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Act 4, Scene 3
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
Theseus, Pirithous, Hippolyta, and their Attendants enter. There are three altars arranged onstage. Theseus orders the knights to enter the temple to pray to the gods: because they have such “noble work” to do, they must honor the gods. Palamon, Arcite, and their respective knights enter the temple. Theseus announces that the time has come for the cousins to settle their fight once and for all. He wishes the cousins luck and leaves the temple.
This scene reinforces the theme of divine Providence. Arcite and Palamon must pray to prove themselves to the gods and ensure that the gods favor them to win the battle.
Themes
Palamon tells Arcite that if there were any part of himself that resisted going into battle against Arcite, he would destroy it, even if it meant causing himself bodily harm. Arcite replies that he is doing his best to forget about their history of love and friendship. Palamon gives Arcite what he proclaims to be their final embrace. The cousins say goodbye, and Palamon and his Knights exit.
In a backhanded way, Palamon admits to Arcite that he feels some regret about their imminent battle. He admits the possibility that there’s a part of him that doesn’t want to go through with all the bloodshed their battle will entail. However, Palamon ensures Arcite that he would cut out this piece of himself from his body, suggesting that while he might realize the foolishness of willingly engaging in violence, his passion to defeat Arcite and defend his honor is strong enough to overpower those hesitations.
Themes
Arcite invites his Knights to join him at Mars’s alter, and the men drop to the floor and kneel. Arcite addresses Mars. He praises the god for causing chaos on the battlefield and destroying crops, castles, and cities. Arcite asks for Mars's help and begs for the god to show some sign of approval. Just then, the sound of clanging armor and thunder rattles through the temple. Satisfied, Arcite leads his Knights out of the temple.
Arcite demonstrates his desire for victory by praying to Mars, the Roman god of war. The sound of thunder and clanging armor—a sign that Mars heard and approved Arcite’s prayers—reinforces the martial strength with which Mars imbues Arcite and his knights.
Themes
Literary Devices
Next, Palamon enters with his Knights to pray to Venus for strength and victory. “Our argument is love,” proclaims Palamon. Palamon and his Knights kneel before Venus’s altar, and Palamon addresses the goddess. He praises her power to make fierce men weep, “to choke Mars’s drum / And turn th’ alarm to whispers” with a mere look, and to will a King to serve his subject. Palamon refers to himself as Venus’s “vowed soldier, who do bear thy yoke / As ‘twere a wreath of roses” and asks the goddess to give him her grace.
In contrast, Palamon prays to Venus, the goddess of love. This scene reinforces the main difference between the two cousins: Arcite’s defining characteristics are his nobility and warrior ethos, whereas Palamon’s are his passion and romantic sensibility. The different gods they pray to also reinforce the difference that started their feud in the first place: Palamon waged war over his love for Emilia, and Arcite did so to defeat Palamon and claim Emilia for himself. Finally, Palamon’s praise of Venus reflects the play's stance on female power, which (in this context) lies in the ability to manipulate men with emotion. This is what Emilia and Hippolyta have done throughout the play: used their naturally merciful demeanor to persuade Theseus to be kind and understanding.
Themes
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Palamon offers a list of characteristics that exemplify his inner nobility: he has never had sex with another man’s wife, indulged in gossip, or tried to take advantage of young women at feasts. Furthermore, he never brags and criticizes people who do. Finally, there are no lovers truer or more faithful than he.
Palamon paints himself in a positive light so that Venus will hear his prayers and favor him in the battle against Arcite. He lists all the ways in which he is noble and therefore deserves to win both the battle and Emilia’s hand.
Themes
Next, Palamon asks Venus to show him some sign that she has accepted his prayer. Suddenly, the sound of music pulses through the temple, and doves flutter above. Palamon and his Knights drop to the floor and kneel before Venus’s alter once more before bowing and exiting the temple.
Venus offers Palamon a sign of harmonious music that represents the power of passion and love—a power that will drive Palamon in his quest to defeat Arcite.
Themes
Literary Devices
Emilia enters dressed in white and accompanied by her maids. She wears a wheaten wreath on her head and flowers in her hair. She places a silver figure of a hind (a mythological deer-like creature that symbolizes Diana as a goddess of the hunt) containing some incense upon Diana’s alter and sets it on fire. Emilia’s maids curtsy and kneel. Emilia addresses Diana, describing the goddess as a “sacred, shadowy, cold, and constant queen” who protected her female knights from spilling more blood “than will make a blush.” She asks Diana to listen to the last prayer she will make to her as a virgin and asks for her help in ensuring victory for the cousin who best loves her and most deserves to win, and whom Emilia will allow to “take off [her] wheaten garland.”
The wheaten wreath Emilia wears symbolizes virginity and victory. The fact that she wears it shows Diana her wish for the most suitable cousin to be the victor who will eventually take her virginity—an act symbolized by the removal of the wreath. Still unable to decide between the cousins, Emilia turns to Diana to tell her which cousin is most deserving of her love.
Themes
Literary Devices
Suddenly, the hind disappears from the alter, and a rose tree bearing a single rose appears in its place. Emilia interprets the rose to mean that both knights will lose the battle, and she will remain an “unplucked” flower. Suddenly, music flows through the temple, and the rose falls to the ground. Emilia sees this as an omen of her impending marriage. She can’t tell for sure what Diana’s actions mean, but she thinks the goddess appears pleased. Emilia and her maids curtsy and exit the temple.
At first, Emilia sees the single “unplucked” rose as a sign that neither cousin will win the battle and she’ll remain a virgin, which pleases her. However, when the rose falls, Emilia takes it as a sign that she’ll be forced to wed one of them after all. Emilia’s disappointment at seeing the rose fall betrays her true feelings about her looming engagement: she is no more willing to marry than before but simply accepts it as a matter of duty.
Themes
