How Does Chaucer Present The Miller To Become Such A Vivid And Vibrant

How Does Chaucer Present The Miller To Become Such A Vivid And Vibrant Character? ‘The Canterbury Tales’ is a selection of stories written in Middle English. On a spring day in April sometime in the 14th century 29 pilgrims (including Chaucer as a character 30) set out for Canterbury on a pilgrimage. Among them is a knight, a monk, a prioress, two nun’s, the friar, the squire, the yeoman, the merchant, a clerk, a sergeant of the law, a wealthy landowner, a doctor, the wife of Bath, a supplier, the reeve, a somonour, a pardoner, Harry Bailey (the host), Chaucer himself, a haberdasher, a carpenter, a weaver, a tapestry maker, a dyere, a cook, a shipman, a poor parson, a plowman, and a miller. To entertain themselves they decide to tell a tale each on the way and another on the way back. They all start there journey at ‘The Tabard’ an inn or pub. The miller is categorised as lower class and his character when telling this story is exceedingly drunk. The miller’s tale is about an Oxford student called Nicholas who lives with an old wealthy carpenter and his young attractive wife called Alisoun. The carpenter keeps a close eye on her. One day Nicholas decides to ‘try it on’ with Alisoun without much resistance on the agreement of secrecy Alisoun agrees. In the church a parish clerk called Absolon falls in love with Alisoun. He tries to woo her over by giving her presents and money. As Nicholas lives in the same house as Alisoun she isn’t interested in Absolon. Nicholas hatches a plan to get rid of the carpenter; therefore he can spend the night with Alisoun without disturbances. Nicholas pretends to be ill and stays in his room for two days. The servant reports to the carpenter that Nicholas i... ...uch as the knight would have had a much higher standard of spoken speech, which is another contrast between the knight and miller’s tale. It is also written as a poem in rhyming couplets, which I believe keeps the story lively with continuity. In conclusion, Chaucer presents the miller to be a vivid and vibrant character by mainly imagery and colours. Chaucer is clear on his descriptions and gives incredible detail on his character. Chaucer hopes that the physical appearance of the miller will reflect the miller as a person as well. Chaucer relies on symbolism and similes to reveal the miller’s character to us; therefore Chaucer does not have to make a direct opinion of him. This keeps him as a neutral story teller, but another benefit of this is that the audience cannot hold Chaucer responsible for the miller’s tale as he is merely a neutral messenger.