What Is The Mood Of The Miller's Tale
(1)
“The Miller’s Prologue”
From The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Lines 12 – 26
The Millere, that for dronken was al pale,
So that unnethe upon his hors he sat,
He nolde avalen neither hood ne hat,
15 Ne abiden no man for his curteisye, But in Pilates vois he gan to crye,
And swoor, “By armes and by blood and bones, I can a noble tale for the nones, With which I wol now quite the Knightes tale.”
20 Oure Hoste sawgh that he was dronke of ale, And saide, “Abide, Robin, leve brother,
Som bettre man shal telle us first another.
Abide, and lat us werken thriftily.” “By Goddes soule,” quod he, “that wol nat I,
25 For I wol speke or elles go my way.” Oure Host answerde, “Tel on, a devele way!
(2)
Translation …show more content…
The Miller was so drunk that he was pale and having trouble sitting on his horse correctly. He refused to remove his hood or hat and never waited for a man out of courtesy. But, like Pilate, he made a dramatic exclamation and swore, "In the name of God and on my grave, I know a magnificent and perfect tale for this occasion; and with it, I will undermine the Knight's tale."
Our Host realized he was drunk and said, "Robin, although you are my dear brother, please wait, a better man should go first. Remain patient, and let’s act respectfully."
"By God," said Miller, “No, I will not. I will tell my story, or I will leave.”
Our Host answered him, saying, “Go ahead—tell your story in the devil’s name!”
(3)
Close Reading
In a close reading of Lines 12 – 26 in “The Miller’s Prologue” in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the rhyming structure stands out and expresses the passage’s major themes. The beginning of this passage describes the Miller’s physical presence. In the first lines, the rhyming words, “sat” and “hat” (along with the unrhymed “pale” that precedes these lines) are used to portray the Miller’s physical description (lines 12-14). Here, Chaucer utilizes a simplistic vernacular in order to portray the Miller’s simple and austere presence among the crowd, which contrasts the supposed noble tale he wants to tell. His next rhyme pattern, “curteisye” and “crye,” portray the Miller’s lack of gentility and civility (lines 15-16). The next lines’ rhyme structure, “‘By blood and bones…a noble tale for the nones.” portrays the Miller’s insistence upon the nobility and greatness of his tale (lines 17-18). The Miller’s insistence upon the prominence of his tale sharply contrasts his meek physical presence, as described in the preceding lines. The next rhyming words, “tale” and “ale” seem to summarize the Miller’s objectives—telling a noble tale while being drunk on ale (lines 19-20). The next rhyming pattern, “leve brother” and “first another” exemplifies the Host’s perception of the drunken Miller and his expectation of the story-telling process (lines 21-22). The next rhyme scheme, “thriftily” and “nat I,” (lines 23-24) suggests the Miller’s unwillingness to comply with the Host’s requests; while the following rhyming words, “my way” & “a devele way,” (lines 25-26) imply the Miller’s upcoming unreliable and erratic narration.
Although the rhyming words of the last four lines of this passage make implications about the Miller’s unyielding selfishness and unreliable narration, the rhymed words are also intermingled between the Miller’s and the Host’s dialogues. The words “thriftily” (line 23) and “a devele way” (line 26) are from the Host’s dialogue, while the words “nat I” (line 24) and “my way” (line 25) come from the Miller. The shifting speakers of these rhyming words stand out and demonstrate the contrast of the Miller’s and the Host’s opinions and points of view. The Host’s dialogue in this selection, “Abide, and lat us werken thriftily” and “…‘Tel on, a devele way!” are referencing the situation at hand; while the Miller’s words in this selection, “nat I” and “my way” represent his stubborn and selfish nature. Within this calculated rhyme structure, Chaucer shows the contradictions and differences between not only the Miller’s and the Host’s opinions, but also their temperaments and conceit.
Along with rhyme, Chaucer employs many other structural elements to reveal themes within the passage.
