The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a classic piece wherein pilgrims tell tales during their journey to a holy shrine in Canterbury. A Knight and Miller are two of the pilgrims. Chaucer gives personality to each character wherein a drunken Miller can tell a tale that is full of brilliant characterization and also have nicely balanced action, and a tough soldier like the Knight can weave a romance "with all the art of a seasoned minstrel." (Lawrence 42)
The Knight, being the noblest amongst the pilgrims, is invited to speak first. The second tale-teller is the Miller. The Miller speaks second, not by invitation, but as a way to repay the Knight's romantic tale. In having these two tales told back-to-back, one is able to compare the two. In many ways, The Miller's Tale "functions as a subversive mirror of the Knight's story." (Rossignol 242) This is also an opportunity to find many similarities as well as differences between the two tales.
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