Essay on The Millers Tale - 1115 Words

The Millers Tale The Miller’s Tale is in the form of fabliaux, which is part of the oral tradition of storytelling, which was very popular among the lower classes in the medieval times. Prominently bawdy and satirizing in content, fabliaux commonly told the story of a bourgeois husband who is cuckolded by his young wife. Fabliaux brings a great contrast to the likes of the courtly love tales such as the Knight’s Tale, thus it reflects Chaucer’s social and literary experience. The coarse, colloquial language and the realistic setting makes it convincing that a ‘cherl’ like the Miller could have told this story as it shows the Miler’s unrefined and crude nature. Furthermore, the use of animal†¦show more content†¦He reassures the Reeve who is his enemy that his wife would not cheat on him-‘But I sey nat therefore that thou art oon.’ In fact, the Miller is implying the opposite to this as he regards the Reeve as being a cuckold. This sugg ests that the Miller is very smart thus it seem possible that this drunken ‘cherl’ could have constructed this tale on his own. However, it seems unconvincing that the Miller could have beautifully structured this tale. The use of parody is evident in the fairy tale like style in which the Miller begins this tale-‘whilom ther was dwellinge.’ This opening parodies the Knight’s Tale. Similarly, the Miller has structured his tale in the form of a love triangle between Alison, Nicholas and Absolon. This allows the Miller to mimic the structure used in the Knight’s Tale. In addition, the Knight’s idealistic courtly values and romantic valour are deeply parodied by the Miller. The language used by Nicholas during the wooing process of Alison is in the style of a courtly lover-‘lemman, love me al atones, or I nol dyen.’ He is indicating that he would rather die than not to have her love. This is used by the Miller to show how unrealistic and unpractical the courtly lovers are and consequently, mocks the courtly love procedure and chivalry behaviour. In conclusion, it seems unconvincing that a drunken Miller could maintain the constant parody of the Knight’s tale andShow MoreRelatedThe Millers Tale501 Words   |  3 PagesThe link between the Miller and the tale he tells is quite a close one; the tale is really a reflection of the character that relates it. We will attempt to prove it by examining the stories genre, the way in which it is narrated, and its intended meaning. The Millers tale is a fabliau, a genre best defined as a dirty story told with wit and point; the tale itself is one of old age, youth, carpentry and cuckoldry.. A character telling such a story can immediately be classified as a memberRead More Comparing The Millers Tale and The Reves Tale Essays1188 Words   |  5 PagesSimilarities in The Millers Tale and The Reves Tale       The Millers Tale and The Reves Tale from The Canterbury Tales are very closely related. They both deal with the relationship between a jealous man, his wife, and a young scholar(s), and they both are immoral stories that contain sex and violence. This proves that the Miller and the Reeve are two very corrupt individuals. However, these tales also share some differences. For instance, the main character inRead More Comparing Clothing in Knights Tale and the Millers Tale Essay2560 Words   |  11 Pagesthe Knyghts Tale and the Millers Tale (which is supposed to quit(e) the Knyghts Tale) is that of clothing (the former tale) and lack of clothing (in the latter). Upon an inspection of the General Prologues description of the Knyght, I found that clothing is a very signifcant part of the Knyghts Tale. Chaucers decription of him may forshadow (or, since Chaucer wrote the tales after they were told, color his perceptions of the Knyght) the importance of clothing in the Knyghts Tale. Special attentionRead MoreAn Analyis of the Conventions of Courtly Love Within the Millers Tale and Morte Darthur1849 Words   |  8 PagesAn Analyis of the Conventions of Courtly Love Within The Millers Tale and Morte Darthur While both â€Å"Morte Darthur† and â€Å"The Millers Tale† display some characteristics of a satirical approach in which human vices are attacked in a whimsical manner through irony, comedy, and folly, they are actually quite different in their literary genre and style. â€Å"Morte Darthur†, an adventurous tale with an imaginary setting that perfectly idealizes the chivalrous knight-hero and his noble deeds done for theRead MoreMillers Tale1044 Words   |  5 Pagesto guide man and women in their relationship? By analyzing two of the major characters, Nicholas and Absalon, and their relative success in relationships, explain what you believe Chaucer is telling us about courtly love though this tale. The Millers tale story is about two characters that were pursuing the attention and affection of the beautiful Alison who was married to John the carpenter. These characters were Nicholas and Absalon. The character whose efforts proved triumphant in doingRead MoreMillers Tale Essay1031 Words   |  5 Pagesto guide man and women in their relationship? By analyzing two of the major characters, Nicholas and Absalon, and their relative success in relationships, explain what you believe Chaucer is telling us about courtly love though this tale. The Millers tale story is about two characters that were pursuing the attention and affection of the beautiful Alison who was married to John the carpenter. These characters were Nicholas and Absalon. The character whose efforts proved triumphant in doingRead MoreEssay about Analysis of Alison from the Millers Tale, Canterbury Tales664 Words   |  3 PagesClass: English 2010.105 Professor: Dr. Arnold Student: Bob Jackson Date: September 7, 1999 Title: Analysis of Alison from The Millers Tale, Canterbury Tales In The Millers Tale, the character of Alison is introduced as the 18-year-old wife of a carpenter who is much older than the woman. The authors description of the young wife seems to suggest that she was so wild, beautiful, and desirable that the old man had a difficult time containing his jealousy. Chaucer uses a numberRead MoreA Comaprison of the Millers Tale and Merchants Tale786 Words   |  4 Pages Comparing Millers Tale and Merchants Tale Alison in the Millers Tale and May of the Merchants Tale are similar in several ways. Both are young women who have married men much older than themselves. They both become involved with young, manipulative men. They also conspire to and do cuckold their husbands. This is not what marriage is about and it is demonstrated in both tales. What makes the Millers Tale bawdy comedy and the Merchants tale bitter satire is in the characterization.Read MoreRules Of Courtly Love : The Outcome Of William Shakespeare s The Miller s Tale1836 Words   |  8 Pagesdealing with love we all want to know if its true or non existent. The two people of this story chose to follow the rules of courtly love to find out. There are two stories that I am going to compare for the outcome of following the rules. In â€Å"the Miller’s Tale†, they use the rules of courtly love in the complete opposite of what it usually is used for. The narrative telling the story, well actually the miller makes a total and complete joke of courtly love and everything it stands for. He made it seemRead More Canterbury Tales - Comparison of the Millers Tale and the Knights Tale1638 Words   |  7 PagesA Comparison of the Millers Tale and the Knights Tale  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   It is common when considering The Canterbury Tales to discuss how some tales seem designed to emphasise the themes of others. Two such tales are the Millers Tale2 and the Knights Tale3. At first glance these two tales seem an incongruous pairing. The Knights Tale is told by an eminent person, is an historical romance which barely escapes a tragic ending, and its themes are universal: the relationship of individuals to providence