Le Morte Darthur: The Seven Deadly Sins Essay -- essays research paper

The seven deadly sins are spoken of often and frequently in every day life for that is what they are affected with. All of these sins can intertwine to form a domino effect of actions and reactions that link to all of the sins. Once one is committed, it becomes easier to fall into the others for they are all interlinked. This is prevalent in Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur as proven by the acts committed by the various characters throughout the book.When looked at as separate words, the definition of the phrase, the "seven deadly sins", becomes clearer. Starting with "seven", being the chosen number of dealings, following with "deadly", meaning fatal, proceeding to die, or to become deceased and finally "sins", wrongful doings according to religiosity. So from the breakdown of the specific words it can be said that the expression, the seven deadly sins, means that there are seven, not two, not four, but seven wrongful doings that upon execution bec ome fatal.Now that the phrase has been fully explained and hopefully understood, it is time to move on to the actual seven sins that are deadly. The first of the seven sins is greed, being the insatiate longing for or the keenly intense desire for something being of material value or not, that is usually not thought of to be achieved in an moral way. The second sin is gluttony, meaning the overindulgence in anything, great appetite for anything, such as food for example. The third sin is wrath, meaning extreme anger or feeling of vengeance. The forth sin is sloth, being severe laziness or lack of enthusiasm to do anything. The fifth sin is envy, meaning the coveting of anything that is not rightfully owned by the coveter, grudging contemplation of more fortunate people and of their advantages. The sixth sin is lechery, being sexual lust or lust for anything, to live in gluttony. The seventh, and last of the sins is pride, being the overweening opinion of one's own qualities, merits, often personified as arrogant. All of these are classified as sins because they are morally wrong and can make a person unpure.Le Morte D'Arthur is a tale of many knights and endless battles. In this legend, many of the seven deadly sins surpassed and this is what will be looked at. With the first of the sins being greed, it is evident that many of the knights committed this sin. These knights wer... ...me; fortunately Tintagil is only ten miles from here.' Merlin helps Pendragon fool Igraine into sleeping with him. He has sexual lust for her as defined in sin number six, lechery.The seventh and final sin is pride which can been seen when Gwynevere casted Launcelot out because of her foolish pride.Good Sir Launcelot, do not be discouraged! Remember that you are the greatest knight living and that many important matters at this court lie in your hands. It is well known that women are inherently changeable, and often repent of their anger. Therefore I suggest that you ride no farther than the hermitage at Wyndesore, where the good hermit Sir Brastius will care for you, and wait there until we have better tidings for you. Because of Gwynevere's foolish pride, she cannot forgive Launcelot for having to be with other women to avert the attention from his relationship with her.The seven deadly sins can ruin one's life, as it did many characters in Le Morte D'Arthur. The sins are in place to warn people of their outcome, and yet still they commit them. The seven deadly sins may not lead to immediate death, but have definite malevolent products that should be taken into account by all.