The Miller's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer

The Miller's Tale Background

• The Miller's Tale is the second tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, written in the 1380s-1390s.
• The tale is told by the drunken miller Robin to "quite" (pay back) The Knight's Tale.
• The Miller's Prologue is the first "quite" that occurs in the tales.

The Miller's Character

• The Miller, Robin, is described as a stout and evil churl fond of wrestling.
• He is drunk when telling his tale and warns the other pilgrims that he cannot be held accountable for what he says.

The Story's Plot

• The tale is about a carpenter, his wife Alisoun, and two younger men who try to sleep with her.
• The carpenter, John, lives in Oxford with his much younger wife, Alisoun, who is a local beauty.
• John rents out a room to a clever Oxford University student named Nicholas, who has taken a liking to Alisoun.
• Another man, Absolon, the parish clerk, also has his eye on Alisoun.

The Story's Events

• Nicholas grabs Alisoun and begins an affair with her while John is away on a day trip.
• Alisoun goes to church, where Absolon sees her and becomes infatuated with her.
• Absolon tries to woo Alisoun with love songs, gifts, and a local play, but she rebuffs him.
• Nicholas and Alisoun hatch a scheme to spend a whole night together, telling John that a massive flood is coming and they need to prepare.
• John believes them and they hang three tubs from the ceiling of the barn, each loaded with provisions and an axe.
• When John is asleep, Nicholas and Alisoun climb down, run back to the house, and sleep together in John's bed.
• That same night, Absolon comes to the house and begs Alisoun to kiss him, but she tricks him into kissing her backside instead.
• Absolon gets a red-hot coulter and tries to burn Alisoun in revenge, but Nicholas farts in his face and he thrusts the coulter into Nicholas' buttocks.
• John, hearing the cries of "water!", thinks the flood is coming and cuts the rope, crashing to the floor and breaking his arm.
• The townspeople rush to the scene and laugh at poor John, considering him mad.

The Reeve's Tale

• The third story in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, told by the reeve, Oswald.
• Oswald is the manager of a large estate, generating significant profits for his master and himself.
• He is described as skinny, bad-tempered, and old, with closely cropped hair, reflecting his social status as a serf.
• He rides a fine gray horse called Scot, but has a rusty sword.

The Reeve's Character

• A skilled carpenter, a profession mocked in the previous "Miller's Tale".
• Oswald responds with a tale that mocks the Miller's profession in return.

The Tale

• Based on a popular fabliau of the period, with many different versions, known as the "cradle-trick".
• Chaucer's version is notable for its detailed characterisation and sly humour.
• The tale links the act of grinding corn with sex.

Language and Dialect

• The northeastern accent of the two clerks is the earliest surviving attempt in English to record a dialect from an area other than that of the main writer.
• Chaucer's works typically feature traces of the southern English or London accent of himself and his scribes.
• Chaucer extracts comedy from imitating accents in his writing.