Shayne White
Chaucer and the Seven Deadly Sins
In the catholic religion the seven deadly sins: envy, pride, lust, anger, sloth, greed, and gluttony are themes that Catholics should stay away from and not abide to. In the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer the tales expose a common, universal truth which is the seven deadly sins. In the Tales the characters in the stories struggle with the temptation of not obeying the sins which incorporates and suggest why the pilgrims telling the stories are in fact on the pilgrimage.
The pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales are on a pilgrimage to Canterbury to seek spiritual renewal for the sin or sins that they have committed. In the prologue of the Tales it writes, “People long to go on
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Also, in the Knight’s Tale Theseus fills with anger towards King Creon as he slays the husbands of the women he sees while walking around the outskirts of town and he plans that, “So far as it should lie within his might, /He would take vengeance on his tyrant King/ This Creon, till the land of Greece should ring/ With how he had encountered him and served/ The monster with the death he had deserved” (Chaucer 29). Here Theseus commits the sin of anger and plans to take vengeance against Creon by killing him. Chaucer portrays that the characters in the stories commit the sins involuntarily and do it out of high emotions.
In The Mercantile Ideology in Chaucer’s Shipman’s Tale written by Helen Fulton she explains the ideology of the merchant by incorporating the work and how the merchants conduct their business. She writes that, “The wealthier merchants developed a unifying ideology based on the trade and the financial practices of his occupation. She also mentions that, “other critics, working within on older ideology of business ethics, condemn the merchant for practicing ‘bad business’” (Fulton 311). Fulton then goes on to say that, “Janette Richardson [the other critic] reads the tale as a straight opposition between spiritual goodness and the evils of materialism”. And that the merchant, “has blindly accepted a worldly standard of values in place of spiritual truth; and… he is therefore doomed” (Fulton 313).
In the late 1300s Geoffrey Chaucer began wrote The Canterbury Tales, a story which follows the religious journey of twenty-nine people, who represent many aspects of Medieval society, to the Canterbury Cathedral in southeast England. While on the pilgrimage the host of the tavern, where all the pilgrims meet, suggests that the pilgrims each tell a story for the group’s entertainment. Chaucer intended for all the voyagers to tell two stories, but he unfortunately died before he could finish the book and only got to write one story apiece. However, the goal of the storytelling contest is to tell the most moral story possible, and the one who wins receives a free meal, which the rest of the pilgrims will pay for. Although some of the other stories have good moral messages, “The Pardoner’s Tale” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” are on different ends of the moral spectrum. “The Pardoner’s Tale” focuses on a pardoner who preaches against greed. While “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” exemplifies what all women want in their relationships: power. Although both “The Pardoner’s Tale” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” demonstrate the value of the opinion of elders, the stories differ in their moral values and their storyteller’s values.
The Canterbury Tales were written and pieced together in the late 1380's, early 1390's. The author of the book is Geoffrey Chaucer. When considering the structure of the tales, one can deduce that they were put together using Framework Narrative, a very unique style of writing. The opening prologue speaks of 29 pilgrims, including Chaucer, who are all on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. All of them are seeking a certain shrine for spiritual cleansing, and relief. The journey was to be long, but in the end it would all be worth it. Chaucer's social views and prejudices are revealed through his description of the pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales.
Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales became one of the first ever works that began to approach the standards of modern literature. It was probably one of the first books to offer the readers entertainment, and not just another set of boring morals. However, the morals, cleverly disguised, are present in almost every story. Besides, the book offers the descriptions of the most common aspects of the human nature. The books points out both the good and the bad qualities of the people, however, the most obvious descriptions are those of the sinful flaws of humans, such as greed and lust.
Chaucer used religion to shape the theme of the middle ages during his time. In the pardoners tale Chaucer shows the corruptibility of a group of people based on their avarice. Chaucer illustrates the theme by revealing the corruptions that the people had. These people ate and drank beyond their might which is one of the deadly sins. In the story a group of drunken people attempt to find death and kill death to avenge the death of servants brother, instead they found treasures and riches. The irony behind this situation is that everyone turns against one another to have the riches for themselves.
By analyzing “The Canterbury Tales”, one can conclude that Chaucer did see the merits of the church, but by no means regarded it in a wholly positive light. Whereas some of the clergy are viewed as devout and God-fearing, others are viewed as con- men and charlatans. One can even venture to say that Chaucer was using this story as somewhat of a criticism of the church, showing the flaws of its leaders and the greed that permeated it at the time.
