The Miller In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales: The Miller In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer creates a mixture of unlikely yet interesting characters that find themselves on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Chaucer describes these characters in remarkable detail. This allows the reader to bring the characters to life, giving them a more vivid understanding of what kind of people they really were. The Miller is one of the most vivid characters that were encountered in the story. It is clear Chaucer doesn’t approve of the Miller because he describes him as a cheat and a somewhat of a thug. The Canterbury Tales were written in the late 14th century. During that time a miller was a person who would grind wheat into flour, which was then used for making bread (Medieval Miller).

His physique was said to be “as stout as any known, A fellow big in brawn as well as bone” (545-546). This indicates he was a stocky, big boned, and had large muscles. Chaucer even added, “for everywhere he’d go he’d win the ram at every wrestling show” (547-548). This suggests he is quite threatening to look at. “He had a wart upon his nose, right at the tip, from which a tuft of hairs were spread like bristles on a sow’s ears, just as red; The nostrils on the man were black and wide” (554-547). Chaucer creates a very clear image of the Miller and the impression given through his physical features suggest that he is rather ugly. Chaucer portrays the Miller as physically repulsive which leads us to believe he is immoral and a bad

He makes his physical appearance disgusting, his attitude rude, and even makes him drunk on the pilgrimage to Canterbury. “So tell us, Sir Monk, if you know one of any kind to match the Knight’s good tale. The Miller, so completely drunk and pale […] would not await his turn with courtesy” (3118-3123). Chaucer shows us just how rude the Miller is when he interrupts the host’s request for the Monks turn and goes on with his story instead. One possible reason for Chaucer’s disgust with Miller could be that they were known for being cheats which Chaucer even states. “He stole much corn, charged three times over for a toil; Yet he had a golden thumb, I do declare” (561-563). Everyone was dependent on millers for basic bread and grain, so they weren’t easily