Medieval LOLs: Chaucer's 'Miller's Tale'

Were the Middle Ages funny? In this bonus Close Readings series running throughout this year, Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley begin their quest for the medieval sense of humour with Chaucer’s 'Miller’s Tale', a story that is surely still (almost) as funny as when it was written six hundred years ago. But who is the real butt of the joke? Mary and Irina look in detail at the mechanics of the plot and its needless but pleasurable complexity, and consider the social significance of clothes and pubic hair in the tale.Sign up to the Close Readings subscription to listen ad free and to all our series in full:Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/medlolapplesignupIn other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/medlolscsignupWatch a video version of this podcast on our YouTube channel hereGet in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Om Podcasten

Close Readings is a new multi-series podcast subscription from the London Review of Books. Two contributors explore areas of literature through a selection of key works, providing an introductory grounding like no other. Listen to some episodes for free here, and extracts from our ongoing subscriber-only series.How To SubscribeIn Apple Podcasts, click 'subscribe' at the top of this podcast feed to unlock the full episodes.Or for other podcast apps, sign up here: https://lrb.me/closereadingsRUNNING IN 2025:'Conversations in Philosophy' with Jonathan Rée and James Wood'Fiction and the Fantastic' with Marina Warner, Anna Della Subin, Adam Thirlwell and Chloe Aridjis'Love and Death' with Seamus Perry and Mark Ford'Novel Approaches' with Clare Bucknell, Thomas Jones and other guestsALSO INCLUDED IN THE CLOSE READINGS SUBSCRIPTION:'Among the Ancients' with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones'Medieval Beginnings' with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley'The Long and Short' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry'Modern-ish Poets: Series 1' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry'Among the Ancients II' with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones'On Satire' with Colin Burrow and Clare Bucknell'Human Conditions' with Adam Shatz, Judith Butler, Pankaj Mishra and Brent Hayes Edwards'Political Poems' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry'Medieval LOLs' with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary WellesleyGet in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.