Any English Professors/Students out there?

I just finished proofing and correcting my rough draft of an essay on the parallels between Chaucer's Knight and Miller's tales. If any kind soul out there who has a knack for english or literature would like to give a second opinion, it would be MUCH appreciated.

Parallels Between the Knight and Miller’s Tales

Multiple parallels exist between the Knight’s and the Miller’s tales in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Characters, plot, and the supernatural are three common elements that exist between the two. The two tales vary in type, character class, and narration. The Knight tells a chivalric tale containing knightly virtue, honor, and courtly love. In contrast the Miller’s Tale is a ribald tale, full of humor, lust, and flatulence. The characters in each tale differ from one another by class. Characters of the Knight’s tale are nobles who are honorable and good, while the Miller’s characters are a part of the lower class and are adulterous and deceitful. A final differentiation can be made between each narrator’s use of language. Although both are adept at creating beautiful imagery, the reader can see a difference between the Knight and Miller’s narration in their descriptions of their leading ladies. Emily is compared to a rose, a lily, the spring, and an angel, while Alison’s body is delicate like a weasel, her apron is as white as morning milk, and her features are compared to the plums and pear trees. The Miller’s imagery is less conventional and less elevated than the Knight’s, drawn from village or farm life. These three differences stem from the class difference between the two narrators.

With the exception of differences in class, the characters of the Miller’s Tale parallel the characters of the Knight’s Tale to a great extent. All the main characters presented by the Knight have a counterpart in the Miller’s Tale. John, the old carpenter and husband of Alison, matches Theseus, the old king of Athens. Alison, the young and beautiful wife of John, matches Emily, the beautiful sister of the queen. Nicholas and Absalom are matched to Palamon and Arcita. Just as Arcita and Palamon sought after Emily, Nicholas and Absalom seek Alison. The difference between the two situations is the Knight’s characters have a true love for Emily, while the Alison’s courtiers only desire to sleep with her.

Another parallel is presented in the form of the plot. The Knight describes the courtly love triangle of Arcita, Palamon, and Emily, while the Miller presents the pilgrims with the earthy threesome of Nicholas, Absalom, and Alison. In the Knight’s Tale, Arcita and Palamon attempt to win Emily over in the proper manner: a dual. The pair assembles two armies and fights for Emily’s hand in marriage. This show of love is noble in comparison to Nicholas’ deceit of the carpenter and spat with Absalom. The Miller presents Absalom as the traditional courtly lover, but this is only a parody of the lovers in the Knight’s Tale. The window scene between Absalom and Nicholas parallels the dual in the Knight’s Tale, only much less refined. In an exchange of flatulence and hot iron, Nicholas and Absalom quarrel over Alison who provoked the entire scene by tricking Absalom into kissing her “****.” <They stared this out, its the middle english slang for buttox (4RS3)

A final parallel can be seen in the common role the supernatural plays in the life of each character. In the Knight’s Tale, the gods interfere with the lives of the humans through omens, miracles, and disasters. Palamon, Arcita, and Emily each receive an omen from the god who they pray to, whether it is good, as with Arcita and Palamon, or disappointing, as with Emily. The earthquake is both a disaster and a miracle. While disastrous for Arcita, the earthquake is miraculous for Palamon who had lost outright but won because of it. The Miller includes the supernatural in his tale through his mockery of it. The “prophecy” of another flood is merely a scam for sex. The Miller mocks the stress placed by the Knight on the supernatural and fate, instead placing emphasis on random chaos and trickery.

The parallels between these two tales are undeniable. The common characters and plot elements connect the two tales. The Miller does a wonderful job of parodying the Knight’s emphasis on the supernatural. Despite these similarities between the two, the Miller does a good job of setting his story apart from the Knight’s while still managing to mock and poke fun at the chivalrous ideals presented in it.

