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Act 5, 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
A Guard escorts Palamon and his Knights. The Jailer, the Executioner, and several others follow, carrying a block and an ax. Palamon laments his fate but considers himself lucky to die before he grows too old. This way, he can go to the gods while he’s still young and fresh. First Knight agrees with Palamon and states, “O’er us the victors have / Fortune, whose title is as momentary / As to us death is certain.”
Reassured by the fact that he has justly defended his honor, Palamon bravely accepts his fate to die and even tries to see his death as a fortunate development, reasoning that at least now he need not grow old. First Knight expands on Arcite’s optimism, claiming, “O’er us the victors have / Fortune, whose title is as momentary / As to us death is certain.” He means that the victors and the losers have made out evenly in the end. While the victors might have “Fortune” on their side, fortune is “momentary,” or fleeting and uncertain. In contrast, while the losers might face “death,” they are also afforded the blessing of “certain[ty].” Lastly, the victors and the losers can rest assured that they have played their part in defending honor, which is a victory in itself, regardless of the outcome of the battle.
Themes
Palamon turns to the Jailer and asks about the Jailer’s Daughter, who was so kind to give him freedom so long ago. The Jailer tells Palamon his daughter will be married in the near future. Hearing this news pleases Palamon, who tells the Jailer to pass along his well wishes to his daughter. He offers the Jailer a purse as a dowry. The other knights add funds to the purse. The Jailer thanks them. Palamon lies down on the block, and the other knights vow to follow his lead.
Palamon occupies himself with making final amends before he dies, providing the Jailer with more money for the Jailer’s Daughter to put toward her dowry as an apology for the ungracious way he exploited her emotions to free himself from prison. Lastly, Palamon further demonstrates his bravery by positioning himself to die before his knights.
Themes
Before the execution can occur, a Messenger runs in, yelling for everyone to stop. Pirithous trails behind the Messenger. He tells Palamon that he’ll meet the gods in another life—but not in this one. Pirithous orders a confused Palamon to arise and summarizes all that has transpired since Palamon lost the battle.
Something has happened to interfere with Palamon’s execution. This unexpected turn of fate further emphasizes humanity’s inability to predict or understand fortune, which the gods can change or reverse at any time.
Themes
According to Pirithous, Arcite was riding a black horse Emilia gave him. The horse didn’t have a single white hair on it, which is a bad omen. As Arcite rode the horse through Athens, the horse trotted over the pavement as though it were dancing to music. Suddenly, a stroke of evil, “Cold as old Saturn,” overcame the horse and made it go crazy. The horse bucked and bounded as though desperate to throw off Arcite. Arcite held on as tightly as he could, and his legs “seemed with strange art to hang.” However, when Arcite’s victor’s wreath fell from his head, the horse fell backward and landed on top of him. Pirithous informs Palamon that Arcite is barely alive and wants to talk to Palamon.
That a wave of evil, “Cold as old Saturn,” suddenly washes over Arcite's horse and causes it to go crazy heavily implies that divine Providence was involved in this unlikely twist of fate. It's as though the "Cold" hands of Saturn (the Roman god of agriculture) reached down and manipulated Arcite's fate himself. Further emphasizing the influence of divine intervention is the way Arcite's legs "seemed with a strange art to hang" onto his horse: this insinuates that whether or not Arcite hangs on or falls off is entirely out of his control and in the hands of the gods. At any rate, this sudden twist of fate changes things immensely: Arcite might have won the battle against Palamon, but now the time he has to bask in his glory is severely limited.
Themes
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Theseus, Hippolyta, and Emilia enter with Arcite, who is seated in a chair. Palamon laments the tragic end the gods have given his and Arcite’s friendship. Palamon conveys his love to the dying Arcite. Arcite tells Palamon to take Emilia and enjoy his time with her. He admits that what he did to Palamon was wrong but not malicious, and he asks for Palamon’s forgiveness. Arcite asks for a final kiss from Emilia, and then he dies.
Palamon’s concern for his dear friend inspires him to forget their feud, and he proclaims his love for him in a way he hasn’t been able to do since they were imprisoned together in Act 2. Arcite, too, allows for their reconciliation by apologizing for pursuing Emilia. It’s unclear whether Arcite has known all along that he was wrong to antagonize Palamon or if dying has inspired him to reflect more deeply on his actions. At any rate, the cousins show that while hate might have obscured their bond for much of the play, their friendship never truly disappeared: they still love each other and remain capable of connection and intimacy. Arcite solidifies this fact by giving his blessing for Palamon to wed Emilia. Of course, it’s worth noting that nobody bothers to ask Emilia if she’s okay with the sudden switch. However, audiences of Shakespeare’s time wouldn’t have regarded the cousins’ treatment of Emilia as odd here or seen her lack of agency as symptomatic of her objectification.
Themes
Palamon praises Arcite. Emilia closes Arcite's eyes. She cries as she tells him what a good man he was. Theseus tells Palamon to thank the gods for his life and praises Arcite for so nobly fulfilling his duty. He acknowledges Venus's role in securing Palamon his love and Mars's role in securing Arcite's victory. Theseus orders the attendants to remove Arcite's body.
Theseus reinforces the role divine Providence played in securing everyone’s fates. In fact, he sees Arcite’s death as proof that the gods have answered everyone’s prayers: Mars has answered Arcite’s prayer for victory by allowing him to win the battle, and Venus has answered Palamon’s prayer for love by allowing him to wed Emilia. That the gods reward both cousins reaffirms their status as noble kinsmen.
Themes
Palamon addresses Arcite and laments that they both “desire [things] which do cost us / The loss of our desire.” Theseus notes the nuanced game Fortune has played in allowing the winner to lose and the loser to win. Furthermore, the gods have saved Theseus from having to serve justice himself, as “they themselves become / The executioners.” Theseus orders Palamon to go off with Emilia and vows to treat Palamon’s Knights as friends. The court will hold a funeral for Arcite in a couple of days, after which Palamon and Emilia will marry. “O you heavenly charmers,” proclaims Theseus. “What things you make of us!” Theseus urges everyone not to question the gods' motives. Finally, he orders everyone to leave the execution site and make the most of their time.
When Palamon addresses Arcite to express his remorse that they "desire [things] which do cost us / The loss of our desire," he explicitly admits what a shame it was that they let their pursuit of Emilia destroy their friendship. Theseus notes that while it's tricky of Fortune (the gods) to end the cousins' story with a last-minute changeup wherein their fates are seemingly reversed, in the end, everything is how it should be because the gods have willed it to be that way. Theseus sees Arcite's accidental death as evidence of the gods having "become / The executioners," which effectively spares Theseus the burden of having to execute Palamon. Finally, Theseus addresses the gods directly, stating, "O you heavenly charmers." His remark "What things you make of us!" humbles humanity, alluding to how the gods will always put humans in their place since gods—unlike humans—are infinitely knowledgeable about and in control of matters of fate and Fortune. The sudden reversal of fate that leads to Arcite's death and Palamon's engagement to Emilia suggests that humans should never be too confident in their ability to ascribe meaning or significance to Fortune or know precisely how things will end. Theseus leaves his party with the advice to be grateful for what they have and make the most of what the gods have given them.
Themes
Literary Devices
