James Williams

Miss Skirtich
1 March 2018
English 12: British Literature

The Church Gets Burned

The Canterbury Tales, and more specifically The Miller's Tale, can best be summarized

by the words of William Shakespeare, "Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall." Geoffrey

Chaucer, known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet

of the Middle Ages, mostly because he wrote The Canterbury Tales. Geoffrey Chaucer displays

The Miller's disgusting and vile behavior in The Canterbury Tales through immorality, gluttony,

and lack of innocence.

Geoffrey Chaucer displays The Miller's disgusting and vile behavior in The Canterbury

Tales through immorality. One instance of immorality is when “she promised him she would,

Swearing she’d love him, with a solemn promise To be at his disposal, by St Thomas, When she

could spy an opportunity” (Chaucer 91.) In this instance, Alison agrees to have sex with Nicholas

even though she is married to the carpenter. This is the first example of lechery in The Miller’s

Tale. Another instance of immorality is when Nicholas and Alison actually slept together, “Down

by their ladders, stalking from on high Came Nicholas and Alison, and sped Softly downstairs,

without a word, to bed,” (Chaucer 100-101.) In this instance, Nicholas and Alison trick the

carpenter into sleeping in a tub in his barn, while they sleep together.

Additionally, Geoffrey Chaucer displays The Miller's disgusting and vile behavior in The

Canterbury Tales through gluttony. The first instance of gluttony is when “The Miller, very
drunk and rather pale, Was straddled on his horse half-on half-off And in no mood for manners or

to doff His hood or hat, or wait on any man, But in a voice like Pilate’s he began To huff and

swear” (Chaucer 86-87.) In this instance, the Miller is drunk, showing he is not very smart,

because the prize is reliant on the quality of his tale. Another instance of gluttony and a lack of

credibility because of gluttony is when “All started laughing at this lunacy And streamed upstairs

to gape and pry and poke, And treated all his suffering as a joke. No matter what the carpenter

asserted It went for nothing, no one was converted; With powerful oaths they swore the fellow

down And he was held for mad by all the town; The students all ganged up with one another

Saying: ‘The fellow’s crazy, my dear brother!’ And every one among them laughed and joked”

(Chaucer 106.) In this instance, nobody believes the carpenter because Nicholas and Alison said

he is crazy and making everything up.

Finally, Geoffrey Chaucer displays The Miller's disgusting and vile behavior in The

Canterbury Tales through lack of innocence. One instance of lack of innocence is when Alison

betrays the carpenter, “Down by their ladders, stalking from on high Came Nicholas and Alison,

and sped Softly downstairs, without a word, to bed,” (Chaucer 100-101.) In this instance, Alison

breaks the bond of marriage by sleeping with Nicholas. Another instance of lack innocence is

when “He smote him in the middle of the rump” (Chaucer 105.) In this instance, Absalon brands

Nicholas with a hot coulter after he farts in his face.

In conclusion, Geoffrey Chaucer displays The Miller's disgusting and vile behavior in

The Canterbury Tales through immorality, gluttony, and lack of innocence. By satiring the

classes of the Middle Ages, especially the ecclesiastical class, Geoffrey Chaucer molded the

future. It is amazing to think how much an unfinished book can do for literature and its history.