Canterbury Tales: The Power of LustSay no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Seven Deadly Sins. Eight tales. In Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer offers insight into human characteristics and actions. Among the seven deadly sins, lust remains a recurring feature in many tales. As romance and marriage are important motifs throughout the work, many tales address sexual desires and feature characters seeking to satisfy their urges through quarrels (in "The Knight's Tale"), deception (in "The Miller") or strong will and infidelity. (in "The Merchant"). Although these stories have different plots, each offers a common message regarding human nature and lust. Debuting in "The Knight's Tale," lust overtakes Arcite and Palamon, two men locked in prison who desire Emily, a woman who may not even know it. that they exist. Throughout the narrative, both men describe Emily as "goddess" and "Venus," venerating her physical features and revealing both men's desire for this woman (242-243). Chaucer expresses the stupidity of the two cousins ​​as they childishly fight over a woman they only know by appearance; one claims: “I loved her first” (297). Several years later, the power of lust brings Arcite and Palamon together with "a hundred knights [each]... well armed... to fight for a lady"; a lady who did not speak to them once (1241-1245). In an act of madness, lust leads the two "sworn brothers" to risk their lives in all-out battle, ultimately resulting in Arcite's death (273). In this tale, Chaucer achieves his goal of describing the consequences of lust: it clouds human conscience, causing them to make disastrous choices. Unlike Emily, who prefers to remain a virgin and resist the lust of Arcite and Palamon, Alison, one of the main characters in "The Miller", submits to the young squire Nicholas. After years of secret lust, "Nicholas flirted and played with his young wife...and secretly grabbed her where he shouldn't" (87-90). Nicholas continues to flatter her because he “spoke so prettily and pushed himself so hard that she finally granted him her love...by Saint Thomas Becket, that she would be at his command” (104-108). Flattery and adulation remain key. the driving forces of sexual pleasure. But lust is not limited to Nicolas. Absalom also falls victim to lust, declaring, “I yearn like the lamb for the teat.” Indeed, darling, I am so lovesick,” even though Alison shows no interest in him (518-519). Ultimately, lust results in a chaotic and embarrassing event for all three men: Absalom kisses the squire's rear end, Nicholas receives a "butt" burn, and the old carpenter breaks his arm. While Chaucer introduces a variety of characters in "The Miller," their actions represent the widespread and inevitable devastation caused by lust. Although several tales depict lust in one way or another, "The Merchant" remains one of the best at revealing the characteristics of desire and will. January gives in to lust and marries a girl named May for her beauty, despite Justinus's warnings that he "will not please her for three years - that is, please her fully: a woman demands a lot to be accomplished” (318-320). A few days after the wedding, January “was wracked by a trance every time he looked at her face; but in his heart he began to threaten to hold her in his arms that night” (506-509). January cannot,.