The importance of order in the knight's tale Chaucer claims to place the knight's tale immediately after the general prologue by chance, the draw . The Knight draws the short straw and everyone is happy about it. The appropriateness of the long narrative to follow is clear on some levels and barely perceptible on others. I intend to begin my investigation of the Knight's Tale by carefully examining these three statements, and perhaps we will find in them an interesting, if questionable, conclusion. The honored guest, Harry Bailey, begins this famous day of pilgrimage by calling everyone together to draw lots: "Whoever has the shortest will begin." (838) He calls the Knight to draw first, presumably as a sign of respect, as he refers to the Knight as master and lord. Harry continues speaking for a brief moment, as we get a visual image of the Knight stepping forward to claim his straw. The host continues to call two more pilgrims, but quickly decides that everyone might as well participate in a free-for-all. And surprise! The Knight finds himself with the shortcut. Is it possible that Harry managed to intentionally give the straw to the Knight? “Now cut,” he says, “because that's my deal” (840). A keen eye might suggest some puns in that line: Now draw the straw cut (short), because that is my desire. The words "cord" and "accord" were both used in Middle English, so we might be able to find some double meanings there too. If Harry really wants to give the Knight the "rope", there are several interesting cases to think about: a) the rope is simply the short straw, b) the rope is the hangman's rope, or c) the rope is a unit of wood cut for fuel. The hangman's rope would create subtle sarcasm, but... middle of paper... immediate effects on the Miller, who cares not at all about courtesy or order but only about reckless lust. Then, the Miller continues with a story that Palamon might have appreciated, if he had not known the ways of chivalry, but only those of lust. Works Cited and Consulted Benson, Larry D., ed. The Chaucer on the riverbank. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987. Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Seventh edition. Two volumes. Ed. MH Abrams. New York: Norton, 2000.Cooper, Helen. The structure of the Canterbury Tales. Athens: U of Georgia P, 1983. Modern Critical Opinions: Geoffrey Chaucer, Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985.Spearing, A.C. Chaucer: The Knight's Tale. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1995.Williams, David. The Canterbury Tales, a literary pilgrimage. Boston:Twayne Publishers, 1987.