The Canterbury Tales is one of the greatest pieces of literature because of Chaucer’s story-telling techniques. He weaves together various stories and characters to create this memorable tale that continues to be studied and examined throughout the ages. However, some of the pilgrim’s tales are more engaging to the readers than other ones. For instance, the Knight’s Tale is filled with courtly love, jousting and war scenes, as well as the time honored knight’s code. It can be considered a tale of courtly love as well as an epic due to its writing style. Despite being well-written it may not be as engaging to readers due to its formal tone and organization. It can even be argued that the Knight’s Tale is simple a historical fiction retold by the knight. The Knight’s Tale pales in comparison to that of the Miller’s Tale. It is filled with humor, easy to follow, and even has some raunchy language in regards to the Knight’s Tale. A story like that would be highly engaging to the readers thanks to it reading like an actual tale and not a history lesson. This essay will compare and contrast the writing style of the Knight’s Tale and the Miller’s Tale to show why humor can be more engaging to the readers than using formality and organizational tactics.
The Knight’s Tale begins with the knight delving into the history of an ancient Greek battle. The type of story that the knight chose most likely plays off the fact that knights are held to an honor code and his story shows that. It is unusual compared to Chaucer’s other tales because of its in-depth detail to the setting and historical facts in the story, which can allow it to stand alone as a separate story all together. The premise of his story is that two princes, Arcite and Palamon, have been captured as slaves after Theseus won the war between himself and Creon. While trapped inside the tower, they see Emelye in the garden below and fall madly in love with her. The two call each other traitors for falling for the same woman, but resign to the fate that neither one of them can ever have her love. Not much else needs to be said about the tale in order for it to be considered a courtly love tale with chivalric romance. The two knights are destined to fight each other for the hand of Emelye with one of them succumbing to death as is tradition in these sort of stories. Due to format of the tale, Chaucer has written the tale to be read as an epic. The reason it is an epic is because even the smallest and meaningless details are described in the grandest fashion. An example of grandiose writer style can be seen when Theseus is described as, “And in his name so great a conqueror/ There was none mightier beneath the sun” (27). Not only is the language grand, but the Knight’s Tale uses historical figures such as the Greek (Roman) gods, the beliefs of the time period, as well as philosophies to make the tale more poignant. The need for the formal tone and organization for this tale relies heavily on the historical context which is needed for the audience to be able to follow what is going on. The epic tone of the tale is a way for Chaucer to let the audience know that everything that happened was larger than life. Even the way Arcite and Palomon speak has evidence that the theme of courtly love is written to be read as something that will happen only in a lifetime. An example of this can be seen when Arcite and Palomon are arguing in the tower over who loved Emelye first. “I loved her as a woman before you./ What can you say? Just now hardly you knew/ If she were a girl or goddess from above” (34). Another reason why the tone in this story is formal and organized is because it can be argued that the knight comes from a privileged and educated part of society. Compared to the miller’s tale, the knight’s tale shows a respect for one’s love and an honor to win the woman over. The writing style of the Knight’s Tale can be difficult for readers to immerse themselves in because it consists of very dry writing. Instead of being an entertaining tale like many others on the pilgrimage, the tale is instead more of a history lesson. There is also the fact the narrator goes off in great detail to explain things that are not relevant to the plot of the story. Two examples of this include when the narrator is describing the arena that is being built and Arcite’s funeral. The narrator begins part three of the tale by going in an expansive description of Theseus’s wealth and the arena he has created solely for the jousting event. “Of money by the Duke who set about/ To make the lists a royal show throughout./ A theater more noble in its plan/ I dare say well was never seen by man” (53). The description continue on for another five pages before the narrator starts to talk about the events leading up to Arcite and Palamon’s. As for the funeral, the description is not as long as the arena but is still lengthy enough to cause the audience to lose interest in the story. Details such as, “Robbed of their quiet and in desolation/ The nymph and the dryad of the forest lawn/ The hamadryad and subtle faun []” were unnecessary to talk about the funeral procession for Arcite. With lengthy and unnecessary details such as that, it is safe to assume that the audience would lose interest in the tale. The Miller’s Tale is livelier and has humor that will immediately engage the audience at the beginning of the tale.
The humor in the Miller’s Tale is an effective literary strategy for keeping the audience engaged throughout in rather than at bits and pieces like for the Knight’s Tale.
