Essay on Morals in Chaucers The Canterbury Tales - 741 Words

Morals in Chaucers The Canterbury Tales When Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, he had certain morals in mind. Chaucer usually dealt with one of the seven ?deadly? sins as well. The humorous Miller?s Tale is no exception. The Story is about a carpenter who marries a young beautiful woman who is much younger than him. The moral of the story is revealed in the second paragraph, when Chaucer, through the voice of the miller, notes of the carpenter, ?Being ignorant, he did not know of Cato?s advice that a man should marry a woman similar to him?. He goes on to say, ?Men should wed their contemporaries, for youth and age are often at odds?. Through his tale, Chaucer will demonstrate the truth in this moral. The carpenter is†¦show more content†¦The other was a parish clerk at the church named Absalom. The lust is the key issue here. It is one of the seven deadly sins and the one dealt with in this story. The other men lust after the carpenter?s wife and it brings trouble. In keeping with the moral of simil ar age marrying similar age, the young and flirtatious wife decides to have an affair with Nicholas. This illustrates how foolish the old carpenter was to think he could keep tabs on a young beauty like his wife. So Nicholas comes up with a plan to trick the carpenter and allow him to sleep with his wife. Nicholas tells the carpenter that a great flood is coming, and that to save his wife and himself (as well as Nicholas), he needed to prepare large tubs with supplies and stash them on the roof. Nicholas then proposed that the three of them get on the roof with their vessels on the night of the great flood so they could be saved. The carpenter prepared the tubs as Nicholas had suggested. On the night of the ?flood?, the three of them get on the roof as planned. The Carpenter falls asleep, and then Nicholas and the carpenter?s wife sneak down into the bedroom and make love. Later that night, Absalom comes to the window and tries to woo the carpenter?s wife by proclaiming his undying love for her. The carpenter?s wife tells him to go away, but he is relentless. Finally, she concedes to give him a ?kiss?. She tellsShow MoreRelatedChildrens Versions of The Cantebury Tales1465 Words   |  6 PagesBeing a work filled with an unprecedented â€Å"wealth of fascinating characters†, Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales has been translated and retold in many versions over the years (Cohen 7-8). Unavoidably translations and retelling require choices made by writers and editors of how to represent things and what to include, which can easily change aspects of the original story. The most difficult retellings may be versions written for children as writers not only have to deal with modernizing the languageRead MoreAnalysis Of The General Prologue To The Canterbury Tales Essays1044 Words   |  5 Pagesthe lowest order was involved in this practice. 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Bennett describes Chaucer’s unique style as, â€Å"No detail was too small for him to observe, and from it he could frequently draw, or suggest, conclusions which would have escaped many.† While The Canterbury Tales was originally intended to be an epic poemRead MoreEssay on Chaucers The Canterbury Tales927 Words   |  4 PagesChaucers The Canterbury Tales In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer comments on moral corruption within the Roman Catholic Church. He criticizes many high-ranking members of the Church and describes a lack of morality in medieval society; yet in the â€Å"Retraction,† Chaucer recants much of his work and pledges to be true to Christianity. Seemingly opposite views exist within the â€Å"Retraction† and The Canterbury Tales. However, this contradiction does not weaken Chaucer’s social commentary.Read MoreThe English Church Exposed in Canterbury Tales Essay1113 Words   |  5 Pagesvanish because of multiple reasons. 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However, the Pardoner is one of Geoffrey Chaucers more difficult charactersRead More Passive Women in Chaucers Canterbury Tales? Essay1466 Words   |  6 PagesPassive Women in Chaucers Canterbury Tales? One argument that reigns supreme when considering Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is whether or not there is an element of anti-feminism within the text. One thread that goes along with this is whether or not the women of The Canterbury Tales are passive within the tales told. This essay will explore the idea that the women found within the tales told by the pilgrims (The Knight’s Tale, The Miller’s Tale and The Wife of Bath’s Tale to name a few) areRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Essay1115 Words   |  5 Pages The Canterbury Tales is a set of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the fourteenth century. The stories were told by a group of pilgrims traveling to Canterbury Cathedral, in hopes to see a shrine of Saint Thomas Becket. To make time go by the host recommended each pilgrim tell a tale. The tale that each character gives, reveals that person’s background and life. Some pilgrims matched their stereotype of that time but m ost do not. The Prioress, Madame Eglentyne, and Wife of Bath, Allison, areRead MoreAnalysis Of Chaucer s The Canterbury Tales 1161 Words   |  5 Pagesmade to an original source are very potent cues as to authorial intention. In composing The Canterbury Tales, there is a broad diversity of tales told by a wide range of narrators. This indicates that Chaucer likely used a wide variety of sources. The alterations made by Chaucer to the source material for the Clerk’s Tale, including Boccaccio’s Decameron X, or â€Å"The Story of Griselda,† indicate Chaucer’s motive to examine issues such as marriage as was found in Renaissance Italy, and to exploreRead More Character Rank In Society in The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer888 Words   |  4 PagesThe Canterbury Tales can be understood as a Chaucerian satire according many readers. Chaucer sets out to deliberately upset the social order present at that time and to mock the faults present in the characters. Although he baffles about the complexity of the characters, Chaucer also praises and condemns characters for their unique qualities. Chaucer further gives us feedback of what actions the characters are taking in their lives. Many of the pilgrims are headed off to Canterbury, to worship