What Is The Importance Of Irony In Miller's Tale

My fellow travelers, now that we have reached the end of our tour of the countryside, and have heard the last of these tales, it is time that I reveal a victor. A good friend of mine, Geoffrey Chaucer, has been recording your stories, and has compiled them into what he calls The Canterbury Tales. Last night, while the rest of you lay asleep, I reviewed the stories which each of you told, and I have concluded which story I believe was most befitting of the title of, “fullest measure of good morality and greatest pleasure.” This, as a surprise to some, I declare, is the tale told by the Miller. As I, Harry Bailey, proposed before, you all will all owe him a dinner upon our eventual return to the Tabard Inn. Mr. Miller, your tale was very cleanly

Reeve, allow a man this opportunity to explain himself. First off, the Miller remarkably integrated irony in this tale, as many of the characters end the story in a worse off position than when they began. For any who have forgotten the details of this story, it told of a carpenter who was made a cuckold by his much younger wife. His wife, Alison, cheated on her husband, John, with Nicholas, a young scholar living in their house. Absalom is yet another man who wishes to cuckold John, yet he does not enjoy Alison’s favor the same way that Nicholas does. In fact, she called him a, “Jack-fool”, and threatened to “throw a stone, as sure as the devil!” (Page 77). Alison and Nicholas have the affair, and Absalom is extremely

Rather than saying, “I want to kiss her”, the Miller paints an image of Absalom’s lust, saying that, “all day long [his] mouth has itched.” (Page 76). In addition, the Miller also utilized imagery during his exposition of the setting and characters: “a room all to himself,..neatly decorated with sweet herbs, and he himself smelled as sweet as licorice root or ginger.” (Page 66). His whole tale followed suit, and the result is an engaging report that captivates his audience, and truly allows them to feel as though they have borne witness to the events that