The Knight and the Miller Portrayed by Chaucer Essay

The Knight and the Miller Portrayed by Chaucer society. The Knight would be an educated member of society, whereas the Miller would be nearer the bottom of the social spectrum. The type of education each would have had is reflected in the language Chaucer uses in each portrait. In the Knights prologue Chaucer uses longer words and longer sentences. Chaucer lists all the battles the Knights has been in, and the long sentences used help to show the reader that the Knight is educated. In the Millers prologue shorter sentences and shorter words are used which infers that the Miller is uneducated. ‘A swerd and bokeler bar he by his side’ The two characters are defined by their role in society in the 14th century. The Knight and†¦show more content†¦The Knight is idealised by Chaucer in the same way as Knights are portrayed in fairytales. Chaucer uses hyperbole as a technique to infer to the reader that the Knight is idealised. The deeds that the Knight has achieved are fighting for his country and for his faith and he is respected and looked up to by other members of society. The Millers only ‘deeds’ are achieved in mindless violence and brute strength, ‘at wrastlinge he wolde have alwey the ram.’ This shows that the Miller has physical brute strength. The portrait of the Miller implies to the reader that he is not very intelligent, ‘Tere was no dore that he nolde heve of harre, Or breke it at a renning with his heed.’ This statement is almost comical, and it helps the reader to realise that the ‘Millers Tale’ might be quite comical; a contrast to the ‘Knights Tale,’ which was very noble. There are lots of religious references in both portraits. There are lots of Christian concepts in the Knights portrait, ‘As well in Christendom as Heatheness, and ever honoured for his worthiness,’ and there are lots of demonic suggestions in the Millers portrait, ‘A baggepipe wel koulde he blowe.’ In those days the devil was often pictured playing the bagpipes, which suggests that, the Miller is not very religious and even demonic. This could also infer to the reader that maybe the Miller is not on a pilgrimage to pay homage to God but to try to make himself look good. Later on, in theShow MoreRelatedTones, Moods, and Irony in the Canterbury Tales833 Words   |  4 Pageswords that were used. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a suitable novel for showing various examples of tone, mood, and irony through the many different characters, their personalities, and their narrations. As far as literary tone goes, it is basically the same as the tone used when verbally speaking. 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