Summary and Analysis of The Parsons Tale Essay - 724 Words

Summary and Analysis of The Parsons Tale (The Canterbury Tales) Prologue to the Parsons Tale: When the Manciples Tale was done, it was then four oclock. The Host claimed that only one tale remained. The Parson, however, refused to tell a foolish story, for Paul advised against telling false stories. He says that he will tell a virtuous tale in prose. The Parsons Tale: There have been many spiritual ways that have led people to Jesus Christ and to the reign of glory. The most prominent of these ways is Penitence. St. Ambrose claims that Penitence is the acceptance of guilt for what a man has done and a pledge to do no more. Perfect Penitence requires contrition of heart, confession of mouth and satisfaction. The root of†¦show more content†¦Sixth, a man should hope to forfeit sin and receive the gift of grace and the glory of heaven. This contrition should be universal. The second part of Penitence is confession, the sign of contrition. Confession is the showing of all sins to a priest. All sins stem from the original sin of Adam, and there are two types, venial sins and sins of deed. The latter occur when a man loves any creature more than Jesus. Venial sins occur when a man loves Jesus Christ less than he ought. There are seven deadly sins. Pride is the worst of them, for the other sins, Ire, Envy, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony and Lechery, stem from Pride. Pride can be manifest in many forms, including the wearing of ostentatious clothing. The remedy for Pride is humility, when a man holds himself as not worthy of heaven, despises no other man and cares not what men think of him. Envy is the sorrow in others fortune and delight in others pain. The remedy for Envy is love of God first and trust in ones fellow man. After Envy there is Ire, which manifests itself in hate. The remedy against Ire is patience and the acceptance of suffering. Sloth is the anguish of a troubled heart. The remedy for this is fortitude. Avarice is the desire to have earthly things. Avarice can be distinguished from Envy, for Envy is to covet things that one does not have, while Avarice is to keep things that one has without rightful need. The remedy for Avarice is pity. Gluttony is the immeasurable appetite to eat or drin k.Show MoreRelatedFigurative Language and the Canterbury Tales13472 Words   |  54 Pagesones. Often this term is used interchangeably with both the literary technique and the larger story itself that contains the smaller ones, which are called framed narratives or embedded narratives. The most famous example is Chaucers Canterbury Tales, in which the overarching frame narrative is the story of a band of pilgrims traveling to the shrine of Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. The band passes the time in a storytelling contest. The framed narratives are the individual stories told by the