The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer - Book Report/Review Example

? Humans and Sins Sin has always been an integral part of common behavior of human beings which corresponds its presence in actions by humans in way or the other. There always is another wish intrinsic that is to be forgiven. The Canterbury Tales is a depiction of this argument in a multiple perspectives in which at least one of the seven deadly sins are prominent within one main character. This collection of stories is written by Geoffrey Chaucer in late 14th century. These stories are comprised of pilgrims who travel together from Southwark to a shrine located in Canterbury. The shrine which they aim to reach is of Saint Thomas Becket that is in Canterbury Cathedral. Stories in this collection are mostly written in verses; however, there also are some stories which are written in the form of prose. These tales are the narration of a contest in which those pilgrims travel together to attain the winning prize. Geoffrey Chaucer is also known as the father of English literature and The Canterbury Tales is considered as is one of the greatest works. This collection is based on an ironic critique on the English society of the contemporary times to The Canterbury Tales. This paper is aimed to propose that characters portrayed in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer contain associations with the deadly vices either in a direct or the indirect sense. It also propose that common human beings are substantially vulnerable to the seven sins despite some are involved in holy actions in the light of The Canterbury Tales. The catholic conception of seven deadly sins is prominently presented by Chaucer in the portrayal of each character; however, each character does not contain all of the sins identified as deadly vices. Beginning with the character of the knight who is presented as the possessor of a noble character as he acts as a generous and humble human being, the sin of wrath in a direct sense and pride in the indirect sense are associated with him (Chaucer 1233). The knight has fought several wars which depicts the deadly sin of wrath (Blackburn 336-337). In addition to this, the character of the knight is also represents pride (Blackburn 336-337) due to his dress quotes and dealings on indefinite circumstances with people. The knight is presented as a noble man in the tales; however, he has committed one of the seven deadly sins which illuminate the vulnerability of human beings to sins. The vulnerability to sin of noble individuals is not only prominent in the character of the knight but it is also illuminated in the character of the nun. The nun in it is involved in worldly manners along with earthly love which are the depictions of lust and pride (Blackburn 336-337). The nun in tales wipes her mouth after eating to concord with worldly manners and she cries for the pets which was not allowed for nuns to have in the 14th century English Society. It significantly signifies the association of human nature with the vulnerability of committing seven deadly sins (Chaucer 1233). Another prominence of the association of seven deadly sins and human beings is illuminated in the character of the monk portrayed by Chaucer. The monk is presented as a well dressed man who hunts and he is least concerned with the religious knowledge and beliefs. The monk is completely involved in the worldly affairs as he is a wealthy man with a high stature in society. The monk also carries a lover’s knot which represents his love affair in the world (Chaucer 1233). These traits of the monk are the depiction of lust, pride (Blackburn 336-337) and worldly love. In addition to these traits, the physique of the monk is presented as fat which represents his love for the food. The seven deadly sins include gluttony (Blackburn 336-337) which is certainly associated with the character of the monk. Another character of the friar depicts the vulnerability of humans towards the seven deadly sins. The friar hears confessions, but he has presented as a materialistic individual even for a noble task. He is least concern with the poor individuals because of their status in the context of wealthy (Chaucer 1233). It is the representation of gluttony (Blackburn 336-337) which is one the seven deadly sins. In The Canterbury Tales, some characters are the depictions of seven deadly sins in the context of women associations. Most prominently the character of the wife of bath is the presentation of sins associated with women in a strict manner. The wife of bath is an elderly woman who has five husbands from which she has killed four in the past. The wife of bath intends to appear as a noble individual in the society. The character of this women is portrayed as well exposed with the remedies of love as her act of murdering her four husbands depicts; however, she is still involves in the worldly love affairs to fulfill her desires. This character of the wife of bath corresponds to the sin of lust which is one of the seven deadly sins along with wrath which is another sin (Blackburn 336-337). Another character that is of the summoner represents sins in association with women (Chaucer 1233). The summoner in tales has an immensely contradictory character as he is summons people to court but on the other hand does not follow the code of conduct himself. In addition he does exchange women with wines among prisoners which can be associated with gluttony (Blackburn 336-337), a deadly vice to commit. It directly reflects the vulnerability of humans to the seven deadly sins which is portrayed in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (Chaucer 1233). All of the major characters in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer depict the arguments that human beings are intrinsically involved in the commission of at least one of the seven deadly sins during the whole course of their lives. However, the vulnerability of human to the seven deadly vices is a certain fact which persist in even the most noble and holy individuals. The collection of Chaucer’s tales is a depiction of seven deadly sins and its associations with common human individuals. Human beings are vulnerable to commit at least one of the seven deadly sins despite being a noble individual. Works Cited Blackburn, Simon. The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print. Chaucer, Geoffrey. "The Canterbury Tales." Damrosch, David and David Lawrence Pike. Longman Anthology of World Literature. London: Longman, 2008. 1233. Print. Read More