| Title | : | The Canterbury Tales: A Selection |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0140622071 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780140622072 |
| Language | : | English, Middle (1100-1500) |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 342 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1390 |
The Canterbury Tales: A Selection Reviews
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I read half of the Knights Tale and then gave up and just read the sparknotes. As much as I LOVE middle english, this was far too much for me to comprehend. The story though was a great one and I really liked it.
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A few years ago I read about half the stories for a class, and found the translations be very readable. The book is set up with the Middle English on the left and the contemporary English on the right. Chaucer looks at medieval society with humor and a deep understanding of people.
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Having recently finished Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror, I was eager to revisit Chaucer and get a feel for the literature of the calamitous 14th century. I was struck by how cheerful the whole thing was--bawdy, funny, touching and full of memorable characters. And the language! It is so rich and inventive, changing as each character tells his tale. I tried Peter Ackroyd's retelling, which I cannot recommend, and then turned to this as a bridge back to the original
Vincent Hopper produced in this small volume a very helpful, highly readable, very close translation of six of the original twenty-four Canterbury Tales, along with the famed prologue. Published in 1948 it is a great way to teach yourself Middle English and get a feel for the Tales in the original. Each line is shown in the original in Times New Roman and the translation just below it in italic typeface. It is extremely easy to scan both nearly simultaneously and before you know it, you'll be reading the original without much effort.
Hopper's translation includes the prologue and tales told by the Knight, the Prioress, the Nun's Priest, the Pardoner, the Wife of Bath and the Franklin.
As I worked my way through this version of Chaucer it quickly became clear to me that I wanted to read more of the tales in the original, but that I would still need a little help with Middle English. eChaucer's amazing website came through with the original in beautifully formatted and cross-referenced HTML and text, superb verse and prose translations, concordances, glossaries, timelines--in short everything a relative beginner like me needs to understand and enjoy Chaucer in the original.
https://machias.edu/faculty/necastro/... -
First off, I love the Cantebury Tales. But I could not give this edition a star rating. The reason being is that the modern English translation is not the best. I understood the Middle English translation with no problems. The lines rhymed and made perfect sense. The modern English translation changed the meanings of some words and the lines did not rhyme.
I suggest reading another translation of this work. -
I do plan on finishing up the rest of these tales in another edition, so I think I'll wait until then to comment on the stories themselves, and I'll focus on the translation for now.
I managed to tackle 90-95% of this in the original Middle English.
It's admittedly slightly harder than Shakespeare, but the interlinear translation made it really easy to flick my eyes down a fraction whenever I needed, so I didn't have to go too far out of my way when I needed help.
Since this book is so bulky and hard to read with one hand, at one point I did reach for a e-book edition that was more or less the same but had modernized the spelling of many of the words. I actually found that harder to read, since the modern spelling had me pronouncing the words in the modern fashion and the poetry just didn't flow anymore and it felt really awkward.
That makes me wonder a bit about Shakespeare. Of course, I've seen those videos where they discuss performing Shakespeare in the original pronunciation, and I've always thought that would be cool to see/hear. But it never occurred to me until now that maybe I should attempt to read Shakespeare with the original spelling. I wonder if that would be harder or easier? It would at least be a fun experiment even if I didn't get very far. Maybe I should try that for some of his sonnets since rhyme and meter will be so important there.
Either way - I think after spending weeks reading Middle English, Shakespeare's Early Modern should make next month's Shakespeare play a lot easier to decipher. -
Delightfully bawdy. There are stories in here that sound like stock jokes. I think this is where the man is bedding the miller's wife and to prove that the miller is asleep, they keep pulling hairs out of his arse before they do it. The miller wakes up an one point and says they can have sex all they want but stop taking a talley on his arse.
Or maybe that is a stock joke. Many moons ago. -
Greate stuffe.
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Crass
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*IMO* The social history behind the Canterbury Tales? Fascinating, invigorating. The actual tales? So boring.
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The Crown Jewels of English literature as funny, saucy, thought-provoking and dramatic as they were when they were written some six-hundred years ago, full of memorable characters and tales that beg to be re-read and re-read.
I put off reading Chaucer for years, worried that the language would be too old to be easily understood and I did not want to read a modern prose translation. But thankfully Chaucer spells phonetically and with a little perseverance one gets used to his idioms and dialect quite easily. He certainly is no harder to read than Shakespeare. I would recommend anyone with an interest in history or early English literature do the same. It is so very awe-inspiring to think how close Chaucer's English is to our own.
Just a warning, the Penguin edition I ended up with, although in original Middle-English, is actually a rather abriged version (I didn't notice at the time I bought it, but the editor seems to have just cut out the lesser known, longer tales that he personally found 'dull' for some reason). If you want to read all of the surviving tales, be careful which editon you choose. -
I was a little surprised at how enjoyable "Canterbury Tales" was, as it was written from 1386 to Chaucer's death in 1400 and I suppose I had the misconception that it might be a bit dusty and dry. The editorial "selection" by Hopper and the "interlinear" translation putting modern English next to ye Olde variety were surely helpful, but it's Chaucer himself who is the star. In his stories he paints a picture of life in the Middle Ages and displays a great deal of insight into human nature, all the while doing so in a way that is informal and fun. It's a pity that the work was only about a quarter finished relative to his original plan.
