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Approaches to understanding and defining genre
Genre analysis essay
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The Miller's Tale
517 Words2 Pages
Recommended: Approaches to understanding and defining genre
The link between the Miller and the tale he tells is quite a close one; the tale is really a reflection of the character that relates it. We will attempt to prove it by examining the storie's genre, the way in which it is narrated, and its intended meaning.
The Miller's tale is a fabliau, a genre best defined as "a dirty story told with wit and point"; the tale itself is one of "old age, youth, carpentry and cuckoldry.". A character telling such a story can immediately be classified as a member of a low social class and gifted with a vulgar sense of humour, but not deprived of cleverness. This description matches the Miller quite well, as can be gathered from the tale's last few lines:
"Thus swyved was the carpenter's wyfe
( )
And Absolon hath kist hir nethe ye
And Nic...
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