The incongruity lies in the contrast between Nicholas' actions, which are direct, bold, and vulgar, and the words he speaks, which are those of a refined courtly lover who is nobly pining away for a lady far beyond his station (an incongruity that does not come through in a modern English transliteration).Ī more obvious example of incongruity is the scene between Absalon and Alison at her window.
#Character in you have to burn the rope full
Some passages require a full knowledge of the medieval ages along with the traditions of that age: for example, consider the following:Īnd prively he caught hire by the quiente / And sayde "Ywis, but if ich have my wille, / For deerne love of thee, Lemman, I spille." / And heeld hire harde by the haunche-bone.Īnd crudely, he caught her by her vagina / And said "Surely, unless I have my way, / For secret love of thee, sweetheart, I perish," / And held her sensuously by the groins. In Chaucer's treatment, the story is elevated to great literary heights through Chaucer's masterful use of comic incongruity and characterization, and by the incredible neatness of the tale's construction. The story of the rich old man married to a voluptuous young girl has been and still is the source of much of the bawdy humor throughout Western literature. Chaucer used no known source for The Miller's Tale, but in general outline, it is one of the most common earthy folk tales, or fabliaux. This tale is the funniest Chaucer ever wrote and has been popular with readers of humorous literature throughout the ages. The neighbors, hearing all the ruckus, rush in and, when they hear of John's preparations for a flood, laugh at his lunacy. Thinking that the flood is coming, John cuts the rope that holds his boat suspended and crashes to the floor. Nicholas shouts, "Water, help, Water, Water," startling John from his sleep. Absalon recovers quickly and thrusts the red-hot poker up the middle of Nicholas' arse. buttocks and all" and farts in Absalon's face. The fastidious Absalon "kissed her naked arse, most savorously." As he leaves, Absalon overhears the young lovers laughing at him.Ĭured of his love sickness, Absalon borrows a red-hot poker from the blacksmith, returns to Alison's window, and tells her he has a golden ring for her: "I'll give it to you for one more kiss." But Nicholas, trying to one-better Alison's treatment of Absalon, opens the window instead and "stuck out his arse. Afraid that the bothersome clerk will arouse the neighbors, Alison agrees to kiss him, but instead of her mouth, she extends her rear out the window. Denied access to her room, he begs for one kiss. Later that night, Absalon, discovering the Miller's absence, goes to Alison's window. When the carpenter sleeps, Alison and Nicholas quickly descend to Alison's bed where they spend the night making love. John follows Nicholas' instructions, and the evening before the predicted flood, all three - John the carpenter Alison, John's wife, and Nicholas, Alison's paramour - climb into the boats. Nicholas convinces John that the town is soon to be visited with a flood like the one that visited Noah in the Bible and that, to survive, he must build and fasten three boat-like tubs to the rafters and store within them provisions. Although Absalon demonstrates his feelings for Alison by serenading her outside her bedroom window, she finds him a nuisance and is interested only in Nicholas, who conceives an elaborate plan to get John out of the house for the night.
Very dainty and fastidious, Absalon is, in fact, so fastidious that he cannot tolerate people who expel gas in public. Nicholas soon falls in love with Alison and one day grasps her around the groins and cries, "Love me all-at-once or I shall die." At first Alison resists, but the clerk soon overcomes her resistance, and together they conceive a plan whereby they will play a trick on the jealous husband.Īlison also has another admirer - Absalon, an effeminate incense swinger at the church. John, an old and very jealous carpenter who is married to an 18-year-old girl named Alison, rents a room to a young astrology student named Nicholas, who can supposedly forecast the likelihood of rain showers or drought. Chaucer then warns the reader that this tale might be a bit vulgar, but he must tell all the stories because a prize is at stake. The Reeve, Oswald, objects because he was once a carpenter. But the Miller, who is very drunk, announces that he will tell a story about a carpenter.
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