Who the Miller is
The Miller belongs to the company of pilgrims travelling toward Canterbury in a storytelling contest. He is a burly man who wins wrestling bouts and plays the bagpipe.
His drunken interruption brings the differences between the travellers into the open. Where the Knight values noble conduct, the Miller enjoys a laugh at the expense of his betters.
The Miller and the others in the story
After the Knight's romance, the Host turns to the Monk for the next story. The Miller breaks in and insists on telling a tale that answers the Knight's.
His Oxford story concerns John, an old carpenter, his young wife Alison, and two men who want her. The clever student Nicholas and the vain parish clerk Absolon offer a comic contrast to the Knight's noble rivals. The Reeve, once a carpenter himself, takes offence at this mockery of a carpenter and answers with a tale about a miller.
Questions
Who is the Miller in The Canterbury Tales?
The Miller is a pilgrim known for his strength, drunkenness, bagpipe playing, and rude storytelling.
Why does the Miller interrupt?
He insists on speaking next because he wants to answer the Knight's tale with his own comic story.
How does the Miller offend the Reeve?
His story makes a carpenter the target of tricks, which offends the Reeve because he once worked as a carpenter.
