But if, Sir Knight, you let me know, say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The cause of this enormous evil, As sure as God helps me, I will, If power be granted to me, remove it... "The Book of the Duchess" 548-551Throughout in the study of medieval literature, certain trends define the genres. Whether the hero belongs to a certain domain, conquers insurmountable enemies or finally unites with his lover, specific norms serve to differentiate the epic of the Breton Lai. “The Book of the Duchess” breaks the rules of dream literature with its subtle adaptations of expected elements. Although this passage embodies only one aspect of this adaptation, it serves as a reference for all modifications of the text. Once the focal point of all other tales of dream vision, in this play the dreamer becomes a mere prop, functioning as a medium through which other tales are presented. Additionally, the setting – whether a garden or a forest – allows the dreamer to escape the distractions of society; in this passage, however, the dreamer awakens to the tumult of horses and sharpshooters. The last, and perhaps most remarkable, aspect of this anti-dream vision concerns the fact that the dreamer does not change his old way of living upon awakening from his reverie. In these aspects, the dream motif departs from its typical parameters while remaining recognizable as a tale of this genre. In this particular tale, the dreamer serves more as a guiding character than a wandering soul. At the beginning of this tale, the dreamer reads a story of King Ceyx and Queen Alcyone to grant him a reprieve from his insomnia. This tale follows the typical plot of a dream vision in which the dreamer suffers in life, falls asleep, and finds the answers she seeks in her dream. Chaucer therefore proves that he is aware of the poems' formula of "dream vision", but instead chooses to modify this expectation in the actual plot of his poem. Eventually the dreamer falls asleep, wakes up in his own reverie and comes across a sad knight. This encounter also allows the dreamer to expose someone else's story. Through his questions and his attentive listening, the dreamer serves more as a guide to the knight. Here the dreamer witnesses an outpouring of emotion and strives to ease the knight's pain. Acting as a simple pawn, the dreamer in this tale allows the other characters to reveal their stories and express their emotions. Not only does the dreamer play a different role, but he also finds himself in an atypical dream vision setting. The dreamer wakes up within the confines of his room. Although birds, colorful windows, and beautiful weather permeate this space, the dreamer wakes up inside and not in a garden or natural landscape. If these natural images evoke a vision of a garden, they nonetheless remain elements of an artificial and controlled environment. The dreamer therefore does not immediately escape the distractions of society. Furthermore, upon hearing the blow of the hunter's horn, the dreamer eagerly leaves his garden-like room to join in the festivities of the hunting day. Chaucer breaks the tradition of the genre by painting the portrait of a dreamer who initially emerges from isolation in favor of the chaos surrounding the hunt. By changing the setting of the story, Chaucer changes the “dream vision.” By neglecting the role of the dreamer and the setting of the dream, Chaucer adapts the most standard aspect of the dream vision: the ending. Traditionally, dream visions end with the dreamer waking up and choosing to change their lifestyle due to the events of the dream. In some cases, the dreamer discovers.