For example, both the first and the last line of the first (and most prolonged) paragraph of the passage, display the ironic situation of “The Millere, that for drunken was al pale,” (line 12) who wants to tell a story to “…quite the Knightes tale” (line 19). This paragraph illustrates the Miller through a variety of formal and rhetorical features. In the three lines that follow the first line’s description of his drunkenness contain a variety of calculated language patterns. For example, alliteration of the consonant “h” is used in the phrases, “his horse he sat,” and “neither hood ne hat” (lines 13-14). This alliteration gives focus to the his primary physical description. Also, the phrases, “nolde avalen neither” and “[n]e abiden no,” stand out because the repetition of the first consonants create an A-N-A pattern, that creates an auditory extraction of the phrases from their surrounding words (lines 14-15). Like the alliteration phrases, these stand out as a set to describe the Miller, as well as allude to the Miller’s selfish nature. Line 16 compares the Miller to Pilate, who according to the footnote, is referring to a “harsh voice associated with the character of Pontius Pilate in the mystery plays.” Here, the word Pilate could take on two meanings. The denotation of the word suggests the Miller having a harsh voice and implies the mystery about the …show more content…
reliability of the Miller’s narration, while the connotation could have a somewhat different meaning. The word “Pilate,” when said aloud sounds like the pilot of an airplane. This kind of word play suggests he could imply the Miller’s intention of taking control of the crowd—being the pilot of the next tale. While this line sets up the Miller’s intentions, the following line introduces dialogue into the passage.
The dialogue is very revealing of the passages overall themes of the disparity in opinions between the Miller and the Host.
Within this passage, both the Miller and the Host have two quotes. The Miller begins both of his quotes in the name of God saying, “By armes,” (line 17) and “By Goddes soule” (line 24). These references to religion portray the Miller’s contradicting attitudes and the irony of his drunken insistence up telling a noblest tale. The Host’s first dialogue of the passage, speaking to the Miller, repeats the word, “Abide,” which portrays his desire to keep the story-telling running smoothly. The Host acquiesces to the Millers demands in his second quote, “Tel on, a devele way!” (line 26). This quote, referencing the devil, rather than God, shows the recurrent themes of this passage, which are the contrast and ironic disparity between the Host and the
Miller.
(4)
Thesis
Lines 12 – 26 of “The Miller’s Prologue” in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales portray the sharp contrast of the Miller and the Host’s differing opinions and personas. The description of the Miller, along with his dialogue within this passage illustrates a drunken, stubborn, and selfish man that ironically, feels that he has a noble tale, perfect for the occasion. This irony of the Miller’s drunken state carries over into his contrasting personality with his Host. The host’s presence in the passage is that of an intermediary between the Miller’s demands and the presupposed proceedings. He tells the Miller to be respectful of the group and the system. By the end of the passage however, the Host acquiesces to the Miller and lets him proceed with his supposedly noble tale.
“The Miller’s Prologue”
From The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Lines 12 – 26
The Millere, that for dronken was al pale,
So that unnethe upon his hors he sat,
He nolde avalen neither hood ne hat,
15 Ne abiden no man for his curteisye, But in Pilates vois he gan to crye,
And swoor, “By armes and by blood and bones, I can a noble tale for the nones, With which I wol now quite the Knightes tale.”
20 Oure Hoste sawgh that he was dronke of ale, And saide, “Abide, Robin, leve brother,
Som bettre man shal telle us first another.
Abide, and lat us werken thriftily.” “By Goddes soule,” quod he, “that wol nat I,
25 For I wol speke or elles go my way.” Oure Host answerde, “Tel on, a devele way!
(2)
Translation …show more content…
The Miller was so drunk that he was pale and having trouble sitting on his horse correctly. He refused to remove his hood or hat and never waited for a man out of courtesy. But, like Pilate, he made a dramatic exclamation and swore, "In the name of God and on my grave, I know a magnificent and perfect tale for this occasion; and with it, I will undermine the Knight's tale."
Our Host realized he was drunk and said, "Robin, although you are my dear brother, please wait, a better man should go first. Remain patient, and let’s act respectfully."
"By God," said Miller, “No, I will not. I will tell my story, or I will leave.”
Our Host answered him, saying, “Go ahead—tell your story in the devil’s name!”
(3)
Close Reading
In a close reading of Lines 12 – 26 in “The Miller’s Prologue” in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the rhyming structure stands out and expresses the passage’s major themes. The beginning of this passage describes the Miller’s physical presence. In the first lines, the rhyming words, “sat” and “hat” (along with the unrhymed “pale” that precedes these lines) are used to portray the Miller’s physical description (lines 12-14). Here, Chaucer utilizes a simplistic vernacular in order to portray the Miller’s simple and austere presence among the crowd, which contrasts the supposed noble tale he wants to tell. His next rhyme pattern, “curteisye” and “crye,” portray the Miller’s lack of gentility and civility (lines 15-16). The next lines’ rhyme structure, “‘By blood and bones…a noble tale for the nones.” portrays the Miller’s insistence upon the nobility and greatness of his tale (lines 17-18). The Miller’s insistence upon the prominence of his tale sharply contrasts his meek physical presence, as described in the preceding lines. The next rhyming words, “tale” and “ale” seem to summarize the Miller’s objectives—telling a noble tale while being drunk on ale (lines 19-20). The next rhyming pattern, “leve brother” and “first another” exemplifies the Host’s perception of the drunken Miller and his expectation of the story-telling process (lines 21-22). The next rhyme scheme, “thriftily” and “nat I,” (lines 23-24) suggests the Miller’s unwillingness to comply with the Host’s requests; while the following rhyming words, “my way” & “a devele way,” (lines 25-26) imply the Miller’s upcoming unreliable and erratic narration.
