Medieval English Literature period was a period that included themes such as love, chivalry, betrayal, deception and many elements such as comic and tragic elements, social issues, and the dominance of religion. While writing Canterbury Tales, the most important work of medieval literature, Chaucer aimed to transfer different classes of society to the reader and to make criticisms on some points. The aim of this essay is to examine the first two of the tales told in Canterbury Tales in terms of themes, characters, narrators, plots and most importantly their genres. Firstly, I will talk about the narrators of the two tales and therefore the social class differences of their characters. I will then analyze the two tales from the perspective of Aristotle in terms of elements of comedy and tragedy, and finally, I will make comparisons by dealing with the plot and the themes used in both.
There are clearly noticeable differences between characters and therewithal between narrators. There is a certain class difference between The Miller and The Knight; one is from lower and the other one is from upper class. Since they reflect separate classes in society, they are different in terms of physical appearance, humors, manners and behaviors. For instance The Miller’s physical appearance is described as: “His berd as any sowe or fox was reed”(554th line, General Prologue) With the redness in physical appearance we have bad expression about The Miller but The Knight is described in the very beginning of his description as: “To riden out, he loved chivalrie, - Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisie.” (45th, 46th lines, General Prologue) We remember that The Miller intervenes and takes some other characters’ turn. It is possible to say that there is a reason for The Miller’s