In the 2nd paragraph I'd like to see how the counterparts actually match one another with a quote or example from the text (i.e. exactly how are John and Theseus alike). You did manage to explain the Nicholas and Absalom to Palamon and Arcita example and how they sought one another. Do the same with the other two examples.

In the 3rd paragraph, you gave the window example for the Miller's Tale, and mentioned there is a counterpart in the Knight's tale but did not actually give the example. Go ahead and state the example.

Other than that, it looks great. In your final copy you will be putting quotes around your tale titles and italicize the book title when you actually state them full out, right? I teach Senior English (British Lit) at a high school and have for 10 years now. As much as I like it, needless to say, we do not read the Miller's Tale in class; however, I always mention it to my students wiith a rough plot outline to pique their interest and get them to read it on their own outside class.

Thanks! I did have the title The Canterbury Tales italicized, but it didn't transfer when I pasted it. As for the example for the match between John and Theseus, my thought was that both are elderly authority figures and both try to protect the lead female from sexual corruption. I'm not very confident in this example so I think I might pull that comparison out. My other concern is my conclusion. I don't think I close the paper with a very strong sentence. I've always had the hardest time figuring out how to finish the paper up.


Thanks for all the help! If you can help with my other problems ^^ that would be awesome.

Another thing I thought of this morning is that if you have time and energy, go back through the texts and find quoted material to go along with your examples. When you say the knight's tale has nobles and the Miller's tale has lower class characters, quote me an example (possibly even use material from the prologue) which describes how you would know this fact, in quoted form. Likewise, in your descriptions of Emily and Allison, if those images (and every other example or comparison in your paper) were to be further highlighted by the actual quotes it would definitely strengthen your paper and would be the difference between a strong 3-3.5 and a 4 on a 4 pt scale. Is this for college comp or a British Literature class?. The ending is ok. Maybe swap the words "parallels" in the first sentence with "similarities" in the last sentence and delete "between the two" altogether. That way the "parallels" is the last idea you restate, which is the topic of the paper.

Parallels Between the Knight's and Miller’s Tales

Multiple parallels exist between the Knight’s and the Miller’s tales in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Characters, plot, and the supernatural are three common elements that exist between the two. The two tales vary in type, character class, and narration. The Kknight tells a chivalric tale containing knightly virtue, honor, and courtly love. In contrast, the Miller’s Tale is a delete the "a" ribald tale, Delete "tale" because it's repeated too close to the first one and is obvious. End the sentence because "ribald" is redundant with lust. It is full of humor, lust, and flatulence. The characters in each tale differ from one another by class. Characters ofin the Knight’s tTale are nobles who are honorable and good, while the Miller’s Tale characters are a part of the lower class and are adulterous and deceitful. AThe (there can be only one "final." final differentiation can be made between each narrator’s use of language. Although both are adept at creating beautiful imagery, the reader can see a difference between the Kknight and Mmiller’s narrations in their descriptions of their leading ladies. Emily is compared to a rose, a lily, the spring, and an angel,; while delete "while" because both tales are not told at the same time. Connect the two clauses with that semi-colon. Alison’s body is delicate, like that of a weasel, her apron is as white as morning milk, and her features are compared to thedelete 'the' plums delete the "s" and pear trees. The Miller’s imagery is less conventional and less elevated than the Kknight’s, which is (you need the "which", otherwise, it could be the knight being drawn) drawn from village or farm life. These three differences stem from the class differences between the two narrators.

With the exceptions of differences in class, the characters of in the Miller’s Tale parallel the characters of the Knight’s Tale to a great extent delete "to a great extent". Things are parallel or they are not. Parallel is an absolute. All the main characters presented by the Kknight have a delete "a" because characters are plural counterparts ("ounterparts must be plural, too) in the Miller’s Tale. John, the old carpenter and husband of Alison, matches Theseus, the old king of Athens. Alison, the young and beautiful wife of John, matches Emily, the beautiful sister of the queen. Nicholas and Absalom are matched to Palamon and Arcita. Just as Arcita and Palamon sought after delete "after". It is redundant. Emily, Nicholas and Absalom seek Alison. The difference between the two situations is the delete "is the" to make it "the two situations lies in the [ Kknight’s characters who have a true love for Emily,. while delete "while", for the same reason as above. Use a semi-colon. the delete "the" Alison’s courtiers only desire desire only (otherwise they don't do anything else, even breathe to sleep with her.

