The prologue begins with a reference to the last tale told, that of the knight, which Chaucer describes as “a noble storie”. By using this reference to the knight’s tale provides the opportunity to contrast with the crude character of the miller and thus these two juxtaposing characters enhance Chaucer’s characterisation. The miller’s tale runs on the key themes of sex, love, lust and adultery to name but a few, which immediately throws into light the sharp contrast between the knights “noble” tale and the miller’s.
The interaction, in the prologue, gives a wider perspective of the pilgrimage itself and provides a broader context for the tale. By showing the interaction between the miller and his fellow pilgrims, it presents the importance of social hierarchy and thus the sheer disrespect the miller has for it. The order in which the tales are told are, in fact, down to this social hierarchy and the standing of each individual pilgrim so following the knight’s tale, should be the monk. However the miller, “drunken” and “al pale”, interrupts this hierarchal rank by clearly stating “by armes, and by blood and bones, I kan a noble tale for the nones, with which I wol now quite the Knightes tale”. Not only is this speech filled with irony, “a noble tale” but also provides an outlet for Chaucer’s parody of social etiquette and form. This sheer distain for his standing in society is also shown through his inability and lack of courtesy to take off his hood and hat, considered deeply offensive when in company, especially when the company one is keeping consists of figures from a higher ‘class’ than the miller.
The narrative voice, within the prologue, switches between three, and provides a deeper insight into the characters of the miller and the voice of Chaucer himself. After the miller has given his own introduction to the tale he will tell, the narrative voice changes to that of Chaucer himself. Chaucer uses this opportunity to apologise to the reader for the crude approach of the miller and the story he will tell and even offers the reader the chance to put the poem down.
An effect of the prologue is that it provides an aspect of reality, with regards to the stories; it allows the reader to experience the people behind the stories. In the miller’s case, this prologue enhances his character and allows the reader to experience the kind of man that would tell a story such as this to a group of travelling pilgrims. It also serves as the first occasion to present Chaucer’s lack of respect for the Catholic Church. The sheer fact that a man, such as the miller, would be travelling on a religious pilgrimage is suggesting that the church is corrupt and thus not all it is expected to be.