Miller

**The Miller's Tale **
** The Miller: The Canterbury Tale **
 * Part 1 **

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[|****The Miller's Tale****]



** Vocabulary  ** ** Beyond the Miller ** ** Line 581...Thumb of Gold...refers to a proverb "An honest miller has a golden thumb". And seeing how no one actually has a golden thumb, there is no such thing as an honest miller. A miller is someone who works in the mill, grinding grain into flour. At this time there was no tool for measuring the grain. So they relied on the miller to measure with his hand, or "thumb". It was also typical for the miller to lie about the amount and quality of the grain to benefit himself and his business. Chaucer uses this proverb to show that the Miller is not necessarily a bad man, just a man that had been driven by his trade. The Miller is a member of the Third Estate, he is a peasant. **
 * Characteristics **
 * ** Is a great stout fellow big in brawn and bone. (line 562). **
 * ** Wore a hood of blue and a white coat. (line 582). **
 * ** Was broad, knotty, and short-shouldered. (line 565). **
 * ** Would describe as weighing in at "sixteen stone" (line 561). **
 * ** He weighed about 224lbs. **
 * ** Had a mighty mouth. **
 * ** Liked to play his bagpipes up and down. (line 583). **
 * ** Had red hair and huge nostrils **.
 * 1) ** Wrangler- a loud arguementative person **
 * 2) ** Buffoon- a fool **
 * 3) ** Brawn- full strong muscles **
 * 4) ** in the main- for the most part (he had a store of tavern stories that was filthy __for the most part)__ **
 * 5) ** Knotty- involved, intricate, or difficult **
 * 6) ** Stone- which referred to a unit of weight rather than a rock. (stone was 14 lbs). **
 * 7) ** Buckler- small shield used to defend oneself against close attacks from blades. **

References: ** **Mc Dougal Littell- Literature Book- Canterbury Tales** google.images.com **
 * Similies **
 * ** His beard, like any sow or fox, was red (line 568). **
 * ** His nostrils were as black as they were wide (line 573). **
 * ** His mighty mouth was like a furnace door (line 575). **
 * Chaucer uses this similies for the portrait of the Miller. The use of similies gives the readers a clearer and more vivid idea of the Miller's characteristics.
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