The Biblical allusions that are used in the Tale have the effect of broadening the moral behind the story and emphasising the Merchant’s cynicism of love and marriage. By using the irony of the Biblical stories along with the thoughts of Januarie, a contemporary audience would have quickly perceived that there would be trouble with the marriage, as they would have been relatively well versed on the Bible. The priest at the marriage ceremony "bade [May] be lik Sarra and Rebekke". Ironically these two figures are held up as examples of holy and virtuous women, yet they both deceived their husbands and the audience would more than likely have noticed the comical value of this reference.
The marriage of May and Januarie brings attention to their names. While the spring month of May is full of life, prosperity and fertility, the winter month of January is a new beginning (to the year), but still contains the cold deadness of winter. Eventually, spring defeats winter. There is a stark contrast between the characters of May and Januarie. Januarie’s roughness is especially focused upon on the wedding night. His skin is "Lyk to the skyn of houndfyssh" and there is an almost repulsive focus on his appearance. May is a much livelier, younger character and so Damyan seems much more suited to her.
The way in which Januarie treats May from the time before they are even married suggests that May is the one to be pitied. However, when May is unfaithful and even laughs at her husband's age and pathetic nature, the reader's sympathies swing towards Januarie. Yet before "the naddre in bosom sly untrewe" enters the marriage, Januarie has treated May as a business-like purchase, as if he had picked her off the shelf at the local market. The search for wife was based on a want for a companion and all that comes with marriage, rather than love and affection.
The allusions to gods during the wedding feast and the relationship heighten the grandeur of the events. Music was played at the wedding breakfast "that nevere tromped Joab for to heere". The gods appear to have been invited to the event as Bacchus pours the wine and Venus and Hymen both oversee the wedding. The parallels with mythology would have been easily understood by a medieval audience and are another example of the extent of Chaucer's knowledge and the ways in which he can integrate this knowledge into his poem.
Chaucer used many different aspects of his wide biblical and classical knowledge when writing ‘The Merchant's Tale’. Around these imaginative inclusions lies some deep irony and a use of contemporary views, literature and politics in order to emphasize the comical values of the poem.