Between 70 CE and 1500 CE, Christians and Muslims changed in their opinion of merchants, but stayed the same in their view of equitable transactions between people. Matthew, in the New Testament, records Jesus commenting on how hard it is for rich people to have their hearts in the right place, but he doesn't condemn the people for having money [D1]. Christians didn't specifically revile merchants specifically at this point in 70 CE. The "honest, truthful Muslim merchant" was praised for his reputable work, even being compared to martyrs in the Qur'an [D2]. As time went on, educated Christian and Muslim scholars began to voice why they both believed
Ever looked at somebody and thought that they were a terrible person? This is probably because they embody at least one of the seven deadly sins. These sins have been around for centuries and have been used over and over again in many stories. Some of the best examples of the deadly sins are found in the characters of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. These characters, the pilgrims, vary in profession, personality, and background; most being guilty of at least one of the seven deadly sins. Continuing, Chaucer’s pilgrims will be exposed of their deadly sins that they are guilty of, each with an explanation.
“One may say that pilgrimages are just as much about the journey as they are about the destination.” (Higl) Pilgrimages are very important to religions around the world. They are important for people when they are working on a deeper faith, and these pilgrimages are to places of great importance. It is important to note that people do not only learn when they are at their destination, but also on the trip to those destinations. “The Canterbury Tales”, Chaucer’s unfinished work, was a group of stories about a group on pilgrimage, but the stories did not take place at the destination. These were stories told on the way to Canterbury. They were also very satiric stories. They showed great hypocrisy, and immorality. The stories seemed to have
The Merchant portrays himself to be a financial expert in order to hide his poverty: “ This estimable Merchant so had set his wits to work, none knew he was in debt...” (104, 289-290). Although the Merchant gives plenty of opinions on finances, he is a prime example of hypocrisy in that he gives advice that he cannot follow.
being, he begins to poke fun at him. He insists that the Knight was “a
Throughout centuries human beings have evolved, but various traits of human nature remain the same. An epic poem named “The Canterbury Tales” written by Geoffrey Chaucer provides examples that demonstrate traits of human nature that are still relevant in our world today even if this piece of literature was written hundreds of years ago.The Canterbury Tales is framed by having multiple people from different social lives and statuses share stories which demonstrates how these pilgrims think and act, in other words their human nature, on their way to the martyr St. Thomas in a pilgrimage. These characters portray different traits of human nature such as having religious aspirations, falling in love, and thinking in an evil way in their stories which are all still lively relevant in today's society.
In the prologue, the narrator introduced a mysterious man, who is known as the Merchant. At first glance, it is assumed he was a wealthy and confident man; however, this assumption is proven wrong when the narrator explained he was quite the opposite. The Merchant covered up his flaws in life with his confidence and attire. In reality, he is in debt and not the man people claimed him to be. “This estimable Merchant so had set his wits to work, none he knew he was in debt” (line 288-289). Nevertheless, his financial issues did not stop him from being a well mannered man. The Merchant exemplifies mystery and irony, since there is no clear information about his true nature. In conclusion, the Merchant brings curiosity into the story, since the
Pilgrims are journeys to a sacred lands for religious purposes. In some religious pilgrims, religious seekers take time to reach the sacred place for religious reasons such as being reincarnation, and being forgiven. The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, is a book of individual tales called pilgrims. Geoffrey Chaucer’s book is about a group of people who take a pilgrim to Canterbury, which is located in England. The group starts their journey at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, England. In the beginning he starts off by acknowledging who is traveling to the shrine of Saint Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. He gives descriptions of each character. With his words he describes the personality of the characters. Geoffrey Chaucer
Written in 1392, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, satirizes the corruption within the church. In the Medieval ages, which took place from 1066-1485, the English society was divided into three classes: the feudal class, the church class, and the town class. Throughout “The Prologue”, Chaucer describes the pilgrims based upon their profession, class, and apparel. While some of the party that travels with him goes for religious purposes, others go simply for a vacation. Geoffrey Chaucer uses the Monk and the Parson, two Medieval religious authorities, to reveal the corruption within the church, and to also show that not all members are unethical.
“The Miller's Tale” in the Canterbury Tales provides insight into the morality of people of medieval England by showing the Miller’s views on religion, heroic ideals, and common morality. Religion at this time was defined by a religious code outlined in the Bible and the ten commandments. Even though all men were expected to live by these laws, those closely related to the church, like Absalom, were expected to never break from these codes. Heroism involved a set of ideals that were meant to guide men to a heroic state of being. A hero was supposed to seek revenge and never let a crime go unpunished. Common morality was the behavioral code all men were expected to follow and it is essentially what we now call common courtesy. This