이동춘. 축제의 제전(祭典)으로서 『캔터베리 이야기』- ｢방앗간 주인의 이야기｣를 중심으로   page(s): 21-47
[Dongchoon Lee. The Canterbury Tales in terms of a Road Festival as Reflected in The Miller’s Tale]

Abstract

There has been a strand of criticism whose focus lies in a world and a world view which M. M. Bakhtin refers to as “carnival,” opposed to the hierarchical structures of church and state. Though Bakhtin only briefly mentions Geoffrey Chaucer in his works, Bakhtin"s popular notion of the “carnivalesque” is clearly a valuable vehicle for understanding his Canterbury Tales. And it provides a context for understanding the importance of laughter in the work. As in holiday celebrations in the marketplace and the square, many voices, with their disdain for the established social order ooze out in The Canterbury Tales. In addition, the interchange between audience and performer, the peculiar jostling of high and low forms, the mixture of styles, and “the lower bodily stratum” in relation to Chaucer"s low characters and their tales are unarguably the elements that Chaucer enjoys for the carnivalesque effect in his work.
  From the General Prologue, Chaucer develops the signs of carnival in his language and description of the pilgrims. The narrator‘s apologies for his failure to observe degree and the pilgrims’ agreement to the game both indicate that the laws and regulations of everyday society are suspended. By challenging the Knight, the Miller faithfully follows the rules of the game. The Miller‘s refusal of the claims of social hierarchy means his identification of the pilgrimage as a time of carnivalesque freedom. His drunkenness, impudence, and coarseness also have the license of a season of the carnival. The Miller brings us into a carnal world where desire and body are to be gratified rather than restrained. The conventional attitudes toward high learning, sex, and church are ridiculed and even attacked by the Miller, whose interest lies in physical pleasure and natural instinct. The laugher that the Miller provokes makes the game harmless and even provides the audience (involving the pilgrims) with the creative energy for a new beginning of everyday life.       
       
   Keywords:     제프리 초서, 미하일 바흐친, 카니발, 웃음, ｢방앗간 주인의 이야기｣, Geoffrey Chaucer, M. M. Bakhtin, Carnival, the laughter, The Miller’s Tale