Another parallel is presented in the form of the plot. The Kknight describes the courtly love triangle of Arcita, Palamon, and Emily,; while delete "while" the Miller presents the pilgrims with the earthy threesome of Nicholas, Absalom, and Alison. In the Knight’s Tale, Arcita and Palamon attempt to win Emily over in the proper manner: a dual duel. The pair assembles two armies and fights for Emily’s hand in marriage. This show of love is noble in comparison to Nicholas’ deceit of the carpenter and the spat with Absalom. The Mmiller presents Absalom as the traditional courtly lover, but this is only a parody of the lovers in the Knight’s Tale. The window scene between involving Absalom and Nicholas parallels the dual duel in the Knight’s Tale, only but is much less refined. In an the exchange of flatulence and hot iron, Nicholas and Absalom quarrel over Alison, who provoked the entire scene by tricking Absalom into kissing her “****.” <They stared this out, its the middle english slang for buttox(4RS3)

A final Another final? Maybe you should delete both "finals." parallel can be seen in the common role the supernatural plays in the life of each character. In the Knight’s Tale, the gods interfere with the lives of the humans through omens, miracles, and disasters. Palamon, Arcita, and Emily each receive an omen from the god who they pray to to whom they pray, whether it change "it" to "the omen". "It" could be the god is good, as with Arcita and Palamon, or disappointing, as with Emily. The earthquake is both delete "both". It is redundant. a disaster and a miracle. While disastrous for Arcita, the earthquake is miraculous for Palamon, who had lost outright but won because of it. The Miller includes the supernatural in his tale through his mockery of it. The “prophecy” of another flood is merely a scam for sex. The Mmiller mocks the stress placed by the Kknight on the supernatural and fate, instead placing emphasis on random chaos and trickery.

The parallels between these two tales are undeniable. The common characters and plot elements connect the two tales. The Mmiller does a wonderful job of parodying the Kknight’s emphasis on the supernatural. Despite these similarities between the two delete "between the two". It is redundant, the Mmiller does a good job of setting his story apart from the Kknight’s, while still delete "still". It is redundant. That is what "while" means here. managing to mock and poke fun at the chivalrous ideals presented in it.

This is a British Lit. class. I assume you teach in a public school. Our teacher explained how the Miller's Tale is banned in some schools.

Thanks for all the help. Heres what I ended up with, just in case anyone is interested (most likely not):

Parallels between the “Knight’s Tale” and “Miller’s Tales”

Multiple parallels exist between the “Knight’s Tale” and the “Miller’s Tale” in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Characters, plot, and the supernatural are three common elements that exist between the two. The two tales vary in type, character class, and narration. The Knight tells a chivalric tale containing knightly virtue, honor, and courtly love. In contrast, the “Miller’s Tale” is ribald. It is full of humor, lust, and flatulence. The characters in each tale differ from one another by class. Characters in the “Knight’s Tale” are nobles who are honorable and good, while the “Miller’s Tale” characters are a part of the lower class and are adulterous and deceitful. The final differentiation can be made between each narrator’s use of language. Although both are adept at creating beautiful imagery, the reader can hear a difference between the Knight and the Miller in their descriptions of their leading ladies. Emily is compared to a rose, a lily, the spring, and an angel; Alison’s body is delicate like that of a weasel, her apron is as white as morning milk, and her features are compared to pear trees. The Miller’s imagery, drawn from village or farm life, is less conventional and less elevated than the Knight’s is. These three variances stem from the class differences between the two narrators.

