Black and White

There is an extremely evident contrast between the two tales that we have read so far, The Miller's Tale and The Knight's Tale. In the latter of the two, we see a chivalrous and noble story about the love, courage, and tenacity. On The Miller's Tale we see a vulgar and indecent story filled with sexual references. Both of these stories contrast quite clearly in that the narrators are both obviously of different classes, come from different places, and undoubtedly have more differences than similarities.

One of the few similarities that both stories have is that they both treat the subject of the art of enchanting and seducing. In the The Knight's Tale we can see two charming, courteous, and well-bred men who are able to attract Emelye, a beautiful and proper woman. On The Miller's Tale, we see a variety of characters such as John, a stupid old carpenter; Nick, a scheming and mischievious student; and Absolon, a gullible lovesick parish clerk.

It's interesting to see how these personalities contrast and how the narrarators differ so much in personalities and backgrounds. I'm very interested in seeing how the novel progresses and meet new characters, each with their own set of interesting and unique qualities.

Q and (hopefully) A's

I have a question which I hope to be able to answer after finishing all of The Canterbury Tales;

How does the fact that they are going to a pilgrimage play into the types of stories the traveler's are telling?

I am curious about this because it seems to me that the kind of improbable story that the Knight tells may have some type of meaning in regards to the type of person he is. I hypothesize that perhaps when we have finished reading all of the stories, we will be able to say that maybe these devotees are going on the pilgrimage in order to cleanse themselves of some type of offense or misdeed that they have comitted. I am interested in continuing The Canterbury Tales in order to more fully comprehend the author's purpose for writing the book.

What Drives Us All

Everything we do has a purpose and whether we want to or not, we are driven by our passions. Passions come in many ways, be it love, hate, anger, etc. In The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer we can see the incredible power of passions in The Knight's Tale. Both Palamon and Arcite are madly in love with Emelye. Arcite, thanks to Perotheus, has been freed from jail but is banned from the land. On the other hand, Palamon is still able to see Emelye from his jail cell, but is incarcerated and therefore will never be able to be with her. The passion that they feel leads both Arcite and Palamon to do a series of unusual and even ludicruous things such as desguising oneself and risk death, escape from jail, and even go without sleep because of the insurmountable love that they feel towards Emelye.


Thinking about these things that both Arcite and Palamon did for love I couldn't help but see parallels in many of the movies and shows we see nowadays. For example one that came to mind was the whole story of King Kong and his immense love for the beautiful girl. This wild and uncontrollable beast is led by his passions and ultimately dies in their sake.


Another plot that came to mind was that of the whole "Mario" video game saga. The whole plot develops around the love that Mario feels towards Princess Peach. In the video game, an ordinary plumber decides to face life threatening obstacles in order to save the beautiful damsel in distress.

Constantly on the Move

As I listened and watched the video of Dorian Merina's poem Migrations, I couldn't help but focus on a curious phrase that was repeated various times throughout the poem:

"On the boats come the blood, the blood, the blood"

What could this mean? What could Merina be trying to tell us, the readers, by using such strong imagery? After contemplating for a while, I began to think about how this whole course is based on traveling and I immediately realized that water is one of the most important means of transportation in the world. People have always been using water to get somewhere, and that is why I have come to an understanding that perhaps what Merina is trying to express is that blood, a substance that represents passion, love, vigor and life, has always been travelling on boats. People are always on the move, just like ideas and emotions and I think that perhaps Merina is trying to show that we are what keeps the world moving. We are the energy that has always and will always keep the world from going stale.