will never break an oath. Hence, she cites an oath he made to her earlier in which he promised to grant her a favor. Her specific request that the cousins remain “ever strangers / To one another” means that the cousins should never be allowed to interact with each other again.
Themes
Literary Devices
Palamon dramatically proclaims that he’ll kill himself before taking such an oath and forgetting his love for Emilia. He reaffirms his duty to kill Arcite. Arcite, too, refuses to take the oath. Even though he knows he’ll never end up with Emilia, he’d rather die than be forced to surrender his “honor of affection.” Emilia’s speech instilled some sympathy in Theseus, and the cousins’ refusal to take the new oath leaves him confused about how to move forward. He asks Emilia if she’d be willing to take one of the cousins as her husband if the other were dead. They’re noble princes, after all. The cousins agree, and Theseus proclaims that whomever Emilia refuses must die.
Once more, Palamon and Arcite reject another chance to avoid bloodshed. To both cousins, death is preferable to a wounded ego. Their commitment to chivalry and honor is so exaggerated that their rejection of the newly proposed arrangement puzzles even Theseus, who is the embodiment of chivalry, nobility, and honor. At any rate, it’s clear to everyone that the men are stubbornly committed to preserving their “honor of affection,” so Theseus devises a new plan that allows them to defend that honor in a setting sanctioned by his court.
Themes
Emilia refuses to have any part in either cousin’s death. Theseus draws up a new agreement: the cousins will return to Thebes. They’ll return to Athens within the month, accompanied by three knights. Theseus will construct a pyramid on the battlefield, and whichever cousin can force the other to touch the structure first will have Emilia’s hand in marriage—and the other will be put to death. Palamon and Arcite are satisfied with these new conditions. Emilia reluctantly agrees. Theseus agrees to treat the winner as a friend and promises to award him a position in his kingdom.
Emilia now plays an active, central role in whether the cousins live or die, yet she is hardly consulted about how she feels. The new arrangement Theseus draws up places her in the ethically murky position of being responsible for the death of whichever cousin loses the battle waged to determine who will wed her. Even though Emilia has previously expressed her disinterest in marriage, she goes along with the plan because she, too, feels a responsibility to perform the duties expected of her.
Themes
