Q1. How does the description of the Miller in the General Prologue, and the interaction between Miller and Host in the tale's Prologue, impact upon our reading of the tale?
Q2. Is there a moral to the Miller's Tale? Is it significant that this tale is included so early?
Q3. Discuss the use of biblical narratives in the tale. How do they affect the way we interpret the bawdy and immoral action of the tale?
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ReplyDeleteFrom the out set the Miller is set up as a ridiculous figure. Chaucer uses a deft description to ensure from the beginning that Miller is not taken seriously.
ReplyDeleteHe is big and brawny, he has a wort on his nose and a red beard. Chaucer insinuates that he is puffed up by setting him at the head of the column of travellers playing the bagpipes.
Later he skips his place in the story telling queue as set by social standing and he is drunk.
Chaucer's description of the red bearded miller warns us not to expect a serious tale.
The Miller's tale is a derisive parody of the biblical tale of Noah's Ark. I think that Chaucer included it so early to demonstrate the ridiculous nature of people who blindly follow the bible.
ReplyDeleteAll the characters are foolish or adulterous or lascivious. The moral of the tale is that people who act in immoral ways will be caught out and derided.
Old men who marry young women and then invite young men to live with them should expect to be cuckolded.
The Miller's tale has obvious ties to the biblical story of Noah. Chaucer deliberately takes a story about a man who was rewarded for his faithfulness to God and subverts it. The Noah character is hilariously sitting in a barrel on his roof top waiting for a flood that is not coming while his faithless wife cheats on him with a younger man.
ReplyDeleteI think Chaucer is poking fun at anyone who believes absolutely in the Old Testament. He sets John up as a gullible figure who deserves to suffer humiliation.
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ReplyDeleteThe Miller's tale does have a vague moral message, being that adultery or foolishness does not, or should not, go unpunished. Characters in the story are punished for their sinful actions, but the moral is prolematic.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, John suffers public humilation and mockery, no reason except his naive nature. He is gullible, but really guilty of nothing more than trusting those around him.
Also, Allison, who is probably the most sinful character of this tale, goes unpunished, despite her adultery, and her obscenity.
I think this tale had been included so early in the book because it is humourous and entertaing, but also because it is indicative of how the story tellers are not necessarily good or virtuous characters, and the didactic moral of their tales are not necessarily unproblematic.
Caoimhe L