Miller's Tale example essay topic

the fabliaux: discuss examples, motifs, and purpose of the form in a variety of examples. A fabliau is a short, comic tale in verse that originated in France in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. These poems, obviously, were initially written in French and, apart from the English versions nearly 100 years later, were almost invariably in octosyllabic couplets. Of the enormous number of fabliaux produced, about only 150 survived, and only about twenty authors are known.

The stories, because of their characteristic brevity and emphasis on plot and climax, are considered a forefather of the modern short story. Fabliaux have a recurring theme that deals with domestic comedy, in familiar places; frequently involving love triangles with gullible victims, ingenuous tricksters, and deception designed to delude husbands to clear the path for new lovers. Fabliaux regularly have a couple of things presented to the reader early in the tale, that of which includes the local setting and the person the story generally focuses on. This holds true for the "Miller's Tale", the "Reeve's Tale", and the "Sailor's Tale", as well as various others, alike. The Miller's Tale begins: "Once on a time was dwelling in Oxford A wealthy lout who took in guests to board, And of his craft he as a carpenter". Here the setting is Oxford and the character introduced is the carpenter.

The initial lines of the Reeve's Tale read: "At Trumping ton, not far from Cambridge town, There is a bridge where through a brook runs down, Upon the side of which brook stands a mill; And this is very truth that now I tell. A miller dwelt there". Yet again a character is presented, and in this instance more information is provided about the location than the previous. The Sailor's proves slightly different than the preceding two in that this tale uses merely a single line to impart the initial information.

"A merchant, dwelling, once, at Saint Denis", A very significant and very familiar element in a fabliau, especially in the Canterbury Tales, is a plot concentrated on a love triangle and sexual appetite. This plot usually involves trickery, deceiving suitors, beautiful wives, and gullible husbands. The purpose of this type of plot was, in many cases, used to slander a particular person or group of people. The Reeve's Tale was told in reaction to the Miller's Tale and the bad word that it yielded towards carpenters.

The Miller's Tale represents a failed attempt by the suitors in gaining favors by their desired woman. This tale concerns a carpenter named John and his wife, Alison, who has two other lovers. One of these lovers beguiles John and persuades him to sleep in a tub so that he will survive the forthcoming flood. "Now, John", said Nicholas, "I will not lie; But I've found out, from my astrology, As I have looked upon the moon so bright, That now, come Monday next, at nine of night, Shall fall a rain so wildly mad as would Have been, by half, greater than Noah's flood. This world", he said, "in less time than an hour, Shall all be drowned, so terrible is this shower; ... Presently go, and fetch here to this inn A kneading-tub, or brewing vat, and win One each for us, but see that they are large, Wherein we may swim out as in a barge", John, in the middle of his sleep, is awoken by one of the lovers, and in the process both men are scared off.

The Reeve's Tale, opposed to the Miller's Tale, represents a successful attempt by the two male characters at obtaining their desired women. This story tells about two scholars, Alain and John, whom, when spending the night at a miller's house, sleep with his daughter and wife, respectively. "And up he rose and to the girl he crept. This wench lay on her back and soundly slept, Until he'd come so near, ere she might spy, It was too late to struggle, then, or cry; And, to be brief, these two were soon alone. Now play, Alain! For I will speak of John...

She [the wife] found the bed, and thought of naught but good, Because her baby's cradle by it stood, And knew not where she was, for it was dark; But calmly then she crept in by the clerk, And lay right still, and would have gone to sleep. But presently this John the clerk did leap, And over on this goodwife did he lie". In the morning the daughter tells Alain the location of the scholars stolen grain. The miller wakes, and in the commotion the wife accidentally knocks out her husband in the dark. With that, the two scholars escape. The tales told by a fabliau are like none other; they are humorous, bawdy, and concise.

With a rapid introductory of characters and setting, the stories swiftly proceed keeping them continually interesting for the reader. Fabliaux follow a primary pattern of plots and climaxes and typically deal with love, adultery, and trickery designed to delude. With many elements similar, they are considered a predecessor to the modern-day short story..