Similarities Between The Knight's Tale And The Millers Tale

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The Risqué Miller’s Tale Versus the Proper Knight’s Tale In the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, the “Millers Tale” is a bawdy look at love while the “Knights Tale” is look at love from an idealistic point of view. The perspective of women and love is shown quite differently through the characters in both of these tales. In the “Miller’s Tale” Chaucer’s characterization of women is consistent with a person such as the miller who drinks too much. In the “Knight’s Tale” the respectful portrayal of women is a common virtue of a knight. These are two tales of love that are told in vastly different ways. In the “Miller’s Tale” Chaucer chooses to show love through a more physical and suggestive relationship rather than a devoted one. The “Miller’s Tale” presents an adulterous situation between the student Nicholas and carpenter’s wife in an amusing way. Nicholas gets the carpenter out the way so that he can pursue a relationship with the wife in secret which is his trademark. “This lad was known as Nicholas the Gallant, and making love in secret was his talent, For he was very close and sly, and took Advantage of his meek and girlish look” ( Chaucer 89) . The fact that the carpenter’s wife turns away another suitor in such vulgar and humiliating way treats love as coarse and cheap emotion. The way…show more content…
This is consistent with the code of chivalry. The knights see this competition as their way of showing they are worthy of such a virtuous woman. Arcita wins the battle, but the knight telling the tale says the Gods intervene and Arcita ends up dying. Before he dies being noble, as knights should be, he tells her of the other man who loves her truly, Palamon. At the end of “The Knight’s Tale”, Emily after a proper period mourning marries Palamon. The “Knight’s Tale” tells of love based on virtue as would come from a knight who follows the code of
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