The Canterbury Tales: Nine Tales and the General Prologue: Authoritative Text, Sources and Backgrounds, Criticism by Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales: Nine Tales and the General Prologue: Authoritative Text, Sources and Backgrounds, Criticism Reviews

• 
  Spike Gomes

  Other than a modern translation of the Pardoner's Tale, which I read in high school for an assignment, I've never read much of the Canterbury Tales. Now, since I feel an urge to read as much of the Great Classics before I die, I figured I might as well get this one out of the way. Well, partially, anyway. This Norton Critical Edition only has the General prologue and nine of the tales, though the nine selected are the ones that are generally accepted as the best of the twenty-eight.
  
  This particular edition is in a standardized form of Middle English that regularizes the varied spelling between editions and discards unfamiliar old letters and inserts newer ones like “j” and “u” as necessary. While some might consider this a travesty, it makes the slow going in reading a bit faster. This is a pretty slow read, to be sure. Poetry usually takes longer to read than prose because one needs to listen to the verse parsed in one's internal voice and not zoom along at the speed of reading comprehension. This is complicated by the fact that besides the archaic language, which, thankfully, is heavily glossed and footnoted in this edition, one must listen to it taking into account the fact that Middle English is pronounced quite differently from modern English. To be honest I never quite got the hang of it in my head, but fudging it works often enough to keep the rhythm going.
  
  Content-wise the tales in and of themselves are both products of their medieval times and endlessly timeless at once. Irony, satire, social criticism, nuance... they were all alive and well long before Gutenberg came along with his invention. I was a little struck by how bawdy the Miller and the Reeve's Tales were. Now I'm hardly surprised why we barely touched upon the book in our high school English class. I kind of do wonder how the Victorians handled all the stuff about ass-kissing, farting, and graphic cuckoldry back in the day.
  
  I was also struck by how revolutionary and modern the views expounded by the Wife of Bath in her prologue were... as well how even-handed Chaucer was in her depiction and in the quiet rebuttal delivered by the Clerk in his tale. I really got to wonder how obtuse some people reviewing this book are when they complain about how sexist it all is when Chaucer was literally centuries ahead of his time in his views of women actually having agency, opinions and desires of their own that were contrary to men and that well, was just part of life that needed to be accepted. Yeah, the Wife of Bath is kind of a shrew and a good-time girl, but in the end her general argument does have a point.
  
  Honestly, though, the Nun's Priest's tale is my favorite. Why? Because I love chickens, and Chaucer just anthropomorphizes them perfectly. How else can you have a rooster debating Boethius, Greek history and Christian theology with his hen wife in one moment, and then have them act like perfectly normal chickens the next? People underestimate the comedic potential of chickens.
  
  The historical and source texts that follow the selected tales are pretty valuable. Some of them like Boccacio's Decameron I will have to visit on their own in the future. Other texts provide a counterpoint of how Chaucer either drew on several sources to synthesize a story, or reworked a rather blah source story into something more interesting or complex. The critical texts are kind of hit and miss for me. The older scholarly works seem to have more descriptive and interpretative value than the more recent ones, but then I'm personally allergic to any sort of classical structuralism and its derivatives.
  
  So is it worth it to get this particular copy of The Canterbury Tales? Overall, I'd say yes, because of the deep annotations and secondary works, however, I'd be hesitant to let this be the only copy that one has of the Tales since it is incomplete (well, more incomplete than the unfinished text in entirety, but I jest). If one can recommend a version in the comments that is in a well annotated version of the Middle English, please mention it below! I currently have one from the Britannica Great Books translation from the 50s, but it's a parallel text that appears to be mildly bowdlerized. So how to rate? All in all, it's probably not going to please the completest and it's not going to draw in the casual reader, nor should it be the only copy on your shelf. So 4 out of 5 stars.
  
• 
  Rivkah

  I forbid anyone to read these tales in modern English. Half the fun of reading them is trying to translate the Middle English. These are great earthy tales of fairies, knights, and fiery hot pokers to the rear. Good stuff.
• 
  Megan

  There's not much to say about the Canterbury Tales that hasn't been said, I'm sure. My dad used to recite them to me in the Middle English. About five years ago I memorized the the General Prologue, the first 100 lines or so of The Knight's Tale, and a particularly intense scene from the tournament for the purpose of reciting them to someone else someday. Every April I get a hankering to read portions of this book. One day I might read it all. I know I always enjoy the text, but it also reminds me of my father and I'm sure always will. I especially recommend reading this out loud. Not only does it help to understand but it's just really fun. There are many good pronunciation guides and some sample audio files available online, just in case you don't have a dad who studied English literature to read them to you.
• 
  Lizzie

  Really glad I took this Chaucer class. There was so much to pick up on that I never would have! I love how each pilgrim is unique, and their tales reflect them in ways that even they don't fully understand.
• 
  Stephen Heiner

  This selection of nine tales also features some helpful critical essays (that's why you get a Norton edition) and is a helpful reminder of how language develops. Even as a native speaker my reading has to slow down significantly to take in the meanings of Middle English, centuries removed from the English we speak today.
  
  We keep reading these tales because human nature never changes and the timeless lessons Chaucer offers us in these stories can never be heard enough.
  
