After reading · Section 10
Section 10The Rivals Meet in the Grove
Reading boundary
Start: When that Arcite to Thebes comen was,
Stop after: And forth I will of Theseus you tell.
Summary
Arcite wastes away in Thebes until Mercury directs him toward Athens. His altered appearance lets him return disguised as the laborer Philostrate; his ability and courtesy eventually make him Theseus’s trusted squire. Meanwhile, after seven years in prison, Palamon drugs his jailer and escapes into a nearby grove, intending to seek Theban help against Theseus.
Arcite enters that same grove on a May morning and, believing himself alone, laments his hidden identity and love for Emily. Palamon overhears him, reveals himself, and accuses his cousin of treachery. Arcite supplies arms and provisions for an agreed duel the next morning. The rivals courteously help arm each other, then fight with savage intensity.
Who’s who
- Arcite / Philostrate — the banished Theban knight, secretly serving in Theseus’s court.
- Palamon — Arcite’s cousin and rival, newly escaped from prison.
- Emily — the woman both cousins claim to love.
- Mercury — the god who appears in Arcite’s dream and sends him toward Athens.