Summary
Palamon finds Arcite and accuses him of stealing Emilia because Palamon found her first. The cousins continue fighting and decide the only way to settle their competition is with a duel.
Palamon, however, is weak, and Arcite offers to bring him food so that he can regain his strength and ensure a fair fight.
Meanwhile, the jailer's daughter returns to the woods but cannot find Palamon anywhere. She assumes he is dead, and realizes her father will pay for her transgressions. The jailer's daughter descends into madness, singing songs about her lost love.
Later, the schoolmaster assembles the performers in the woods to practice the Morris Dance that will be performed for the king and queen. When the jailer's daughter wanders by, the Schoolmaster decides she is an adequate replacement for an absent female performer. They perform their dance for Theseus and his hunting party and are rewarded with money.
Theseus's hunting party then crosses paths with Arcite and Palamon, who are preparing to duel. Theseus is outraged and sentences the cousins to death.
However, Emilia intervenes and reminds Theseus that he owes her a favor, begging her brother-in-law to spare their lives.
Theseus says the cousins will return to Athens next month to battle each other for Emilia's hand, and Palamon and Arcite agree to these terms.
Analysis
Act Three of the play expands some of the conflicts that the first two acts helped establish.
When Arcite and Palamon cross paths in the woods, they are still each other's worst enemy as they continue to pursue Emilia (who is, at this point, still ignorant of either man's desire). Perhaps the most ironic commentary on chivalry occurs in the third act, when Palamon and Arcite decide that the only solution to their problem is a duel – a fight to the death. While this was not an uncommon occurrence in the early modern period and especially in the medieval period, the play offers a satirical perspective on the governing principles of chivalry by having the cousins postpone their duel until Palamon is healthy. During this time, Arcite brings him food and cares for him in a way that is reminiscent of their earlier bond.
This new relationship – sworn enemies who so badly want to defeat one another in fair fight that they are willing to nurse each other back to health – showcases how the duty of Palamon and Arcite to the chivalric code trumps even their enmity toward one another. In this way, the conflict between the cousins appears more like a silly quarrel than a tragic conflict (this, of course, supports the designation of the play as a "tragicomedy").
This act of the play also features one of the earliest displays of agency from Emilia, who has until this point remained largely an unknowing object of the affections of Palamon and Arcite. When Theseus sentences the cousins to death, Emilia intervenes in order to save both their lives. However, it is important to note that Emilia does not reason with Theseus on the grounds that the cousins should live – as the Duke of Athens, his word is the law, and Emilia and other women are powerless to combat it.
Instead, Emilia reminds Theseus that he, some time in the past, had sworn to do her a favor. Here, Emilia showcases her own knowledge of the chivalric code: Theseus is more worried about appearing fickle and disloyal through failing to fulfill his oath to Emilia than he is about letting the cousins live. As such, Emilia demonstrates how women in this patriarchal society can exercise power through the role of observation, inquiry, and the power of suggestion.
