The Miller’s Tale is full of scandals and adultery. It starts off with describing the characters and the relationship between each other. The love Alison and John the Carpenter shared was real and strong, but due to John’s fear of losing his young and beautiful wife, he keeps her in the house most of the days. Alison, who almost became mad from boredom, soon gives in to her lecherous desires and has a secret love affair with Nicolas. When a young and handsome parish clerk, Absalon, laid eyes on her, he could not resist the love he felt for her. Now, Nic was devising a plan to obtain more time with Alison without John finding out. He soon convinces John that a flood, similar to Noah’s flood, was coming and he had to make a boat for him, Alison, …show more content…
In the prologue, the Miller states, “And harlotry was all they had to tell. Consider then and hold me free of blame; and why be serious about a game?” (Chaucer 104). By this, the Miller retaliates from the Reeve’s earlier remark by exposing the plot of the previous tales. He ends with a question to imply that everyone’s stories are just a game to amuse the Host. The author uses the want Absalon has for Alison to show how foolish love can be. Chaucer does not exactly criticize love, but he exposes how love can turn into anger. On page 109, Absalon is shown singing to Alison under her bedroom window but she shoos him away. The parish clerk is persistent on winning Alison over, and Alison is persistent on getting rid of him. In the end though, love makes a fool of Absalon and he acts out of anger to get revenge. On page 115, Nic states, “ ‘Your wife and you must hang some way apart, For there must be no sin before we start.’” (Chaucer 115). Chaucer uses satirical irony through the actions of Nicolas to make fun of the carpenter’s blinding faith. Even though John is not committing sin by sleeping with Alison, Nic is by sleeping with a married woman. Nicolas makes fun of John’s wisdom again by saying, “‘You’re wise enough, I do not have to teach you, Go save our lives for us, as I beseech you.’” (Chaucer
When analyzing literature from an archetypal perspective, one does not simply look at the character’s behavior in that literary piece. Rather, when using the archetypal theory, one connects the traits and actions of the characters in the literary work, the settings, the surroundings, and the situations to a familiar type of literary character. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the characters Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Hale exhibit common archetypal behavior and fit into a certain archetypal figure.
The Merchant's revealed nature, however, combats the very destruction of creation and individual that he tried to attain. As the Merchant tries to subsume the reality of marriage, love, and relationship under his own enviously blind view, Chaucer shows us another individual, significant and important in his own way. Instead of acting as a totalizing discourse, Chaucer uses the Merchant's tale to reveal his depraved envy and to reveal him as no more than a wanton cynic. Thus, Chaucer provides the very perspective that the Merchant tries to steal from his audience.
In 1953, Arthur Miller wrote his famous play The Crucible, in response to a fear of Communism that had developed in the United States during that decade. The "Red Scare", as it was later called by historians was led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, whose paranoia of a communist takeover spread through the nation like a wildfire. Men and women alike fell victim to McCarthy's pointed finger and as a result of this hysteria, were mostly deported from the country, their careers and lives ruined.
Chaucer's "The Miller's Tale" should be tragic, because a lot of horrible things happen to the characters. The carpenter's wife is disloyal to him, sleeping with others and making fun of him with Nicholas. Also, he is depicted as a fool. However, readers get a humorous feeling from the story, rather than feeling sorry for the carpenter's unfair life. Chaucer makes the whole story come across as comic rather than tragic. This humor is created by the Miller's narration, the use of irony, the cartoon-like characters, and the twists of plot. These elements combine to produce an emotional distance which enhances the comic effect.
Forbes, Shannon. "'To Alisoun Now Wol I Tellen Al My Love-Longing': Chaucer's Treatment of the Courtly Love Discourse in the Miller's Tale." Women's Studies 36.1 (2007): 1-14. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 May 2013
The first way Miller illustrates the theme of lies and deceit is through Abigail’s conniving
Writers may use literature as a vehicle of social criticism. In which ways does Arthur Miller criticize society?
