millers tale-autherial interjection

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The significance of authorial interjection line 59 – 78 in the Millers prologue In the Millers prologue the author plays mainly a narrative role until line 59 where the author, Geoffrey Chaucer, enters the text as himself in authorial interjection. His tone is apologetic (even embarrassed of the tale he is about to ‘re-tell’) yet detached . He seems to be ‘talking’ to a large, varying audience or group of readers. In a world or time where most writers and authors were anonymous the above interjection and way in which he partakes in the text was rather unique and could be seen as a completely new way in which a author interact with the story and audience. Chaucer is both apologizing and excusing himself in the excerpt (line 59-78) from what he is about to recount, this could be seen as a way to draw the reader forward to discover exactly what could make the tale into one of ‘ribaldry’ (crude stories) and that which should be taken as ‘game’ (humorous), or a manner of protecting himself from his readers that might indeed look down upon him for such crude stories. His defeated or helpless tone is illustrated as he says that he: ‘M’athynketh that [he] shal reherce it heere’ and goes further in excusing himself and painting himself as having no option in its retelling when he says he ‘moot reherce’ all tales, regardless of their decency. One could also see this as a way to make himself seem better and perhaps more upper class or ‘gentile’ in the readers eyes and as we know that he did have noble readers this is likely. Chaucer’s tone in this part drastically contrasts with the story he is about to tell, perhaps serving to further dramatize the tale and its crude nature. His audience is not specified in this excerpt though. He talks of the ‘churls’ tale but does not openly deface the story or people of that status. He is openly apologizing to those who are
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