In Troilus and Criseyde, a poem that presents tragedy as a necessary component of love, Chaucer explains that fortune, the planets, and free will all control the fall of the protagonist. These forces, none of which lead to its ultimate benefit, exist in two different forms: forces aligned with human control and forces controlled by the divine. Likewise, the Decameron identifies Fortune as a product of divine will, interchangeable with the use of the words Nature, Destiny, or God. In Greek plays, the inability to make one's own fortune often leaves the character with a bad fate. More precisely, in Hippolytus, the rejection of the divine will results in an abundance of persecution, as shown by the pitiful disappearance of Phèdre. Between Troilus and Criseyde, the Decameron and Hippolyte, the opposing forces of Fortune and human choices are presented as the sole cause of tragedy in the life of a protagonist. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay In order to analyze the aspects of Fortune in the respective texts, it is pertinent to understand its most universally accepted definition. The most significant, but not the most obvious, example comes from Troilus and Criseyde, where the text says: "But, O Fortune, executress of the wierdes" (3.617). The word "wyrd", a product of Anglo-Saxon culture, was understood to refer to destiny, or personal destiny. Yet in stories like Beowulf or Troilus and Criseyde, the protagonists and supporting characters demonstrate a loyal faith in the "wyrd." This idea of ​​Fortune paralleled Christian beliefs that man should have faith in God and His grace, but was often equated with similar beliefs. In fact, the wyrd is not under the control of God, who actively attempts to achieve his divine goals, but functions in ways that humans cannot understand and excludes the influence of all deities. Wyrd, or Fortune, is not a work of gods, although characters may interpret bad luck as a consequence of the divine. That being said, Troilus and Criseyde is not a battle between man and God, it is man's disagreement with his own destiny. Troilus constantly laments his disappearance throughout Book IV, while he is lower on the great wheel on which destiny operates. Troilus said: “Fortune! During this time ! What did I put? So what have I done? How does my argument duty make me laugh? (4.260-263). He blames Fortune for his adversity, although he is quick to direct his laments to the gods later in the passage. For example, Troilus begs the god of love not to “abrogate” his grace (293-294) also in book IV. One explanation for Troilus's constant pleas to Fortune is due to the concept of the wheel, to which the reader has been introduced. The gods were not presented as the composers of a human score, but the image of Fortune was. It was explained that when a man is at the top of the Wheel of Fortune, he is blessed and considered to have good fortune. Yet he is at the mercy of the wheel and can lose favor at any time. Book I warns that Troilus will pass "from woe to joy, and then out of joy," meaning that his fate will lead to his demise. It is then appropriate to place the blame not on the divine, but on a third concept that no entity can control. Troilus, a strong believer in including the divine in his troubled life, often only addresses Fortune regarding his concerns. Fortune's responsibility in all kinds of disasters isvery evident in the Decameron, especially on the second day. The theme assigned to the second day is "changes of fortune", which leads to stories of volatile swings between favorable and unfavorable odds. During the second day, the unpredictability of human affairs is highlighted, with characters often losing (or vice versa) wealth or love. In many stories, the characters' fortunes are so turned upside down that their true demise or climax cannot be determined until the complete story is read. For example, the story of Andreuccio the horse trader is explained by changes in luck analogous to a pendulum. While in Fortune's Wheel of Favor, Andreuccio realizes he has a long-lost sister, falls through the ground and gets stuck in a tomb, but he is led between situations by apparently promising proposals. It is often guided by the assumption of being made prosperous or satisfied with the result of an action, but rather the opposite occurs. The second day reflects a complex nature that runs the course, as opposed to the "divine will" explanations read in the introduction. Boccaccio, as previously mentioned, directed Fate and Fortune on parallel paths, equating divine will to how humans found themselves on the Wheel of Fortune. Boccaccio introduced the work by telling his readers that the plague was caused either by "celestial bodies" (6) or that it was a "punishment signifying the just wrath of God against our way of life iniquitous” (8). Although its writing structure is not similar, the parallels between the Decameron, the Troilus and Criseyde are very obvious. Both works place a strong emphasis on God and/or the inclusion of the divine in man's predetermined destiny, but fortune is depicted as a third variable that neither the mortal nor the immortal can control. Even though Cupid can shoot a character with an arrow in both stories, the true cause of later events is entirely due to some kind of enlightened coincidence. While an educated guess is the attempt made to predict an outcome based on given values, an educated coincidence appears to be the result of several unrelated and uncorrelated factors yielding an outcome that could have been predicted by the characters, but which does not. are generally not. strongly emphasize the importance of divine will in each character's life, but there are many passive implications of fortune in the texts. Hippolytus tells a story similar to that of other Greek tragedies: the greatness of a character, however righteous he may be, violates a law of destiny set by the divine, who in turn generously distributes the consequences. Hippolyte's superhuman resistance to the force of desire attracts the attention of the gods. Desire, which determines the fate of human life, is what ruins Phaedrus from within. The role of Fortune is often overlooked in this story, due to its structure, while the relationship between man and the gods is central to the idea of ​​the wheel. Hippolyta's refusal to worship Aphrodite was a violation of the respect that a goddess like her deserved, but it is very difficult to distinguish whether Hippolyta was at the top or bottom of the wheel when he initiated the whole conflict. If Fortune is seen as a third party, uninfluenced by any mortal or divine, he was defending his own dignity, implying that he was at the top of the wheel. This story is not one of a volatile, pendulum-like change in Fortune like the second day of Decameron, but it does offer a view of how Fortune can continually be unfavorable to you. This also raises the question of..