Examples Of Virtues In The Canterbury Tales

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The Virtues and Vices in Medieval Society Every society has standard virtues and faults that should be followed and avoided. The Canterbury Tales, reveals to us the virtues and faults of the medieval society through the characteristics of each character. Virtues that the people in medieval society should be follow are modesty, and kindness. Vice that should be avoided is hypocrisy. The Knight and Parson showed modesty in their simple way of life, and the Nun and Plowman showed kindness in their sympathy. While the Monk and Friar showed hypocrisy in their sham faith. Chaucer directly and indirectly pointed out the virtues and vices. Modesty is one virtue that the people of medieval society should follow. The Knight, a perfect example of a modest…show more content…
The Nun in the prologue possesses the quality of kindness. The Nun, a Prioress, the head of a convent of nuns. In appearance, she has a pair of glass-gray eyes, a elegant nose, a soft, red, and small mouth, and wide forehead. She is a friendly and pleasant lady who is very easy to get along with. She is kind hearted, and has sympathies toward everything. “She certainly was very entertaining, pleasant and friendly in her ways, and straining to counterfeit a courtly kind of grace, a stately bearing fitting to her place, and to seem…show more content…
The Monk is an example of a hypocritic figure. “A monk there was, one of the finest sort who rode the country; hunting was his sport”(pg.125,170). At the beginning of the prologue about the Monk, we learned that he will soon be the head of his monastery. However, he loves to hunt more than anything else. “The Rule of good St.Benet or St.Maur as old and strict he tended to ignore; he let go by the things of yesterday and took the modern world’s more spaciou way” (pg.125, 175). The Monk disobeys and ignores the rules and codes of regulations for monastic life. Instead, he follows the flow of the more spacious way of the modern world. Although Chaucer did not directly point out the vice of the Monk, but indirectly, as the prologue ironically showed, the Monk who is going to be the religious leader of his group, not quite religious as he supposed to be. The Friar is also a hypocritic figure in The Canterbury Tales. In appearance, the Friar’s neck is whiter than a lily-flower. “His neck was whiter than a lily-flower but strong enough to butt a bruiser down” (pg.127,240). As a Friar who should be living a life of poverty, the Friar rather has a good living standard, as indicated by his white neck. In addition, the Friar regards himself more dignified and superior to the poors. “He knew the taverns well in every town and every innkeeper and barmaid too better than lepers,

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