With the exception of differences in class, the characters of the “Miller’s Tale” parallel the characters of the “Knight’s Tale.” All the main characters presented by the Knight have counterparts in the “Miller’s Tale.” John, the old carpenter and husband of Alison, matches Theseus, the old king of Athens. Both are elderly authority figures that attempt to protect their women from sexual corruption. Theseus is protecting Emily’s sexual future and John does his best to keep Alison true to him by holding her “narwe in cage.” Alison, the young and beautiful wife of John, matches Emily, the beautiful sister of the queen. Nicholas and Absalom are matched to Palamon and Arcita. Just as Arcita and Palamon sought Emily, Nicholas and Absalom seek Alison. The difference between the two situations lies in the true love the Knight’s characters have for Emily; Alison’s courtiers desire only to sleep with her.

Another parallel is presented in the plots of the two tales. The Knight describes the courtly love triangle of Arcita, Palamon, and Emily; the Miller presents the pilgrims with the earthy threesome of Nicholas, Absalom, and Alison. In the “Knight’s Tale,” Arcita and Palamon vie for Emily’s love in the proper manner: a duel. The pair assembles two armies and fights for Emily’s hand in marriage. This show of love is noble in comparison with Nicholas’ deceit of the carpenter and spat with Absalom. The Miller presents Absalom as the traditional courtly lover, but this is only a parody of Palamon and Arcita. The window scene involving Absalom and Nicholas parallels the duel in the “Knight’s Tale,” but is much less refined. In an exchange of flatulence and hot iron, Nicholas and Absalom quarrel over Alison who provoked the entire scene by tricking Absalom into kissing her “****.”

A final parallel can be seen in the common role the supernatural plays in the life of each character. In the “Knight’s Tale,” the gods interfere with the lives of the humans through omens, miracles, and disasters. Palamon, Arcita, and Emily each receive an omen from the god to whom they pray, whether the omen is good, as with Arcita and Palamon, or disappointing, as with Emily. The earthquake is a disaster and a miracle. While disastrous for Arcita, the earthquake is miraculous for Palamon who had lost outright but won Emily’s hand in marriage because of it. The Miller includes the supernatural in his tale through his mockery of it. The “prophecy” of another flood is merely a scam for sex. The Miller mocks Knight’s stress on the supernatural and fate. Instead, the Miller places emphasis on “chance begetting poetic justice” (Howieson). Such is the case for John who receives a broken arm for his attempt to cage his wife.

The similarities between these two tales are undeniable. The common characters and plot elements connect the two tales. The Miller does a wonderful job of parodying the Knight’s emphasis on the supernatural. Despite these parallels, the Miller does an excellent job of setting his story apart from the Knight’s while managing to mock and poke fun at the chivalrous ideals presented in it.

I left the two finals in there because I feel that one refers to a final difference and the other to a final parallel. I also chose not to make Miller and Knight lowercase because those to me are the proper names of these characters and are the only way Chaucer refers to them throughout his work.
I added the example of how Theseus and John match up, but left out a specific example of how Alison and Emily correspond because I implied that both suffer under a protecting and restraining elder male. I'm not sure on this one. I might just state that both suffer and this their connection.

Again, thanks for all the help! You two have been a great resource for me and I'll be sure to give you both some positive reputation.

Looks good to me. Let us know what grade you receive!

It's been a million years since I've read The Tales, and even then I couldn't get through it. Your objections to my objections are right.

Only two things caught my eye:

The Miller mocks Knight’s stress The Miller mocks the Knight's stress

Instead, the Miller places emphasis Instead of what? Perhaps:
The Miller mocks the Knight’s stress on the supernatural and fate by emphasizing “chance begetting poetic justice” (Howieson).

Or:
The Miller mocks the Knight’s stress on the supernatural and fate; he places emphasis on “chance begetting poetic justice” (Howieson).

The essay is terrific. Good luck.