I really like the fact that Chaucer encompasses in his Tales such a wide range of layers of society in the Middle Ages as well as different writing styles, from high to low. The Miller’s Tale was definitely an unexpected continuation from the sophisticated and elevated Knight’s Tale and I understand why Chaucer tried to make it seem like an accident in the Prologue. I don’t think, however, that this stark contrast was meant to ridicule courtly love in the previous narrative, but rather to highlight the different ways of human existence at the time and perhaps also to make the reading of the Tales more diverse by alternating serious stories with the lightly entertaining ones. Also, the Miller’s Tale definitely provides an insight into the life of the lower classes and one of the things I noticed was how prominent religious plays were at the time and how strongly they might have influenced the world-view of their audiences. The carpenter seems to be a dedicated fan of these plays in this story and the fact that he so earnestly believes what the sly scholar tells him and how he vividly imagines the great flood might perhaps indicate to Chaucer’s criticism towards the influence of these plays on more simple-minded people.