Millers Tale

            The miller’s tale is a narration that tells of a story of John who is a carpenter, his beautiful wife and two scholars who so determined into getting her to sleep with them. John resides in Oxford with his younger companion known as Alisoun who is a representation of a local prettiness. So as to make additional cash, John rent out out a room of his own residence to a poor but knowledgeable learner known as Nicholus who has an interest in Alisoun. Also Absolon has an interest in Alisoun. The love story of both the two admirers and John and the entanglement that comes along with the tale is seen all over the plot. This paper therefore will present and give an in-depth discussion on some of the critiques on the Miller's Tale' by Chaucer.

            This is one of the tale that is regarded as the funniest one amongst all the writings that Chaucer have ever written and it is so popular with the readers of humorous literature across the years. Chaucer used unknown sources for the miller’s tale but the tale is one of the most common tales in the earthly folk. This story of the wealthy old man who married a voluptuous young lady has acted as a source of humor in the western literature over the ages. In the writer’s dealing of the story, it is elevated to greater heights through the masterful use of humorist absurdity and characterization and through the excellent neatness of the tale’s structure. The tale abounds in strangeness where some passages necessitate a full understanding of the medieval ages along with the culture of that given age (­Miller 3).

            The tale by miller makes it clear that it is quite difficult to resolve on what is lighthearted fun and that which is meaningful as well as moral significant. Chaucer choice on the setting on an a suburban, of the story of John who was a carpenter is stuck in certainty as the details of the tale makes perfect sense hence it tends to be more believable that Chaucer might have been aware.

            The tale as a whole is a representation of a careful but yet an ambiguous line between the seriousness and the comic nature of the story. The ambiguity in this story continues as it is seen throughout the theme in the tale. John’s plan includes floating up all the way throughout the roof in his rubdown bathtub at that time when the flood arrives and yet the story substitutes his impractical ascending progress with a loud descending movement throughout his home to the cellar floor.

            Miller’s tale expresses some pleasures of the trick and the fabliau trick rules as well. The plot that is found within the tale is largely clever and highly structured, studded with the sacred imagery (Arner 157). This is shown in the tale as John is mentioned frequently leaving the house thus leaving behind a lot of questions as one may wonder why the two failed to sleep together when John was out. The tale moves fast as from one plot to another and everybody except Alison are outsmarted (O'Connor 124). Nicholas also ends up being wounded and thus it is only true to say that in fabliau one is good as their last trick.

            Language in the miller’s tale is as well undergoing a fall from grace in the tale. The tale highly depends on words and dialogue with little action. Miller deals in bodily noises unlike Knights tale which deals with long and protracted speeches. Mechanically, the tale itself goes around a series of non-verbal sounds as well as bodily noises with one word exclamation. This is seen in the tale as Absolon knocks at the window twice, as she cries for “tehee” and as she shuts the widow the first time and in Nicholas final and cumulative cry for water! The use of the key phrase in the Canterbury tales, “withouten words mo” marks a moment in which action is more significant than words (Arner 144). The degradation of language is therefore witnessed all the way through the tales and this draws to attention the warning that Chaucer the storyteller presents prior to the tale itself and that he is only running through or rather reiterating the language of the miller who is telling the story.  Thus he repeats words such as tehee and water of both Alison and Nicholas (Arner 158).

            Miller’s tale makes full utilization of the parodist resonances of courtly love regularly found in fabliaux though Alisoun is more beautiful as compared to the chivalrous lady.  This is evident in the way that Chaucer parodies the present old fashioned dictation of the earlier western attempts at the civil style. Chaucer thus uses familiar ways of depiction that are recommended by the rhetoricians. He however draws on the country life for his imagery and the tale attracts critics all around in regards to problems of class that the tale raises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

            Arner D. Timothy. Transcendent Laughter in the "Teseida" and the "Miller's Tale". University of North Carolina press. Vol. 102. 2005.

            Miller M. Naturalism and Its Discontents in the "Miller's Tale". The Johns Hopkins University Press. Vol. 67, 2000.

            O'Connor. J. John. The astrological background of the miller’s tale. The university of Chicago press. Vol. 31. 1956.