The Canterbury Tales: The Miller’s Tale - How does Chaucer’s portrait of Alison add to the interest of the poem?

... Danielle Turton 12D The Canterbury Tales: The Miller's Tale How does Chaucer's portrait of Alison add to the interest of the poem? The Miller's tale is the story of a carpenter and his wife, Alison. Alison is portrayed as a young, pretty and fun-loving girl. Her husband, John the carpenter is the complete opposite, old and dull. The contrast of the two adds interest to the poem. Alison has an affair with Nicholas, a student staying at her husband's inn. In order to spend the night together they play a trick on the Carpenter. The Miller tells the tale and he likes telling dirty stories, as Chaucer explains in the general prologue. "He was a jangler and a goliardais - and that was most of sin and harlotries." The Miller's tale is a fabliau, and there are some crude parts, especially to do with the embarrassment of Absolon, another character in the tale. Though Chaucer does

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