ENGL 330 / ENGL 512: Medieval Literature Dr. Debora B. Schwartz English Department, California Polytechnic State University     The Canterbury Tales III: The Miller's Tale (MT) [page numbers in NA refer to 8th ed., 2006] You are responsible for the following Middle English passages: MT 12-35, 59-78, 113-185, 204-282, 379-446, 493-521, 563-633, 682-746.  (Click here for instructions on preparing an ENGL 330 ORAL PRESENTATION.) (Also consult ENGL 252 guide to The Miller's Tale, which includes specific comparison to the Knight's Tale.) Don't forget to look for and NOTE references to gentilesse (gentil) and trouthe (trewe) as you read. The Miller's Tale is an example of a fabliau, a short humorous narrative genre popular in France starting in the thirteenth century. Fabliaux (the plural), unlike romances, are characterized by greater realism (absence of magical characters and events); a setting in the "here and now " (not the "long ago and far away" of romance); common people rather than aristocratic characters; earthiness of tone and subject matter; an emphasis on the body in all its physicality -- sex, defecation, farting, the appetites -- rather than the emotions or the spiritual; coarse language. They tend to flout authorities of all sorts and are frequently subversive. Characters are often "tricksters" admired for their cleverness rather than their morals (morality is not an issue in most fabliaux); a common theme is the gleeful adultery of a repressed wife and a clever cleric. Chaucer's term for fabliau is a "churl's tale" (cherles tale, MT 61); it is thus implicitly contrasted with the "aristocratic" or "courtly" genre of romance (such as the preceding tale in the collection, that of the Knight; follow link for the ENGL 252 study guide to the Miller's Tale, which includes specific comparison to the Knight's Tale). Do note however that fabliaux are found in the same manuscripts as romances -- and thus were enjoyed by the same aristocratic audiences; it was not in fact the "genre of the lower or middle classes." Keeping these ideas in mind, consider the Miller's contention that his tale will quite (MT 19 -- repay or be an answer to) the Knight's Tale, a romance. As you read, compare/contrast the Miller's Tale with medieval romances that you know (e.g. Troilus and Cressida; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Malory's Morte Darthur); consider in particular relationships between the sexes, attitudes toward sex, and the depiction of women. Note Chaucer's disclaimer concerning the racy subject matter and crudeness of language in the Miller's Tale (MT 59-78): he claims that he is only repeating faithfully what he heard on the pilgrimage (clearly untrue, since the pilgrimage is an imaginary one) and that if any reader is offended, he should not blame the author but himself (he is after all free to turn the page and read another tale!) What are the implications concerning an author's responsibility to his readers? What sort of truth is he bound to? Compare GP 727-748, where Chaucer insists upon the necessity of telling his tales "truly." Can you see any connection between this sort of statement and Chaucer's unusual literary enterprise -- a collection of tales told by the "sondry folk" (GP 25) on the pilgrimage, that is, by people of all walks of life and social classes? Note the physicality in the depiction of Alison. How is she described? What type of imagery is used? Does Chaucer seem sympathetic to her unhappiness with her husband? Consider his statements on marriage (e.g. MT 113-125). To what extent does the Miller's Tale bear out or contradict the vision of marriage in the WBP&T and the FT? To what extent is the MT a satire of the conventions of courtly love? Note e.g. the physicality of Alison, who far prefers the lusty cleric Nicholas over the more courtly attentions of Absalon. Compare Absalon (physical appearance and behavior) to the portrait of the Squire in the GP. Given that Allison snubs him in favor of Nicholas, what is implied about courtly love and/or the typical "courtly lover"? Note the clever way in which the cleric Nicholas gets the better of the carpenter John. Does this cleverness make him the hero of the tale? Who is the cleverest trickster in the Miller's Tale? Consider Absalon's revenge. Is it fitting? Is Allison blamed for her role in the deception of John, or for her behavior toward Absalon? Who/what (if anyone or thing) is being criticized? Contents of this and linked pages Copyright Debora B. Schwartz, 1999-2007 Click here to review Chaucer's poems "Gentilesse" and "Truth" Click here for Background to the Canterbury Tales Click here for Study Questions for the General Prologue Click here for Study Questions for the Knight's Tale Click here for the ENGL 252 guide to The Miller's Tale Click here for Study Questions for the Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale Click here for Study Questions for the Franklin's Tale Click here for Study Questions for the Nun's Priest's Tale Click here for Study Questions for the Pardoner's Prologue and Tale Click here for Instructions on Preparing the ENGL 330 ORAL PRESENTATION Return to ENGL 330 homepage Return to ENGL 512 homepage Return to Dr. Schwartz's Teaching Page Return to Dr. Schwartz's homepage Send me mail!