The Miller’s Tale should be considered a tragedy considering the things that happen to the carpenter, John. His wife, Alisoun, is unfaithful to him, she sleeps with one of the students her husband offered help to, and his is made a fool and laughed in the end. Despite all of this, the tales gives off a humorous vibe that the audience can easily pick up on. Through the use of the miller’s informal talking, Chaucer makes the story more humorous than feeling pity for the carpenter. Through the use of creating almost cartoon-like characters, situations, and language the miller creates an emotional distance between the characters and the audience so there is no need to connect with them on how they feel. The narrator, the miller, is the key element in getting the humor of the story started. The way the miller talks is a stark contrast compared to the dignified language of the knight. The miller is drunk when he begins his tale and also starts off by telling a few jokes of his own, but appears to be jolly with a crude sense of humor. An example of the type of humor that the miller will use is when he states how he knows he is drunk, “But first I’m bound/ To say I’m drunk/I know it by my sound. And if words get muddled in my tale/Just put it down to too much Southwark ale” (87). At the beginning of the actual tale, the audience are given a very detailed description of the carpenter’s wife. “She was a fair young wife, her body as slender/As any weasel’s, and as soft and tender” (90). The miller’s way of describing women would be seen as scandalous to the knight seen the description goes on to mention more about her body. This is a hook to the actual story to let the audience know that the humor will be very down to earth, slapstick, and raunchy. A prime example of this is when, “This Nicholas at once let fly a fart/ As loud as if it were a thunder-clap” (105). It gets even more lewd to keep the audience engaged when the wife meets the student Nicholas for the first time. “Then held her haunches hard and gave a cry/ ‘O love-me-all-at-once or I shall die” (91). What also gives the tale humor is the narrator’s deadpan way of expressing what has happened. Unlike in the Knight’s Tale, when something dramatic happens the narrator does not include his thoughts on the matter. Instead he leaves it for the audience to infer on the situation as how they see fit, which is usually something down in a humorous way. The way Absolon, the other admirer for Alisoun, barely reacts to having Nicholas pass gas in his face, but instead pokes hit buttocks with a hot poker is something that would be seen in a cartoon. To top it off, when Nicholas screams for water John comes running thinking that God has sent another flood and douses Nicholas with water (105). It can be safe to assume that the audience laughed along with the neighbors in the story when they learned about the ruse that Nicholas and Alisoun had played on the carpenter. The humor throughout the story works as an excellent hook to keep readers on edge to find out what the next humorous situation will be and how John will react.
Chaucer’s two tales, The Knight’s Tale and The Miller’s take, vary greatly when it comes to tone and humor. The Knight’s Tale is more of an organized historical story while the Miller’s Tale revolves around raunchy humor. The Knight’s Tal focuses more on letting the audience know every little fats and details so they can understand what is happening in the story. This leads to the narrator talking about detail that is unnecessary when it comes to progressing the story forward. Although the story does have a bit of humor, such as when Arcite and Palomon arguing in the tower over Emelye, the language is still dry and boring. Couple that with the fact that there are lengthy pages of detailed description of Theseus’ arena and Arcite’s funeral, it can be difficult for the audience to stay engaged with the story. It can be argued that Chaucer wrote the tale this way to reflect how knights spoke since they were considered to be higher up in society than that of a miller. The knight’s story is an example of courtly love mixed with an epic since the audience are supposed to believe that the events that transpired were larger than life. One the other hand, The Miller’s Tale is a jovial story where the audience are not as invested into the characters’ histories and backgrounds like in the knight’s tale. The miller begins with humor before he even starts to tell his tale. He comes off as a happy fellow although he is drunk, which makes me more down to earth than the knight. The Miller’s Tale is filled with raunchy descriptions, especially when it comes to describing the carpenter’s wife, and jokes at the expense of the carpenter. Even though the story is a tragedy for the carpenter since his life is falling apart, the humor in the way it is told will cause the audience to be laughing. Many of the situations are cartoon-like, such as the carpenter throwing the buck of water on Nicholas, that the audience will stay engaged throughout the story unlike drifting in and out of the knight’s tale. This comparison shows that humor is more effective at engaging an audience instead of being formal and organized all the time.
Works Cited:
Ackroyd, Peter, Geoffrey Chaucer, and Nick Bantock. "The Knight's Tale." The Canterbury Tales. Classics: Penguin, 2009. 26-86. Print.
Ackroyd, Peter, Geoffrey Chaucer, and Nick Bantock. "The Miller's Tale." The Canterbury Tales. Classics: Penguin, 2009. 86-106. Print.
