Theme Of Temptation In Anglo Saxon Literature

The ordeal of virtue is to resist all temptation to evil (Thomas Malthus). Everybody faces some sort of temptation in their life, whether it be something as minor as the temptation to eat a chocolate bar, or more major like the temptation to cheat. Temptations always have a consequence, much like a domino effect. It can be seen everywhere, there is plenty of temptation in literary works today, and it means the downfall for many characters in the classic literary tales. While there may be many themes in Anglo-Saxon literature, the theme of temptation and its consequences is shown most often through tests on journeys of self-discovery. Temptation may be seen as a type of test, and it can be seen as a type of test of the heart in the three novels, …show more content…
For example, in “Macbeth” Macbeth is faced with the temptation on his mind given to him in a tricky way by the witches. The witches again show us his flaw of ambition when they tempt him with power by calling him Thane and King. Macbeth’s mind is actually pretty weak because at just the mention of these words the witches have him wrapped around their finger and he pesters them wanting to know more saying, “stay… tell me more! By Sinel’s death I know I am the thane of Glamis, But how of Cawdor”(I.iii.71). Then there is “Federigo’s Falcon” in which we see Federigo’s love, Mona Giovanna, is tested in her mind and her heart with a temptation that anyone would struggle with. Mona has to decide if she wants to save her son and go ask Federigo for the one thing he has left, even though “she knew that Federigo had been in love with her for some time now, but she had never deigned to give him a second look” (Boccaccio 174). Mona never paid attention to Federigo and now she knows she would just be using him for his falcon which feels wrong, but she ends up going to get the falcon and her consequence hits her hard with the death of her son. Finally is “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” and again this temptation is one that even the most strong minded would think about. Everyone wants to live, so when Sir Gawain is again tempted by the Lady of the castle he accepts the green sash, because he knows it will save his life and that is what his ultimate goal is. However, Sir Gawain does lose a part of himself by accepting the temptation and not fulfilling his promise to the Lord of the castle. The characters so far have been tempted in many ways already, but the way they are tempted that seems to affect them the most is temptation affecting the