The Canterbury Tales: The Miller's Tale Religion Quotes

It's not likely that Nicholas is singing a holy song out of a true feeling of piety. Instead, he's probably just showing off, which would be more in accord with his character.

Alisoun's swearing to cheat on her husband by Saint Thomas of Kent emphasizes the audacity of the act. It also foreshadows the moment when religion again plays a role in sexual sin: Absolon's lustful longing for Alisoun when he meets her in the parish church.

The irony of these lines, of course, is that the work Alisoun ends up doing at the parish church is not "Cristes owene werkes," but the captivation of Absolon's attention.

As a sort of apprentice priest, Absolon should probably be celibate. That vow, however, is as artificial as the fancy but fake stained-glass windows carved on his shoes.

In yet another case of piety being used and abused in the service of lust, Absolon takes the role of Herod in the local miracle play. A miracle play was a theatrical production depicting events from the Bible, designed both to entertain and inspire piety in the players and spectators.

The pun on "pryvetee" here capitalizes on its meaning as both secrets and genitals. Some commentators have interpreted the formation John erects on his roof, with one long tub in the middle of two round ones, as representing the "Goddes pryvetee" he speaks of here. This moment also harkens back to the Miller's assertion in the Prologue that men should not inquire too deeply into their wives' secrets – appropriate here given the dirt John could dig up on Alisoun were he looking for it.

It was commonly thought that all an uneducated man needed for salvation was to know his Apostles' Creed. The idea that just saying a prayer without understanding it was enough may seem strange to us, but it was an extension of the church's emphasis on works, as well as faith, as necessary to salvation.

The comparison of Nicholas's projected flood to Noah's sets up a symbolism that plays out in the course of the tale. Nicholas's fart (as loud as thunder) and his cry of "Water!" become an obscene allegory of Noah's flood.

Nicholas's implicit comparison of John to Noah is probably intended to win John's confidence through flattery. The implication is that, like Noah, John is virtuous enough to be chosen for salvation by God.

Nicholas needs to prevent John from trying to speak to him and Alisoun, so that he doesn't figure out they're no longer in their tubs. This silencing of John, both here and a few lines earlier, when Nicholas forbids him from telling anyone about the flood, foreshadows the final silencing of John by Nicholas and Alisoun at the tale's end.

Nicholas's "This ordinance is seyd" parrots the "So says the Lord" that is often spoken by prophets in the Old Testament. Nicholas is taking on a prophetic role, perhaps to make himself more convincing to John.