Before any of the other vices can be subdued, sloth must become the first target; it is the vice that robs us of meaning in life, and whenever we begin to believe that life is meaningless, our actions, both good and bad, lose all value and it no longer matters what we do. As Dorothy Sayers has said, “…the other sins hasten to provide a cloak for Sloth…” (qtd. in Guinness 159). According to Guinness, “Sloth is far more than…physical laziness…It is a condition of explicitly spiritual dejection that has given up on the pursuit of God…” (pg 149). Furthermore, he claims that “Although sloth may begin as careless indifference to ideals, its final state is one of despair over the possibility of salvation – ultimately a form of spiritual suicide” (pg 150). To further clarify the meaning of slothfulness, Guinness includes an excerpt from Blaise Pascal that outlines Pascal’s ideas about two…
In Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death”, the color of the most eastern and most western chamber are significance to the message of the story. In Roppolo’s Literary Criticism, he explains, “To Blair, as to many others, there is ‘allegorical signification’ in the seven rooms, which, ‘progressing from east to west—from blue to black—connote the seven ages of man from the blue of the dawn of life to the black of its night.’” The message Poe presents is that no living thing can avoid its fate of death no matter how it tries to protect itself or escape it. The blue most eastern chamber represents the birth of dawn and the black velvet and red most western chamber depicts death and night, demonstrating that as Prince Prospero and the guest run through…
Many speculations have been made trying to determine who is the modern day King Arthur, his reincarnate self. King Arthur, if he existed, was thought to be one of the greatest leaders of all time. There have been many legends about King Arthur, including that King Arthur would come back in the future during a dark era and bring the society back to the way it was. As for Doctor Ben Carson I believe that he is the reincarnate King Arthur. King Arthur and Doctor Ben Carson have many similar traits.…
Orgon is a man that took a leap of faith and put trust into a complete stranger. The ignorance of this situation is metaphorical to the betrayal of a snake. A person puts their trust in a snake and is saddened by the disloyalty but after all, the person knew it was a snake from the beginning. Is the victim of betrayal sometimes at fault? Also Tartuffe had a loss of virtue once he committed some of the deadly sins. Orgon was also enlightened by the end of the situation, he was ashamed that he had been so naïve.…
filled with hardships and sins of many kinds; however, supposedly, if one died, one’s sins would…
The seven deadly sins are known extensively around the world. These words describe the different characteristics that God-in some religions-views as an abomination to society’s moral values. They include: lust, gluttony, greed, wrath, envy, pride, and last, but not least, sloth. Sloth is commonly forgotten about and often times obscure. The word sloth comes from the Old English word slǣwth. It was translated in Middle English from 1125-1175 A.D. as slowth. Now, in Modern English, we link the slow to sloth. Sloths are often associated with laziness, but what truly identifies them as such?…
Wrath is a big part of a lot of tragic stories and is also one of the seven deadly sins. The word “wrath” stems from the Archaic adjective “wroth,” which for centuries—from before 900 A.D.—has been changed—verbally and scripturally—throughout…
Throughout Arthurian literature there is a constant struggle to find perfection and love in a world which was rich with war and calamity. Whether it be the Knight Lancelot full, of passion looking to steal the love of the great King Arthurs wife Gueneviere, or Percivals quest to become a supreme knight, each character is driven by his or her own distinct motive and each of them faces an uphill fight in reaching their goal. The middle ages were a dark time when there was little to rejoice in, however theses select stories surrounding King Arthur and the Knights of the round table find light in the dark by intertwining love and adventure into the otherwise grim story lines.…
The legend of King Arthur can be traced as far back as the fourth and fifth centuries. But the earliest tales of Arthur were almost nothing like they are today. There were no wandering minstrels, or ladies–in–waiting, or knights in shining armor taking on bold quests to defend their ladies. Instead, there were tales of giants, and magic cups, and invaders from a foreign land. In some ancient versions of the legend, Arthur is a hero whose deeds are comparable to those of Hercules. In more modern versions, he is merely a king whose knights are the real heroes of the story. The earliest tales of Arthur were spread largely by word of mouth, and very few written accounts survive. Of the ones that do, we do not have the original documents, only copies…
Do you fear death? It can be a terrifying thing. We can prolong it, but we can not escape it. Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Masque of the Red Death,” is an allegory of how unavoidable death is. There are many visual descriptions in the story to symbolize death. The use of this language and symbolism can be seen in the seventh room, the ebony clock and the fire. In this complex story, Edgar Allan Poe incorporates gob-smacking diction to portray the fearfulness of this “red death” along with vivid imagery of the situation, and symbolism to fully convey that death is inevitable.…
The theory of the existence of the seven deadly sins came about during the middle ages. The Christian church hierarchy during those times emphasized this theory as well as heavenly virtues (opposite). The seven deadly sins theory spread out enormously that it had a great influence on European artists (early 14th century). Which can be clearly seen through medieval works of literature. For example, Dantes Alighein Divine Comedy and Ernst and Johanna Lehner Books of devils, demons ,and witchcrafts. The seven deadly sins are also known as the capital vices. Which include two categories venial sins (minor) and farther more severe sinning : mortal sin (deadly). Which all depending on the sin and situations.…
We live in a fearful society with a variety of horrific things, and generally wanting to avoid contact with these things. We would have to live apart from newspapers, web sites, and TV, and almost separate far from others ourselves from community of people/all good people in the world completely. These very bad and upsetting things are commonly called sins. Sins are actions that are felt to be highly shameful , and are also viewed as going against God's will. Many actions can be viewed as sins, but there are seven sins that a reespecially important. Is humanity guilty of the seven deadly sins? Questions are oftentimes asked, “why were these sins created?”, or “what is the concept of the seven deadly sins?” Mankind was introduced to the…
Every one of these seven deadly emotional sins is an example of selfishness - us trying to take care of ourselves. "I hurt. I'm mad. I need to punish someone. I want... I need...…
Heroes are usually the major part of a legend. Heroes exemplify the qualities that the people of their time period admire most in a person. Beowulf was considered to be a hero in the Anglo- Saxon era. King Arthur was considered a hero in the medieval era. From one era to the other, the concept of what a hero is has changed.…
Fate’s free will: How Free Will in Malory’s Morte Darthur is dominated by Fate’s ways…