Quotes:
On Adultery, from the Franklin's Tale:
"Let such folly disappear from your heart.
What pleasure would a man have in his life
to go love another man's wife,
who has her body whenever he pleases"
On Censorship, from the Prologue to the Miller's Tale:
"And therefore, whoever prefers not to hear it,
turn over the page, and choose another tale;
for he will find enough, large and small,
of storied things that concern gentility,
and also morality and holiness;
don't blame me if you choose amiss.
The Miller is a churl, you know this well;
so was the Reve, and many more of the others.
And both of them told bawdy tales.
Make up your minds and don't put the blame on me;
and besides people should not take fun seriously."
On Death, from the Knight's Tale:
"Alas, the severing of our companionship!
Alas, my heart's queen! Alas, my wife!
My heart's lady, ender of my life!
What is this world? What do men ask to have?
Now with his love, now in his cold grave
Alone, without any company."
Also:
"And certainly a man has most honor
to die in his prime and flower,
when he is sure of his good name;
Then has he done no shame to his friend or himself.
And his friend ought to be more glad of his death,
when with honor he yielded up his breath,
than when his name had faded with age;
for all forgotten are his exploits.
Thus it is best, for a worthy reputation,
to die when one is in the height of fame."
On God, from the Knight's Tale:
"How is mankind more beholden to you
than the sheep that huddles in the fold?
For man is slain like any other beast.
and also dwells in prison and detention,
and suffers sickness and great adversity,
and many times guiltless, God knows!
What justice is in this Omniscience,
that torments guiltless innocence?
And yet this increases all my torture,
that man is bound by his obedience,
for God's sake, to restrain his desires,
whereas a beast may fulfill all its appetites."
On Love, from the Knight's Tale:
"He fell suddenly into a study,
as lovers do in their changeful ways,
now in the treetops, now down in the briars,
now up, now down, like a bucket in a well,
just as on Friday, to state a fact,
sometimes it shines, sometimes it pours."
On Old Age, from the Prologue to the Reeve's Tale:
"The poor tongue may well ring and chime
about follies that happened long ago;
except for dotage there is nothing else for old folk."
On Religion, from the Prologue to the Pardoner's Tale:
""Of avarice and of such cursedness
is all my preaching, to make them liberal
to give their pennies, and especially to me.
For my intention is only for profit,
and not at all for correction of sin.
...
For in truth, many a sermon
comes often out of evil intention;
some for the pleasing and flattering of people,
to have advancement by hypocrisy,
and some for worldly fame, and some for hate.
...
Thus I spit out my venom under color
of Holiness, while seeming holy and sincere."
On Sex, from the Prologue to the Wife of Bath's Tale:
"Tell me also, for what purpose
were the organs of generation made,
and for what purpose was a body made?
Trust it right well, they were not made for nothing.
...they are made for both,
that is to say, for function and for pleasure
of begetting, where we do not displease God.
Why otherwise should men state in their books
that man shall pay his debt to his wife?
Now with what should he make his payment,
if he does not use his instrument?
...
In wifehood I will use my instrument
as freely as my Maker has bestowed it.
If I be grudging, God give me sorrow!
My husband shall have it both night and morning,
whenever he wants to come forth and pay his debt."
Also:
"What ails you to grouch so and groan?
Is it that all you want is my tail?
Why take it all, here, have every bit of it:
Peter! Curse you but you love it well!"
On Sorrow, form the Nun's Priest's Tale:
"'...My heart is full of joy and satisfaction.'
But suddenly a sorrowful event befell him;
for the latter end of joy is always woe.
God knows that worldly joy is soon departed..."
On Women and Men, from the Prologue to the Wife of Bath's Tale:
"But in our bed he was so fresh and gay,
and, besides, he could cajole me so well,
when he would have my pretty thing,
that even though he had beaten me on every bone,
he could very quickly win my love again.
I guess I loved him best because he
was miserly of his love to me.
We women have, if I do not lie,
a curious notion in this matter;
pick out whatever thing we cannot easily have,
that we will crave and cry for all day."
Also:
"Some said, that our spirits are most soothed,
when we are flattered and spoiled.
That comes very close to the truth, I will not lie;
a man shall win us best with flattery;
and with attentions, and with thoughtful acts,
are we caught, both the strong and the weak."
And:
"Women desire to have sovereignty
over their husbands as much as over their lovers,
and to be masters of them;
that is your greatest desire..."
Finally from the Franklin's Tale:
"Love is a thing as free as any spirit;
women by nature desire liberty,
and not to be held down like slaves;
and so do men, if I speak the truth.
Observe him who is most patient in love,
he has the advantage over all others."
On the Loss of Youth, from the Prologue to the Wife of Bath's Tale:
"But Lord Christ! when I think back
upon my youth, and on my gaiety,
it tickles me to the bottom of my heart.
