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 SubscribeApple Podcast users can sign up directly here: https://apple.co/3pJoFPqFor other podcast apps, sign up here: lrb.me/closereadingsClose Readings PlusIf you'd like to receive all the books under discussion in our 2024 series, and get access to online seminars throughout the year with special guests and other supporting material, sign up to Close Readings Plus here: https://lrb.me/plusRunning in 2024:On Satire with Clare Bucknell and Colin BurrowHuman Conditions with Adam Shatz, Judith Butler, Pankaj Mishra and Brent Hayes EdwardsAmong the Ancients II with Emily Wilson and Thomas JonesThere'll be a new episode from each series every month.Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.