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The Canterbury Tales. The Miller The Manciple The Reeve. The Miller. The Miller. Characterization Diction “The Miller was a chap of sixteen stone,/ A great stout fellow big in brawn and bone.” (547-548) A stone is 14 pounds The Miller weighs around 225 pounds Big man. The Miller. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales
The Miller
The Manciple
The Reeve
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Miller
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Miller
• Characterization– Diction
• “The Miller was a chap of sixteen stone,/ A great stout fellow big in brawn and bone.” (547-548)– A stone is 14 pounds– The Miller weighs around 225 pounds– Big man
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Miller
• Animal Imagery– Ram– Sow– Fox
• The Miller is strong like an animal• The Miller has animal passions
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Miller
• “And, at its very tip, his nose displayedA wart on which there stood a tuft of
hair Red as the bristles in an old sow’s ear. His nostrils were as black as they were
wide.”(554-557)
– Not an attractive man
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Miller
• “His mighty mouth was like a furnace door.” (561)
– A furnace door mouth symbolizes the mouth of hell
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Miller
• “His was a master-hand at stealing grain.He felt it with his thumb and thus he
knewIts quality and took three times his
due” (564-566)– Cheats his customers
• Puts thumb on the scale when weighing grain
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Miller
• Purpose of the Diction– paints the Miller in a negative light– he is dishonest
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Miller
• Our Reaction to the Miller– We do not like him– We do not trust him– We are intimidated by his size
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Manciple
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Manciple
• Characterization– Diction
• “Now isn’t it a marvel of God’s graceThat an illiterate fellow can
outpace The wisdom of a heap of learned men?”
(576-579)
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Manciple
• Satire – Miracle
• usually references an act of God, but in this case no divine intervention is necessary to explain his behavior
– Illiterate fellow• mocks the intelligence of the Manciple
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Manciple
• “And yet this Manciple could wipe their eye.” (590)
– “wipe their eye”• A British expression for getting the better
of someone
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Manciple
• Purpose of Diction– Demonstrates that the Manciple is not smart
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Manciple
• Our Reaction to the Manciple– Not a severe reaction– We laugh at him– Not much of an opinion– Relatively forgettable character
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Reeve
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Reeve
• Characterization– Diction
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Reeve• “No auditor could gain a point on him.
And he could judge by watching drought and rainThe yield he might expect for seed and grain.His master’s sheep, his animals and hens,Pigs, horses, dairies, stores and cattle-pensWere wholly trusted to his government.And he was under contract to presentThe accounts, right from his master’s earliest years.No one had ever caught him in arrears.No bailiff, serf or herdsman dared to kick,He knew their dodges, knew their every trick;Feared like the plague he was, by those beneath.”
(588-609)
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Reeve
• Frugal
• Manages the estate very well
• No one dares to cheat him
• He is skimming a profit for himself– Arrears
• Debts that are unpaid or overdue– Never caught
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Reeve
• “A better hand at bargains than his lord,He had grown rich and had a store of
treasureWell tucked away, yet out it came to
pleasureHis lord with subtle loans or gifts of goods,To earn his thanks and even coats and
hoods.”(612-616)
– The Reeve has grown rich through sharp dealing and theft
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Reeve
• “He rode the hindmost of our cavalcade.” (626)
– The Reeve rides his horse behind everyone on their journey to Canterbury
• Why?– He can keep a sharp eye on everyone
else to make sure they don’t cheat– No one can watch him, so he can cheat
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Reeve
• Purpose of the Diction– Presents the Reeve as an intimidating
person– Presents the Reeve as an immoral and
unethical person
Geschke/British Literature The Canterbury Tales
The Reeve
• Our Reaction to the Reeve– We do not like him– We do not trust him– We might be intimidated by him