THE MILLER, Geoffrey Chaucer

He is an additional character, a pilgrim to Canterbury.

The first reference the narrator gives is his weight and that he his “a great stout, big in brown and bone”. The first introductory line is referred to his body and appearance. The adjectives are referred and give the idea of a strong person, thanks to the alliteration of sound ‘b’.

The adjectives justify his presence and his victories ‘at any wrestling show’.

An additional characteristic the narrator exploits refers to his size that was broad and his strength is underlined by the adjective “knotty”. His strength indeed permitted him to slay doors hinges.

In short, right from the very first part of the characterization the narrator wants to convey the idea that the Miller made himself respected mostly thanks to his strength. The characterization of such features creates a comic and ridiculous effect as the intelligent reader can see considering line 6-7: were the narrator says “or take a run and break it with his head”. Going on with the characterization the narrator shifts the attention to his beard. His beard is compared to a red coloured hair like the ones of a sow or a fox. The narrator adds that it was broad (line 9) and again he compares it to a spade.

All the details the narrator exploits are meant to ridicule and parody the character that turns out a puppet. The description of his nose is disgusting. The narrator insists on comparing a human being to the most disgusting elements of animals. It goes without saying that the narrator doesn’t appreciate any feature of the character. Even in the description of his nostrils the narrator seems to remind a pig more than a man and this is the introductory part of characterization.
After the physical description the narrator goes on in characterizing the Miller with his attitude.
He is “a wrangler and a buffoon, he had a store of tavern stories” but all these stories are “filthy in the main”. So in addiction at his bad aspect he his a bad person. Even his job connotes him negatively in fact he is the best in stealing grain: “he took three times its due” (line 20). So the reader can understand that all that the Miller does is bad, is reputation is underlined by his aspect.

Then the narrator gives the reader a little description of his clothes: “a hood of blue and white coat”. Even his clothes give him a sort of comic connotation.

At the end of the characterization the narrator tells the reader that the character “liked to play bagpipes”, despite his disgusting aspect and his bad reputation with his ‘hobby’ he was able to “brought us out of town”.
So in at the end of characterization analysis the reader understand that the narrator from the first part of the characterization till the last one gives a negative description of the Miller: the aspect, the attitude, the job. But even if with his bad reputation at the end he can brought all the pilgrims out of town with his bagpipes.