Life in The Medieval Period
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“The Reeve’s Prologue and Tale” contained the cultural topic, fabliau. Fabliau is a comic tale that contains excessive sexual obscenity. It is usually a short narrative that often has comic and satiric content. In fabliau it usually contains a lot of puns and word play. The characters of fabliau usually include cuckolded husbands, foolish peasants, beggars and thieves. The two groups are often singled out for criticism; the clergy and women. Fabliau usually portrays peasants as stupid and vile. On page 112 demonstrates fabliau because it talks about John and Alan being foolish peasants that are tricked by the Miller. The Miller tricks John and Alan into chasing after the horse and while they are running after it the Miller steals from them in the meantime. “John wandered out and found their horse was gone. ‘Good Lord! Help! Help! Come quickly!’ shouted John, ‘Wor horse is lost, Alan! The devil’s in it!” (Chaucer 112). "The Reeve’s Tale" is much different than most of Chaucer’s other tales because unlike most, Chaucer wrote it for pure comic relief for the audience. It is very cynical view of human beings at their worst. The tale does not contain a moral or lofty romance like in Chaucer’s other tales, the Reeves tale was sought out to perceive the Miller as a humiliated old man. Chaucer implicates that the Miller is not educated and anyone that can be tricked is stupid. This joke is much more subtle than what is usually found in the fabliau tradition. Also the Miller and his wife wear read stockings demonstrating their aspirations to a higher class. It is inappropriate for the lower class to wear them and by Chaucer having the Miller and his wife wear them, Chaucer is setting them up to fall in the end.