The Knight and The Miller: The Same Yet Different
Stories have been circling by word of mouth for as long as there have been people to tell them. Over the years these stories have changed and grown, becoming more and more specific to their tellers. The details, such as names, settings, and a few happenings, change all of the time, however the plot and the message always stays true to what it was originally intended to be. In the novel The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer uses this idea to tell the stories of “The Knight's Tale” and “The Miller’s Tale” as a response to each other through giving them similarities in their plot structures as well as the use of divine interventions to achieve a goal, while at the same time keeping the stories…show more content… It is the story of two knights, Palamon and Arcite, that fall in love with the same young woman named Emily. This story represents it’s teller in every sense because of how traditional and proper it is in comparison to all of the other stories being told on the journey. Knights lived by “ two codes of behavior, chivalry and courtly love” (Shmoop Editorial Team, "The Canterbury Tales: The Knight's Tale." ), and through using this code of honor, they were noble, albeit of lower noble status, and they lived knowing that they needed to be chivalrous, Christian warriors. Being warriors it is only fitting that the conflict in the story is resolved with a dual, and there be some sort of spiritual guidance along the way. This was a direct conflict with both these interests, on one hand they were to stay true to their brother knight and do anything to protect them or help them with their endeavors, and on the other hand when they fell into courtly love with Emily they were supposed to do anything they had to in order to win her heart. This means that the knights would have to chose between codes, who or what would they rather betray? This is the underlying question throughout the story, and this is the most noble conflict that the Knight knows, which makes it a perfect reflection of himself for his