The Pardoner's Tale
The seven deadly sins are are also known to be capital sins. If any of the capital sins are committed such as lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, or pride, that person is known to face eternal death. These were not the only sins practiced in “The Pardoner’s Tale”. “The Pardoner’s Tale” was written by Geoffrey Chaucer. The most common motif used throughout this poem is sin. This piece is about sin because of the use of the setting, characters, and symbolism. “The Pardoner’s Tale” takes place in Flanders which is located in Belgium. The beginning of the poem takes place in a tavern. A tavern is a place where people gather to get drunk and gamble. There is never anything good that takes place in a tavern. A tavern is where sin takes
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The old man the rioters talk to is a form of symbolism. “Whan they han goon nat fully half a mile, Right as they wolde han troden over a stile, An oold man and a povre with hem mette” (Chaucer 423-427). This shows that the old man can represent death. He is old, pale, and weak. He also leads the friends to the tree which is also another form of symbolism. The tree is a form of symbolism which physically represents the root to all evil. When the three men arrive to the tree, they find gold. This gold is symbolism for greed. The gold makes the men greedy which later makes them commit murder which is where death appears. According to Pearcy, “The drunken revellers suppose themselves to be seeking the figure of Death in order to destroy him, and the Old Man’s speech is designed to create the impression the it is towards an encounter with such a figure that he is directing them” (Pearcy 5). This statements proves that the old man was directing the three men to the gold because after being greedy, it ultimately led them to death. The seven deadly sins control a big part of religion. It is something that most people are trying to avoid. Throughout “The Pardoner’s Tale” the seven deadly sins were mentioned as well as many other forms of sin. These sins were the main focus in this tale. Through the characters, setting, and symbolism, the reader was able to identify the
The old man the rioters talk to is a form of symbolism. “Whan they han goon nat fully half a mile, Right as they wolde han troden over a stile, An oold man and a povre with hem mette” (Chaucer 423-427). This shows that the old man can represent death. He is old, pale, and weak. He also leads the friends to the tree which is also another form of symbolism. The tree is a form of symbolism which physically represents the root to all evil. When the three men arrive to the tree, they find gold. This gold is symbolism for greed. The gold makes the men greedy which later makes them commit murder which is where death appears. According to Pearcy, “The drunken revellers suppose themselves to be seeking the figure of Death in order to destroy him, and the Old Man’s speech is designed to create the impression the it is towards an encounter with such a figure that he is directing them” (Pearcy 5). This statements proves that the old man was directing the three men to the gold because after being greedy, it ultimately led them to death. The seven deadly sins control a big part of religion. It is something that most people are trying to avoid. Throughout “The Pardoner’s Tale” the seven deadly sins were mentioned as well as many other forms of sin. These sins were the main focus in this tale. Through the characters, setting, and symbolism, the reader was able to identify the