“The Reeve’s Tale” is an attempt by the Reeve to “quite,” or answer, “The Miller’s Tale.” The Reeve is angry because the Miller has just told a story in which a carpenter is humiliated by his wife and her lover.
Who does the Miller have a grudge against?
carpenters
His tale is one of the best constructed and the best comic situations of the all the tales. As evidenced in his tale, the Miller also has an obvious grudge against carpenters and perhaps towards the Reeve himself, who was once a member of a carpenter’s guild.
Why does Chaucer not like the Miller?
Because the narrator describes the Miller in a blunt and somewhat unappealing fashion, as well as speaking of the Miller’s tendency to cheat his customers, Chaucer’s slight dislike of the Miller becomes apparent.
What is a reeve and why is the Miller making fun of him?
However, in the General Prologue, we also learned that the Reeve was once a carpenter. When the Miller tells a story making fun of a rather dense carpenter named John, the Reeve takes this as an insult upon all carpenters, and begs to be allowed to “quite,” or answer, “The Miller’s Tale” with his own.
Why is the Reeve offended by the millers tale?
In ‘The Reeve’s Tale’, he was upset with the Miller’s Tale because it made the carpenter look foolish, and as the Reeve had once been a carpenter he felt as though this tale was meant to make all carpenters look foolish. So he decides to repay the Miller with a tale of his own.
Who is the antagonist in the Miller’s tale?
The antagonist of a tale may not be the character who acts unkindly. In “The Miller’s Tale,” the foolish but earnest carpenter John acts as the obstacle to Alisoun and Nicholas’s tryst.
Who is the only character who is not punished in the Miller’s tale?
Alisoun, John’s wife, Nicholas’s lover, and a reputed local beauty, is the only character in “The Miller’s Tale” who goes apparently unpunished at its conclusion.
What is Chaucer criticizing in the Miller?
The Miller is a vulgar and drunk individual who uses references to religion as criticism and critiques of the Roman Catholic Church. Chaucer uses the Miler as his vessel to reveal the corruption and hypocrisy of the Church.
What is ironic about the Miller Canterbury Tales?
The Miller’s Tale
Alison’s claims to “truth” and faithfulness read as dramatic irony because the audience knows that Alison and Nicholas are tricking the carpenter so that they can sleep together. The plot takes on elements of a farce as this plot seems so ridiculous that any man would see through the story.
What is the moral of the Miller?
The Millers Tale a moral tale of how Greed Will Imprison us all. After the Knight finishes his noble tale, the Host asks the Monk to share next, but the Miller states that he wants to go next, and threatens to leave if he cannot.
What does the Reeve represent?
A reeve is a manager of someone’s estate or farm. This reeve is also a carpenter, which leads to trouble when the Miller tells a tale insulting carpenters, but most of the Reeve’s portrait focuses upon his role as a manager, which he’s been doing for many, many years.
What did the Reeve do?
In Anglo-Saxon England, the reeve was a senior official with local responsibilities under the Crown, such as the chief magistrate of a town or district. After the Norman conquest, it was an office held by a man of lower rank, appointed as manager of a manor and overseer of the peasants.
What is satire of the Reeve?
In The Canterbury Tales, the Reeve tells a satirical story about a miller. In the Reeve’s story, the miller is a deceitful lazy, untrustworthy, base, corrupt, loathsome person. The Reeve most likely told that story because the Miller had told a story about a carpenter and the Reeve was offended by the Miller’s story.
Who did the Miller offend while telling this tale?
For instance, the Miller apologizes for the tale he is about to tell, and transfers all blame to the “ale of Southwerk”—in effect, to the Host himself (3140).
What does the Miller’s Tale symbolize?
The Miller’s Tale is significant because it the beginning of Chaucer attempting to overthrow the class system that existed in this time in history. Initially, the tales are to be told in order of social class rank; however, the Miller demands that he tell his tale after the Knight.
Who is the hero in the Miller’s tale?
English Literature ‘The Miller’s Tale’ – Geoffrey Chaucer Character Analysis – Nicholas Nicholas, the student lodger of John the carpenter, can be recognised as the ‘hero’ of the Chaucer’s ‘The Miller’s Tale’ – he’s handsome, well accomplished and self-assured.
What happens in the end of the Miller’s tale?
The tale truly tells of trickery and sneakiness being rewarded with nothing good. Just as the Miller was probably mocked for his red hair and large wart, the story ends with John being mocked for his stupidity and blind outlook on his life and the life that his wife had taken part in.
Who is the protagonist in the Miller’s tale?
Although there is no true hero or honest protagonist to be found in ‘The Miller’s Tale,’ Absolon fits the role as the lesser of the evils.
What is the main theme of the Miller’s tale?
The Miller’s Tale conveys the themes of lust, scheming, trickery, and revenge.
Is the Miller’s tale A ironic?
The Miller’s tale is a comical story that was made to be humorous and contains no moral. The Miller’s tale also contains characters that behave ridiculously and do not take bad situations very seriously. This tale contains several examples irony and contains an ending where good is punished instead of evil.
How does the narrator describe the Miller?
Most of the description we get of the Miller is intensely physical and kind of, well, disgusting. He’s huge, with a red beard, wide black nostrils, a gaping mouth, and (gross-out alert!) a wart on his nose with a tuft of hairs growing on it that are as red as the bristles in a sow’s ears.