Canterbury Tales

2 Pages 538 Words

The Miller's Tale is a humorous story about a love triangle of three men and one woman. Chaucer exemplified many themes throughout this tale that people can relate to in today’s society. For instance, the main themes are love, scandal, and sex. People fall in love everyday in this world because they think they’ve met their match. Scandal is unfortunately a typical behavior practiced in society now. Lastly, sex is part of life now-a-days and very popular to people living in America.
There was a man, John, and his wife, Alison who took boarders to live with them. The old man was a wealthy carpenter; however, he wasn’t very smart. John’s wife, Alison, is described as young, beautiful, and full of joy at the young age of eighteen. Chaucer states it better when he writes,
“Jealous he was and held her close in cage.
For she was wild and young, and he was old,
And deemed himself as like to be cuckold.”
John is jealous when Alison socializes with other men because he is afraid he will lose her. Unfortunately, a poor scholar, by the name of Nicholas, comes to their home to live with the couple. Nicholas is described as sly, meek, and well-versed in love.
The plot begins when Nicholas falls in love with Alison. He tries to win her heart, but she refuses because she wants to be faithful to her husband. Soon after, she admits that she loves him and they agree that they have to make a plan to get rid of her husband. Alison feels as though she is too young to be tied down to an old man like John. As a result, she begins to sleep with Nicholas behind her husband’s back.
One day Nicholas and Alison wanted to spend the night alone so Nicholas decides to trick John into leaving the house. He tells John that he is studying astrology and found out that there will be a downpour equal to Noah’s flood. Nicholas tell John to get three tubs so they can use as boats. John believed him and did as he said. That night, the three ...