The Canterbury Tales: The Reeve's Tale Violence Quotes Page 1
Citations follow this format: (Line). We used the line numbering found on Librarius's online edition.
| Quote #1 Pipen he koude and fisshe, and nettes beete, |
The miller, Symkyn, seems to be a physically aggressive man from this description. We learn that not only can he wrestle and shoot, but he likes to carry both sword and knife with him wherever he goes. That everyone is afraid to step up to him suggests that he is not afraid to use his weapons and fighting skills.
| Quote #2 A Sheffeld thwitel baar he in his hose. |
A "Sheffeld thwitel" is a long knife from Sheffield. This knife is in addition to the sword and other knife he carries. A "market betere" is someone who loiters around markets trying to start fights. The passage's reiteration that everyone's afraid to lay a hand on him highlights his violent nature. Immediately following this passage, the narrator tells how Symkyn cheats his customers; the placement of that passage directly after this implies that this cheating is something he is able to get away with because people are so afraid of his violence.
| Quote #3 Withinne a while this John the clerk up leep, |
This description of John's sex with Symkyn's wife makes the act appear violent and vengeful. The way John "up leep" and "leith on soore," pricking "harde and depe as he were mad" removes any possibility that this sex could be fun, and even removes that possibility as its motivation.
