The Miller’s and the Reeve’s tales are two of 25 short stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer, a 13th century writer. The combined 25 stories make up the book titled The Canterbury Tales, which takes place in medieval England during the late 1300s to the early 1400s. The Canterbury Tales is about twenty-nine people that gather at the Tabard Inn in southwark for a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Thomas á Becket in Canterbury England. The host of the Inn, the narrator, proposes a story-telling contest to pass the time while traveling. Among the stories, the two stories told by the Miller and Reeve stand out the most because of their demeaning, humorous, and vulgar qualities.
The Miller and the Reeve told their stories to insult and humiliate the other with the obvious comparison between the characters and themselves. Miller and Reeve use …show more content…
The “Miller’s Tale” has a perfect example that represents the definition of vulgar. After the carpenter’s wife tricks Alison, he seeks revenge. He gets a hot iron from the blacksmith to brand the wife when he asks to kiss her again. When he returns and asks for a kiss, instead of the wife the astronomer sticks out his behind instead. Because it is dark when Alison asks the wife to speak, but instead the astronomer passes gas in Alison’s face who then immediately brands the astronomer’s behind. The “Reeve’s Tale”, although not as vulgar as the “Miller’s Tale”, is vulgar nonetheless. A primary example of the Reeve’s unrefined humor is the constant bed swapping. One of the two students decides to exact revenge on the miller for cheating them by sleeping with the miller’s daughter. While he is having fun with the daughter, the other decides to trick the wife into sleeping with him by moving the baby crib to his bed so the wife thinks it her bed. In the end both students have restless nights while, the miller is sleeping in
The Miller and the Reeve told their stories to insult and humiliate the other with the obvious comparison between the characters and themselves. Miller and Reeve use …show more content…
The “Miller’s Tale” has a perfect example that represents the definition of vulgar. After the carpenter’s wife tricks Alison, he seeks revenge. He gets a hot iron from the blacksmith to brand the wife when he asks to kiss her again. When he returns and asks for a kiss, instead of the wife the astronomer sticks out his behind instead. Because it is dark when Alison asks the wife to speak, but instead the astronomer passes gas in Alison’s face who then immediately brands the astronomer’s behind. The “Reeve’s Tale”, although not as vulgar as the “Miller’s Tale”, is vulgar nonetheless. A primary example of the Reeve’s unrefined humor is the constant bed swapping. One of the two students decides to exact revenge on the miller for cheating them by sleeping with the miller’s daughter. While he is having fun with the daughter, the other decides to trick the wife into sleeping with him by moving the baby crib to his bed so the wife thinks it her bed. In the end both students have restless nights while, the miller is sleeping in