Modern day adultery is often resulted in the ones having the affair being punished while the victims of the affair usually end up angry and heartbroken. In The Miller’s tale this is not quite the case. The Miller’s tale is a comical story that was made to be humorous and contains no moral. The Miller’s tale also contains characters that behave ridiculously and do not take bad situations very seriously. This tale contains several examples irony and contains an ending where good is punished instead of evil. The genre of this story is a fabliau which is a humorous tale found in early French history.
Both Alisoun and Nicholas in this story both behave very childishly and act very immaturely. For instance, late in the story it is stated that …show more content…
John in this story is the only main character who does not cheat or trick anyone yet gets arguably the worst result out of all of the main characters. After John falls out of the tub and breaks his arm after cutting himself loose, Nicholas and Alisoun both pretend like they did not know him. We see here in the story that “By clever Nicholas and Alison/For they told everyone that he was odd” (Chaucer 646-647). In this story one would expect that John would at least be rewarded for his hard work in building the tubs and caring for his loved ones, but instead he is laughed at and is ridiculed by a large crowd. Irony also plays a big role when both Nicholas and Alisoun join that crowd of those who are making fun of him. Alisoun and John are his family yet he gets called crazy by them. Another example of Irony is how Nicholas is known as intelligent in the beginning of the story. He is an attendant of Oxford, “ Was turned to study of astrology” (Chaucer 6). Oxford is a very highly acclaimed school an one would expect some of the most wise and sophisticated men to come out of a university like that. However Nicholas has shown us at the end of the story, that although he is an attendant of Oxford, he isn 't nearly as sophisticated as the reader would think that he is . Nicholas looses his sophistication when he lies about the vision he receives from God. Nicholas states that the flood will be “Half, greater than Noah’s flood”(Chaucer 331). Nicholas not only looses his respect for the reader by lying to sleep with his wife, but he also loses his respect because he lies about a very popular biblical tale in history. In this passage of the story Geoffrey Chaucer portays irony, and he also tells the reader that top universities will not always produce the brightest
Both Alisoun and Nicholas in this story both behave very childishly and act very immaturely. For instance, late in the story it is stated that …show more content…
John in this story is the only main character who does not cheat or trick anyone yet gets arguably the worst result out of all of the main characters. After John falls out of the tub and breaks his arm after cutting himself loose, Nicholas and Alisoun both pretend like they did not know him. We see here in the story that “By clever Nicholas and Alison/For they told everyone that he was odd” (Chaucer 646-647). In this story one would expect that John would at least be rewarded for his hard work in building the tubs and caring for his loved ones, but instead he is laughed at and is ridiculed by a large crowd. Irony also plays a big role when both Nicholas and Alisoun join that crowd of those who are making fun of him. Alisoun and John are his family yet he gets called crazy by them. Another example of Irony is how Nicholas is known as intelligent in the beginning of the story. He is an attendant of Oxford, “ Was turned to study of astrology” (Chaucer 6). Oxford is a very highly acclaimed school an one would expect some of the most wise and sophisticated men to come out of a university like that. However Nicholas has shown us at the end of the story, that although he is an attendant of Oxford, he isn 't nearly as sophisticated as the reader would think that he is . Nicholas looses his sophistication when he lies about the vision he receives from God. Nicholas states that the flood will be “Half, greater than Noah’s flood”(Chaucer 331). Nicholas not only looses his respect for the reader by lying to sleep with his wife, but he also loses his respect because he lies about a very popular biblical tale in history. In this passage of the story Geoffrey Chaucer portays irony, and he also tells the reader that top universities will not always produce the brightest