Burden

The word burden immediately brings to my mind the image of Atlas carrying the entire world on his back. Although the word burden is not of Greek or Roman origin, if these peoples had known of this word I am sure that they too would have used it to describe the burdened Atlas. For what could be more burdensome than the weight of the entire world? At the beginning of this assignment I was rather sure that burden had Germanic origins, because it certainly did not seem Latin or French, and as we have recently learned, it is a commonly used word and therefore was likely to have Olde English roots. It also just sounds harsh when you say it, like many words of Germanic origin. Other than this, however, I had little knowledge of the complexities of burden (and there are complexities, many in fact). I chose burden to research precisely because I did not know much about it at all. As a student of both Latin and French, I have more than a little pride in my knack for etymology, but when it comes to words of Olde English origin, I have little knowledge because of my nonexistent German. Another reason for my selection was that burden did not seem to encompass too many ideas into the same word, unlike the extremely broad “good” or “love”; burden seemed like a solid, straightforward word. Little did I realize at the time how wrong I was. You see, burden has a variety of meanings, ranging from the refrain of a song to a certain automotive part, which I still have not fully comprehended... Anyhow, I will not be expounding greatly on these rather seldom used connotations of burden, but will focus on the more widely used ones, past and present. (300)

The Pardoner's Tale: Does Chaucer Go Too Far?

I wol none of the Apostles countrefete

I wol have money, wolle, cheese, and whete,

Al were it yiven of the pooreste page,

Or of the pooreste widwe in a village –

Al sholde hir children sterve for famine. (l. 159-163)

I feel that in this passage Chaucer expects the reader to suspend his disbelief too much. The possibility that a pardoner would so blatantly own up to, and even gloat about, having stolen money from all these innocent people is slim. This is especially significant because he should actually be using the money he receives for the pardons to help these very people. Also, I find it hard to believe that he is boasting about having stolen from these people in front of the upstanding parson and the knight who told his tale about nobility. Furthermore, he claims that he has no interest whatsoever in being noble when he refers to the Apostles and his lack of desire to imitate them. Chaucer was far more subtle and witty in the others tales that we read, this makes me wonder why he was so transparent in illustrating the pardoner’s treachery in this tale…