Absolon and Nicholas are fundamentally different characters within the Miller’s Tale. The former is very effeminate, and, since he is presented as the complete antithesis to the Miller, he will ultimately suffer the irony and humour most heavily. The latter is rather more cunning, in that his real character contrasts with the character which he portrays in his daily life, and because his real character, as shown in particular by his “hands-on” approach to wooing Alison, bears some resemblance to that of the Miller, he tends not to suffer as heavily at the hands of the Miller.

When Chaucer first introduces the character of Nicholas, we are presented with the character that Nicholas attempts to portray: that of a shy, withdrawn, scholarly young man. He is described as a “poure scoler”, and somebody whose attention is “turned for to lerne astrologie”. This perception of Nicholas is backed up by Chaucer’s use of polysyllabic, Latinate words such as “conclusions” and “interrogaciouns”, as well as the repeated references to “hende Nicholas”.

However, after initially accepting Chaucer’s description of Nicholas, we begin to feel rather suspicious towards Nicholas. Whilst Chaucer has built up an image of an innocent, scholarly young man, the number of positive adjectives used to describe Nicholas begins to concern the reader slightly, particularly the overuse of “sweete”: We are told that Nicholas is a “sweete clerk”, that he sings sweetly, even that he is “as sweete as is the roote / Of licoris”. The rhyme between “swoote” and “roote” even helps to emphasise how sweet Nicholas appears to be (since the root is that of licorice, and is therefore sweet). At this stage, the reader does not necessarily assume from this hyperbole that Nicholas is the deceptive, lying, adulterer that he turns out to be, but certainly Chaucer places certain doubts about Nicholas’s appearance in the mind of the reader fairly early on in the tale. Also, some references to Nicholas do not seem to work together: Whilst Nicholas is described as being a “poure scholer”, he is also described as having a room full of expensive, specialist astrological equipment. This is another clue to the fact that Nicholas is not quite all that he seems.

Further clues to the irony of this introductory passage lie in the rhyme scheme: For instance, the rhyme between “Nicholas” and “solas” indicates that Nicholas is not, in fact, the quiet, reserved character who he pretends to be, but is, in fact a man after entertainment. Once the rest of the tale is also known, then the irony of “Of deerne love he koude” is revealed: At this initial stage, this reference to secret love affairs is presumed to refer to the rather more chivalrous love of the Knight’s Tale; by the end of the tale, however, we realise that this reference is to the affair he will have with Alisoun, which is, of course, far from chivalrous.

The façade which Nicholas assumes is the very reason why he does not suffer at the hands of the Miller by the same amount that Abolson does: Whilst Nicholas’s façade is pulled apart, at the end of the day Nicholas realises that this character is just that: a façade. This is in stark contrast to Abolson: When his character is pulled to pieces, he is dealt a far heavier blow, because the character under attack is his actual character, and not one which he puts forward only to other people.

Absolon is presented as the complete antithesis of the Miller: Whilst “In al the toun nas brewhous ne taverne / That he ne visited”, the point is made that Abolson is “squaymous”, which is, in one word, the complete opposite of the Miller.

In the presentation of Abolson, Chaucer is both attempting to introduce a new character, as well as satirise the church. He does this effectively by introducing Absolon as a vain parish clerk – obviously, the Bible teaches against vanity, and so in order to satirise the church as far as possible, Chaucer makes Abolson the epitome of vanity, and Chaucer goes to great lengths to describe Absolon’s physical appearance, with his hair which “as the gold it shoon”, and whilst being “crul” in parts is “strouted as a fanne” at the front. Also, the point is made that Abolson wears carved shoes: The carvings obviously serve no purpose other than to improve his physical appearance and emphasise his vanity. This suggests a great deal of preparation has gone into his physical appearance, and, indeed, Chaucer refers to Absolon as “joly Absolon” throughout the tale.

The adjectives Chaucer uses to describe character are intentionally sarcastic, and this is one particular area where the sarcasm is heavier for Absolon since he whole-heartedly believes that he is “joly”, whereas Nicholas uses the “hende Nicholas” façade – he is not really as sweet as he makes out!

From the very introduction of Absolon as a “squamous” character, we immediately know that the Miller will make fun of him, as he is so very different and so much more effeminate in character as well as appearance to the Miller. We can imagine the Miller making fun of Absolon through the use of vocal features such as speaking in a high pitched voice and using a different accent. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the sarcasm is heavier for Absolon than the more manly, outgoing character of Nicholas.

And so we can see that from the very earliest parts of the Miller’s Tale, Chaucer shows how Nicholas has two very different sides to his character, and whilst managing to introduce the character of Abolson whilst also satirising the church and being sarcastic in tone towards Absolon. Therefore we see that Chaucer builds up a full character portrait of both Nicholas and Absolon in a very short amount of time, using a variety of literary techniques.