Although the rhyming words of the last four lines of this passage make implications about the Miller’s unyielding selfishness and unreliable narration, the rhymed words are also intermingled between the Miller’s and the Host’s dialogues. The words “thriftily” (line 23) and “a devele way” (line 26) are from the Host’s dialogue, while the words “nat I” (line 24) and “my way” (line 25) come from the Miller. The shifting speakers of these rhyming words stand out and demonstrate the contrast of the Miller’s and the Host’s opinions and points of view. The Host’s dialogue in this selection, “Abide, and lat us werken thriftily” and “…‘Tel on, a devele way!” are referencing the situation at hand; while the Miller’s words in this selection, “nat I” and “my way” represent his stubborn and selfish nature. Within this calculated rhyme structure, Chaucer shows the contradictions and differences between not only the Miller’s and the Host’s opinions, but also their temperaments and conceit.
Along with rhyme, Chaucer employs many other structural elements to reveal themes within the passage.
For example, both the first and the last line of the first (and most prolonged) paragraph of the passage, display the ironic situation of “The Millere, that for drunken was al pale,” (line 12) who wants to tell a story to “…quite the Knightes tale” (line 19). This paragraph illustrates the Miller through a variety of formal and rhetorical features. In the three lines that follow the first line’s description of his drunkenness contain a variety of calculated language patterns. For example, alliteration of the consonant “h” is used in the phrases, “his horse he sat,” and “neither hood ne hat” (lines 13-14). This alliteration gives focus to the his primary physical description. Also, the phrases, “nolde avalen neither” and “[n]e abiden no,” stand out because the repetition of the first consonants create an A-N-A pattern, that creates an auditory extraction of the phrases from their surrounding words (lines 14-15). Like the alliteration phrases, these stand out as a set to describe the Miller, as well as allude to the Miller’s selfish nature. Line 16 compares the Miller to Pilate, who according to the footnote, is referring to a “harsh voice associated with the character of Pontius Pilate in the mystery plays.” Here, the word Pilate could take on two meanings. The denotation of the word suggests the Miller having a harsh voice and implies the mystery about the …show more content…
reliability of the Miller’s narration, while the connotation could have a somewhat different meaning. The word “Pilate,” when said aloud sounds like the pilot of an airplane. This kind of word play suggests he could imply the Miller’s intention of taking control of the crowd—being the pilot of the next tale. While this line sets up the Miller’s intentions, the following line introduces dialogue into the passage.
The dialogue is very revealing of the passages overall themes of the disparity in opinions between the Miller and the Host.
Within this passage, both the Miller and the Host have two quotes. The Miller begins both of his quotes in the name of God saying, “By armes,” (line 17) and “By Goddes soule” (line 24). These references to religion portray the Miller’s contradicting attitudes and the irony of his drunken insistence up telling a noblest tale. The Host’s first dialogue of the passage, speaking to the Miller, repeats the word, “Abide,” which portrays his desire to keep the story-telling running smoothly. The Host acquiesces to the Millers demands in his second quote, “Tel on, a devele way!” (line 26). This quote, referencing the devil, rather than God, shows the recurrent themes of this passage, which are the contrast and ironic disparity between the Host and the
Miller.
(4)
Thesis
Lines 12 – 26 of “The Miller’s Prologue” in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales portray the sharp contrast of the Miller and the Host’s differing opinions and personas. The description of the Miller, along with his dialogue within this passage illustrates a drunken, stubborn, and selfish man that ironically, feels that he has a noble tale, perfect for the occasion. This irony of the Miller’s drunken state carries over into his contrasting personality with his Host. The host’s presence in the passage is that of an intermediary between the Miller’s demands and the presupposed proceedings. He tells the Miller to be respectful of the group and the system. By the end of the passage however, the Host acquiesces to the Miller and lets him proceed with his supposedly noble tale.