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British Poetry Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University
Notes Unit 10: The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales
(Non-detailed Study): Discussion and Analysis-II
CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
10.1 The Reeve’s Tale
10.1.1 The Reeve’s Prologue
10.1.2 The Reeve’s Tale Text
10.2 The Cook’s Tale
10.2.1 The Cook’s Prologue
10.2.2 The Cook’s Tale Text
10.3 Summary
10.4 Keywords
10.5 Review Questions
10.6 Further Readings
Objectives
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
• Explain the Reeve’s tale
• Explain the Cook’s tale
• Describe briefly the analysis of the Reeve’s and the Cook’s tale.
Introduction
A miller named Symkyn lives on some property by a bridge not far from the town of Cambridge.
(A miller is a person who grinds corn and grain into flour.) He likes to fight, carries multiple weapons,
and enjoys wrestling. Most people in the town avoid conflict with him, even though the regularly
cheats his customers by stealing corn from them or “padding” their sacks of flour with less-expensive
substances. Symkyn has married the illegitimate daughter of a local cleric, a woman who’s proud
because of her expensive upbringing in a nunnery. When the manciple of a school in Canterbury that
regularly grinds its corn and wheat with Symkyn gets sick, the miller takes the opportunity to cheat
the school even more than usual. Two students there, Aleyn and John, ask their headmaster to allow
them to go have the corn ground the next time it needs grinding, convinced they can prevent the
miller from cheating them. The headmaster agrees, and the two set out on their journey by horseback.
The Cook is mightily entertained by the story the Reeve told and wants to tell a funny story of his
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