  "Thy gentillesse cometh fro God allone.
  Thanne cometh oure verray gentillesse of grace:
  It was nothing biquethe us with oure place."
  (p. 133)
• 
  Oliver

  Chaucer is the best. It's so much fun to read these aloud in your own Middle English accent, at least if you're a sicko like me. I wish I knew more about medieval astrology because it seems to be one of the main unifying elements between all the tales, along with the social position of women and the Providence of God vs. free will debate. I don't know if anyone else has looked at people like Chaucer has, seen seriously that we're all drunkards, liars, lechers, bigots of all sorts, and yet declared that we're all worthy of respect. The Canterbury Tales is probably the most humanist book ever written.
• 
  Amanda

  Better than I imagined it would be, but what is with all the preaching at the end? That kind of ruined it for me. I was hoping there would be a return to the more light-hearted nature of the restofit, but instead it was heavily Biblical w references to Solomon ad nauseum.
• 
  Rick Hribko

  Had to read it for college. Maybe the full Canterbury tales collection would be more to my liking
• 
  Bcoghill Coghill

  I am going to try to read Canterbury Tales in Middle English. The rhymes are so much better then the "translated" versions that I have read. I am thinking of Neville Coghill's, which is heady stuff or a 1902 translation I read awhile back which was, to my mind, more simple and earthy like Chaucer but the authors were more reserved, probably the Victorian era influence and the beginning of the Century.
  So wish me luck. I am reading "The Canterbury Tales, Nine Tales and the General Prologue" edited by V.A. Kolve and Glending Olson, The Norton Critical Edition. This is a school book but I think I will get more out of it through my independent study.
  Be a Life Long Learner!
  
• 
  Dorothy Hermary

  I read part of this book for an Early Medieval Literature course and then finished it because of my own interest.
  
  I loved the canterbury tales themselves and feel a special connection to the "Wife of Bath". Of course, all women want to be in charge in their households and to hold mastery over their husbands.
  
  In fact, Chaucer has developed some remarkable characters and included some interesting and often amusing stories. Some of the essays at the end of the book are dry and take more time to read than the old English versions of the tales themselves, but they do add thought-provoking perspectives.
  
  
• 
  Shelley

  What I've actually read (in Middle English):
  -The General Prologue: Lovely portraits, massively entertaining.
  -The Knight's Tale: Long and dull, more fun to write about than to actually read.
  -The Miller's Tale & The Reeve's Tale: Two hilarious fabliaus that showcase medieval raunchiness.
  -The Nun's Priest's Tale: I still remember the courtly courtesy Chuantecleer the Rooster pays to his lady wife (a hen). Hilarious.
• 
  Thara

  I almost gave it a third star for "The Miller's Tale" but decided against it. Seriously, I hate Chaucer. I know sexism is just a calling card of the times, but it's ridiculous. Oh, wait, I'm going to give it a third star just for David Daniels's read-aloud during class, because it was definitely one of my favorite moments of undergrad.
• 
  Victoria

  There is no question as to why Chaucer is considered a master. He masked his issues with marriage, society and people with clever, enjoyable tales. The language is beautiful and challenging yet, still understandable.
  
  Chaucer is an artist--he takes complex subjects and projects them to the reader in simple, entertaining stories.
• 
  Dani

  Obviously a tough read. But if you stick with it, you get used to it. I just think the development of human language is fascinating, so I really liked the contrast of words used then, to words used now. Even the phonetics is just really interesting. This version is awesome too because of the annotations, helps a ton!
• 
  Jim

  Required reading for an online course at Hillsdale College on the Great Books 101. Reminiscent of Voltaire and Rabelais, wrestling with the ME provided a severe pleasure. I only read the Prologue, Knight's Tale, and Nun's Priest Tale. A very worthwhile endeavor, I recommend wrestling, but with the help of marginal notes this edition provides.
• 
  Andrew Reid

  I have only read the prolouge and a few tales. The tales are okay. I appreciate the size of the project the author is tackling in attempting to write two tales for each traveler. Geez... well, some of the tales are pretty funny.
• 
  Amber

  We read all these tales in college and my teacher, who was a Chaucer expert, made us do oral presentations where we had to quote lines using the old english style. It was so awesome and hard to understand. It sounds like German.
• 
  Michael

  A must read for anyone wanting to get the fullest representation of the historical development of the English language and storytelling. Sound out your pronunciations, folks!
• 
  Greg

  This version is in middle english but it can be read without knowing the language. I suggest reading it modern englsh
• 
  Mimi

  What can I say?! I'm an English major. Loved them ---- Chaucer was spot on for character description.
• 
  Patti

  Salacious, funny and interesting. I love the middle english. I read it for a Brit Lit class in college and really enjoyed it.
• 
  Rachel

  Required in HS English. It was okay, but I don't think I really "got" it so I didn't really like it.
• 
  courtney

  i love this edition for all of the supporting and critical documents. the translation is easy to follow (after some initial stumbling) and the glosses and notes make a lot of sense.
• 
  Danell Jones

  Hilarious! A must read. If you haven't met the Wife of Bath, you haven't lived.
• 
  Shane Outlaw

  YEs I read this book for Brit. Lit Class. well you might find it boring but there are some pretty cool parts in the tales. sexually interesting, and hilarious.
• 
  Volsung

  Besides the Prologue and the nine tales included, this edition is supplemented with several key, important essays on Chaucer and his works, making this a good edition to have.