Few people are willing to stand up to the overwhelming power of authority, especially during a time like the Red scare. Hardly any authors are able to recognize meaningful similarities between the present times and an event that happened many years ago—and write about it effectively. Only one has had the courage and intelligence to do both. Arthur Miller was an American author who wrote plays, essays, and stories and has published works dating from to 1936 through 2004. The Crucible, one of his most famous plays, premiered in New York on January 22, 1953 (InfoTrac). It is a historical-fiction story set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The witch hunt described in this play is similar to the Red Scare, an anti-communist movement led by Senator Joseph McCarthy that lasted from the late 1940s to the late 1950s (Broudin). During both time periods, most people respected high authority while a few dissenters challenged conformist views. The public was censored in what they could say because of the fear of being accused of witchcraft or communism. The hysteria of the times triggered a mob-mentality to emerge among the citizens, which influenced nearly everyone to join the terrible movements. Miller presents all of these ideas in The Crucible using his own experiences as influences. He incorporated many of his own traits into the characters’ dispositions. He also described many situations in the play that were similar to the ones he was in, including how he was censored by the Red Scare. Many people will often conform while only a few will challenge authority, will use censorship to prevent others from expressing their views, and are easily affected by hysteria; these characteristics influenced Miller’s life and are reflected by him in Th...
In the Miller’s Tale, the story tells of a carpenter and his wife, Allison and how she is pursued by multiple men. The first man to pursue her is Nicolas, a man boarding with the Miller. When the carpenter is away he begins flirting with Allison in hopes of making love. Originally she refuses, but eventually she gives in to his will. Chaucer seems to be pointing out that women are easily swayed by temptation by showing us that Allison is unable to stop herself from making love with Nicolas. In addition Chaucer is also showing us how disloyal women can by using Allison’s extramarital affair as an example. However this stereotyping is not just limited to women in the miller tale but also reaches men too. Later in the story, Nicolas manages to convince the carpenter that there is going to be a massive flood and that he should hide. However this is all just a lie, which Nicolas is using to get the carpenter out of the way so he can be with Allison. Through the carpenter, it seems as if Chaucer is pointing out that men are generally gullible and easily fooled. The stereotyping continues when Absolon enters the story and attempts to woo the likes of Allison. Absolon is unsuccessful in his attempt to woo her however, and Allison tricks him by pretending to offer him ...
Arthur Miller states in his essay, "Tragedy and the Common Man," " . . . we are often held to be below tragedy--or tragedy below us . . . (tragedy is) fit only for the highly placed . . . and where this admission is not made in so many words it is most often implied." However, Miller believes " . . . the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were" (1021). It is this belief that causes Miller to use a common man, Willie Loman, as the subject of his tragedy, Death of a Salesman. Miller redefines the tragic hero to fit a more modern age, and the product of this redefinition is Willie.
Miller's Presentation of the Theme Of Greed And Envy within The Crucible. The Crucible was written in 1953 by Arthur Miller at the time of the cold war, although the play was set in 1692. The play is about a town called Salem in America and about the witch-hunts that took place. there.
The other quiting of the Reeve in the Miller's Tale is when, once again, the carpenter is portrayed as a dullard by being totally oblivious to the situation; Allison, his wife, and a man named Nicholas, a man known locally for making love in secret, (which was his talent), are trying to have sexual laissons behind John's back. (MiLT 91). They get John to believe that a great flood, worse than Noah's is coming, and will destroy all of them. This fool by believeing this tale and following them with the preparations protects himself, even though no flood of any sort arises. This is the ultimat act of stupidity! The Reeve's Tale about the Miller is a perfect example of evil and trickery at it's best. The part being that in the end, the trickster becomes tricked over and over againt but the tables turn and the Miller is the real loser having lost his stolen flour and to add insult to injury, he finds out that his wife and daughter have been cuckolded especially after all the jargon about the following:
Due to the poor moral decisions made by Absalom, Nicholas, and the carpenter, insight into the moral judgement of the miller is provided. The morality of “The Miller’s Tale” as described by Chaucer is interesting and significant because the Miller was defined by society as an uneducated, simple man. So his mental depth was seen as close to none. This idea was accentuated by the Miller’s inability to understand the moral of his own story, saying it was to not be a jealous husband. So, the Miller's deep moral depth is interesting because it may imply that even a weak mind can judge the moral compass of others despite not always knowing exactly why.
Florio, Thomas A., ed. “Miller’s Tales.” The New Yorker. 70 (1994): 35-36. Martin, Robert A., ed., pp.
There is no doubt that Shakespeare was a remarkable writer and dramatist in his time, thus entirely explaining why his literature remains relevant in present day English syllabuses. Shakespeare’s most renowned works are commonly those of tragedies, an archetypal plot pattern that consists of universal elements and recognizable structure. Being one of (The Seven Basic Plots) (Booker), it is definitely controversial as to what defines a tragedy and a tragic hero. Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, had determined that “[e]very Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts” (Outline of Aristotle 's Theory of Tragedy). When analyzing a tragedy’s quality of work, in order of literary importance, these six factors are used: plot, character, thought, diction,