And with a sigh he seyde pitously,
"The fresshe beautee sleeth me sodeynly
Of hire that rometh in the yonder place;
And but I have hir mercy and hir grace,
That I may seen hire atte leeste weye,
I nam but deed; ther nis namoore to seye."
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Knight’s Tale. Arcite really has it bad for Emily. Quite dramatically he says that her fresh beauty slays him, and unless he wins her mercy and her grace so that he can at least see her, he is as good as dead.