The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Miller's Tale Analysis
Drunk and belligerent, the Miller is the “perfect gentle” Knight’s opposite in many ways – and though he promises a “noble” tale to match the Knight’s, his tale is also the opposite of the Knight’s in many ways. It is, in fact, so bawdy that the narrator warns us before the tale begins that readers who are easily offended should skip ahead.
Although the Host asks the Monk to go first, the Miller intrudes, insisting on telling his tale immediately after that of the Knight. By doing so, he brings the social tensions in The Canterbury Tales to the fore. According to rank, the Monk should rightly follow the Knight. When the Host asks the Monk to “quite,” or repay, the Knight’s tale, the Miller announces that he can “quite” the Knight’s tale on his own – but he uses a slightly different connotation of “quite,” one that means not only “repay” but “revenge.” True to his word, the Miller provides as tale that “revenges” itself upon the courtly love traditions apparent in the Knight’s Tale by twisting them to meet much bawdier ends.
Like the Knight, the Miller tells a tale that befits both his social rank and his personal character. While the Knight’s tale is a classic romance of courtly love and chivalry, the Miller’s tale is much more coarse and draws on images from rustic farm life. Instead of elevating romantic love, it focuses on crude sexual humor and literal fart jokes.
Contents
- Home
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Plot Summaries & Analysis
- General Prologue
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Knight's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Miller's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Reeve's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Cook's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Man of Law's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Friar's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Summoner's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Clerk's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Merchant's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Squire's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Franklin's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Physician's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Pardoner's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Shipman's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Prioress's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Tale of Sir Thopas
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Tale of Melibee
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Monk's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Nun's Priest’s Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Second Nun's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Canon's Yeoman’s Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Manciple's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Parson's Tale and Chaucer’s Retraction
- Summary
- Analysis
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Character Analysis
- The Host
- The Knight, the Squire, and the Knight's Yeoman
- The Prioress, the Second Nun, and the Monk
- The Friar
- The Merchant
- The Clerk of Oxford
- The Man of Law and the Franklin
- The Haberdasher, Carpenter, Weaver, Dyer, and Upholsterer
- The Cook
- The Shipman
- The Physician
- The Wife of Bath
- The Parson and the Ploughman
- The Miller
- The Manciple
- The Reeve
- The Summoner and the Pardoner
- The Canon and the Yeoman
- Themes, Symbols & Motifs
- Writing Style & Structure
- Important Quotes