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The precise, unerring, delicately emphatic characterizations for which The Canterbury Tales is so famous are no more extraordinary than Chaucer’s utter mastery of English rhythms and his effortless versification. Ranging from animal fables to miniature epics of courtly love and savagely hilarious comedies of sexual comeuppance, these stories told by pilgrims on the way to the shrine of Thomas à Becket in Canterbury reveal a teeming, vital fourteenth-century English society on the verge of its Renaissance.These tales bring together a band of pilgrims who represented most of the occupations and social groups of the time. The diversity of the narrators in turn made possible a varied collection of tales including chivalric romance, spiritual allegory, courtly lay, beast fable and literary satire. (Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)
Series: Everyman's Library (Book 74)
Hardcover: 656 pages
Publisher: Everyman's Library (June 30, 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0679409890
ISBN-13: 978-0679409892
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.3 x 8.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (369 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #92,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #23 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Poetry #96 in Books > Literature & Fiction > British & Irish > Poetry #119 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Ancient, Classical & Medieval > Ancient & Classical
Over some period I have read several translations of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. My first experience, selections in a high school text, was not promising. (Perhaps, I was not yet ready for Chaucer.) Translating poetry from one language to another is difficult and often unsuccessful. Translating Chaucer from Middle English is not much easier. English has changed dramatically in the last 600 years, to the point that Middle English is nearly indecipherable. For example, we read Chaucer's description of the Knight's appearance:Of fustian he wered a gipoun (Of coarse cloth he wore a doublet)Al bismotered with his habergeoun (All rust-spotted by his coat-of-mail)A glossary, diligence, and time are required for reading the original Chaucer. If you choose to do so, the Riverside Chaucer edition (edited by L. Benson) and the Norton Critical Edition (edited by Olson and Kolve) are highly recommended. The Signet Classic paperback edited by D. R. Howard modernizes the spelling a bit, but largely adheres to the original Chaucer and is an easier introduction to Middle English.Although in most cases the instructor assigns a particular version of Canterbury Tales, it can be exceedingly helpful to pick-up an additional version or two. A slightly different translation may entirely surprise you, even resonate with you, making Chaucer much more enjoyable. I suggest that you look for these versions:Selected Canterbury Tales, Dover Thrift edition - provides a poetic, rather than literal interpretation, and is quite readable. The collection of tales is fairly small, however.Canterbury Tales, Penguin edition, translated by Nevill Coghill, is an excellent poetic translation.
The version of this classic I read was a translation into modern English by Nevill Coghill. As you can see above, I awarded Chaucer (and the translation) five stars; but I do have a criticism. This translation (and many other publications of Chaucer) do not contain the two prose tales ("The Tale of Melibee" and "The Parson's Tale"). These are rarely read and I understand the publisher's and the translator's desire to keep the book to a managable size. Still, that should be the readers decision and no one else's. I had to go to the University library and get a complete copy in order to read those sections. As I mentioned, this copy is a translation into modern English. However, I do recommend that readers take a look at the Middle English version, at least of the Prologue. Many years ago, when I was in high school, my teacher had the entire class memorize the first part of the Prologue in the original Middle English. Almost forty years later, I still know it. I am always stunned at how beautiful, fluid, and melodic the poetry is, even if you don't understand the words. Twenty-nine pilgrims meet in the Tabard Inn in Southwark on their way to Canterbury. The host suggests that the pilgrims tell four stories each in order to shorten the trip (the work is incomplete in that only twenty-four stories are told). The tales are linked by narrative exchanges and each tale is presented in the manner and style of the character providing the story. This book was a major influence on literature. In fact, the development of the "short story" format owes much to these tales.
Canterbury Tales (Everyman's Library) The Canterbury Tales: Fifteen Tales and the General Prologue (Norton Critical Editions) The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale CD: From The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Read by Elizabeth Salter (Selected Tales from Chaucer) The Miller's Prologue and Tale CD: From The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Read by A. C. Spearing (Selected Tales from Chaucer) The Merchant's Prologue and Tale CD: From The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Read by A. C. Spearing (Selected Tales from Chaucer) Collected Nonfiction, Volume 1: Selections from the Autobiography, Letters, Essays, and Speeches (Everyman's Library (Cloth)) Love Letters (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets) Collected Stories (Everyman's Library) Crime and Punishment (Everyman's Library) Doctor Zhivago (Everyman's Library) Don Quixote of the Mancha (Everyman's Library Children's Classics) A Apple Pie and Traditional Nursery Rhymes (Everyman's Library Children's Classics) Lullabies and Poems for Children (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets) The Woman Warrior, China Men (Everyman's Library Classics & Contemporary Classics) Herbert: The Complete English Works (Everyman's Library) The Canterbury Tales: The Knight's Tale (Modern Verse Translation) The Canterbury Tales [Blackstone] The Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales (Dover Thrift Editions) Selected Canterbury Tales
