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Symbolism In The Miller's Tale

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In Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Miller’s Tale” he uses symbolism as a literary element to create an underlying Christian theme that portrays the characters in the story as biblical figures. Each character of the story represents a different figure from the bible such as, Nicholas and Alisoun representing Adam and Eve, John the carpenter representing a Great Divine and Absolon representing The Devil. Throughout the story, there are many different aspects that highlight the Christian theme and allow the readers to truly see this interpretation.
Throughout the story readers may recognize the alignment between Nicholas and Alisoun and Adam and Eve. This can be inferred because of the fact that these two characters recognize right from wrong in a situation, …show more content…

Toward the end of the tale, the Miller transforms the metrosexual, easy-going Absolon into a blackened devil carrying a flaming iron. Absolon’s transformation is in keeping with the Chaucerian idea that ‘"The leoun sit in his awayt always / To sle the innocent, if that he may" (Friar’s Tale 393-394). Absolon is a devil figure who sees all in the parish. So he knows who is committing mortal sins. He lies in wait and then injures the sinners. When Absolon declares "my soule bitake I unto Sathanas" after he accidentally kisses Allison's butt (750),. In this interpretation, Absolon's confrontation with Nicholas, which is represented by his branding of Nicholas with the hot poker, is an allegory of the enmity between God and Satan. It causes the fall of man when Nicholas's cry of "Water!" prompts John, a representation of the divine to fall from the ‘heavens’ of the small world in Oxford.
In conclusion, Chaucer used many different literary devices to convey the meaning of his story to his readers. However, the strongest literary tool that was used was symbolism. This techniques that was used by Chaucer brought life and meaning to this tale, which allowed the story to flow and stay clear to the readers. This tale was very interesting and engaging for readers and not only provided them with enjoyment, but also provided them with a sense of

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