The Miller's Prologue and Tale
Summary
After the Knight's story, the Host calls upon the Monk to tell a story that will rival the Knight's tale for nobility of purpose. But the Miller, who is very drunk, announces that he will tell a story about a carpenter. The Reeve, Oswald, objects because he was once a carpenter. Chaucer then warns the reader that this tale might be a bit vulgar, but he must tell all the stories because a prize is at stake. Thus, the Miller begins his tale.
John, an old and very jealous carpenter who is married to an 18-year-old girl named Alison, rents a room to a young astrology student named Nicholas, who can supposedly forecast the likelihood of rain showers or drought. Nicholas soon falls in love with Alison and one …show more content…
In the medieval view, Noah's flood came about because men had become carnal; they fell into promiscuity and perversion. The same sins bring on the comic catastrophe in The Miller's Tale. Again, in The Miller's Tale, each character's vocation is comically relevant. Carpentry is relevant first because it justifies old John's building the tubs (arks) and, second, because the carpenters' guild normally staged the Noah plays in the medieval mystery cycles. Furthermore, the carpenter's name, John, refers to the Apocalypse (or revelations) of St. …show more content…
Here at the beginning of the tales, we see this relationship most clearly. The Knight's Tale and The Miller's Tale involve a three-way love triangle. In both tales, two men are seeking the love (or possession) of the same woman. In both tales, the woman remains the more-or-less passive bystander while the men struggle for her. Furthermore, the two tales deal with justice and injustice or getting what one deserves. In spite of his jealousy and precaution, the carpenter's wife "thus was swyver (screwed)," he has a broken arm from the fall, and he is now the laughing stock of the entire town. The scheming scholar, Nicholas, is outfoxed by the clerk and ends up with a severely burned "arse," and the fussy, effeminate incense swinger is befouled by kissing the rear end of a woman he once idolized. For Absalon, then, to go from idolization (eschatology) to arse-kissing (scatology) is a complete
Summary
After the Knight's story, the Host calls upon the Monk to tell a story that will rival the Knight's tale for nobility of purpose. But the Miller, who is very drunk, announces that he will tell a story about a carpenter. The Reeve, Oswald, objects because he was once a carpenter. Chaucer then warns the reader that this tale might be a bit vulgar, but he must tell all the stories because a prize is at stake. Thus, the Miller begins his tale.
John, an old and very jealous carpenter who is married to an 18-year-old girl named Alison, rents a room to a young astrology student named Nicholas, who can supposedly forecast the likelihood of rain showers or drought. Nicholas soon falls in love with Alison and one …show more content…
In the medieval view, Noah's flood came about because men had become carnal; they fell into promiscuity and perversion. The same sins bring on the comic catastrophe in The Miller's Tale. Again, in The Miller's Tale, each character's vocation is comically relevant. Carpentry is relevant first because it justifies old John's building the tubs (arks) and, second, because the carpenters' guild normally staged the Noah plays in the medieval mystery cycles. Furthermore, the carpenter's name, John, refers to the Apocalypse (or revelations) of St. …show more content…
Here at the beginning of the tales, we see this relationship most clearly. The Knight's Tale and The Miller's Tale involve a three-way love triangle. In both tales, two men are seeking the love (or possession) of the same woman. In both tales, the woman remains the more-or-less passive bystander while the men struggle for her. Furthermore, the two tales deal with justice and injustice or getting what one deserves. In spite of his jealousy and precaution, the carpenter's wife "thus was swyver (screwed)," he has a broken arm from the fall, and he is now the laughing stock of the entire town. The scheming scholar, Nicholas, is outfoxed by the clerk and ends up with a severely burned "arse," and the fussy, effeminate incense swinger is befouled by kissing the rear end of a woman he once idolized. For Absalon, then, to go from idolization (eschatology) to arse-kissing (scatology) is a complete