To this day it does my heart good
that I have had my day in my time." -
Disclaimer: I can't read middle English, but I did slog my way through a couple of the Tales in college. I think this edition captures the sense of the original, and makes Chaucer fun to read. If you liked Chaucer, you'll enjoy this. If you hated Chaucer, give this version a try -- he's too important an influence on English literature to be overlooked.
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This particular book is an example of the hazards of making a selected translation. This is by no means a short book (although the fact that it is a dual-language book doubles its length), and keeping the book under a certain length was important for business purposes. But I wanted to read this book mainly for one reason, and that reason was not present here, namely the (admittedly somewhat dull) Parson's Tale where the word creation appears for the first known time in the English language. I do not feel it is fair to blame someone who spent a great deal of effort seeking at providing a verse translation of a neglected classic in the hopes that it would find a wide and appreciative audience for ignoring the very specific aspect of that sprawling epic that I was looking for. I suspect there are few people like me who are looking for something so narrow and so specific in a book like this one, and it must be admitted that there is a great deal to enjoy about this particular volume even if it did not have what I was specifically looking for from it.
This particular book of the unfinished and massive Canterbury Tales is over 700 pages long, with all of the left in Chaucer's original Middle English and the right pages in the translator's excellent contemporary translation. The book begins with a very lengthy introduction including the background of the story and Chaucer's own life before getting to the core material, namely the prologues and tales. The following materials are included in this particular compilation: the general prologue, the Knight's tale, the Miller's prologue and tale, the Reeve's prologue and tale, the Cook's prologue and tale, the wife of Bath's prologue and tale, the Clerk's prologue and tale, the Merchant's prologue and tale, the Franklin's prologue and tale, the Pardoner's prologue and tale, the Prioress' prologue and tale, the Prologue and tale of Sir Thopas and the prologue to the tale of Melibee, the Nun's priest's prologue and tale, and the Parson's prologue (but not his tale), and Chaucer's retraction. After this there are suggestions for further reading.
Although this particular book is not very familiar to the general reading public in the same way that Shakespeare's plays are, there are still a lot of reasons that this book is well worth reading and reflecting upon. Chaucer himself lived at the period where English was finally returning to literature after a period of hundreds of years (since the Norman conquest) when it had been submerged in popular speech but out of the mainstream when it comes to literature. Not only is this book historically significant, though, it has a lot to say about the manners and morals of the English people at Chaucer's time and long afterward as well. The Prioress' tale contains one of the most powerful and shocking examples of the blood libel that can be found in the English language. A large percentage of the stories themselves deal with both the concerns of men and women and how they are to get along (and how each of them tries to take advantage of the other) and also the concerns about people living and marrying within their proper place. The clerk's tale, about a self-sacrificing woman who is tossed aside by her noble husband when he has the chance to marry someone of his own rank, is heartbreaking in its recognition of the vulnerability that comes to people who try to rise above their native station, a concern that remains with us now, no matter how much we may cluck about our egalitarian society. The book also contains one of (and perhaps the first) examples of stories about the strutting rooster Chanticleer, that rooster who reminds us of the nun's priest who had plenty of clucking hens around him too, which was later retold and expanded in the classic Book of the Dun Cow. This is a book that deserves to be read and has much to tell us still about our past and even about ourselves. -
Very time consuming to read, as the English is quite old. The stories retain some kind of universal themes through time, while also giving insight into life in the 1300s. Chaucer's ability to turn anything into rhymed verse is almost magical, and so even though this is not my favourite book in terms of content, everyone should give it a read as a relic of time to see how much, yet how little, humanity has changed.
Loved the character of the Wife of Bath by the way, super charming. I also want to mentally abuse three husbands to make them do what I want. You go girl.
The tale of the Knight January and his wife May is also a favourite, just as the one with the knight finding the right way to please a woman. I sense a theme of me liking tales about knights... -
Great translation and a good selection of texts. I found this adapted Middle English easier to read than the original texts they gave us in class. I don't really like the Middle Ages, but Chaucer is indeed very funny and entertaining. This compilation saved my grade! ✨
P.S.
The tales are easier to understand if read aloud. -
One of the lovely books I usually read to relive the medival English language. This book consists of 14 tales were told by piligrams travelled from London to Canterbury. The tales mostly written in verse, some in prose.
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Well written, but too crass and pornographic for my taste. Yuck!
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Great to have the interlinear translation next to the Middle English after listening to Kevin Stroud’s History of English podcast all winter.
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For me, this one hasn't improved with age or rereading. Although these lines did make me laugh: "For either I must kill him ere he pass, /
or he will make of me a dead carcass." -
good but have to revisit
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The translation of Middle English is excellent.
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I LOVE medieval lit so much. Having both the middle english and the modern day translation was amazing.
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(for school)
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I wish it was the complete Canterbury Tales. As it is, it is only selections from it.
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i totally get the significance of this book historically, but really it’s just not for me. wife of bath’s prologue + tale was super interesting though.
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My book club read this a couple of years ago but for some reason that I can't remember I wasn't able to go and that gave me license to ignore it. Since then it's been sitting on a shelf staring at me and accusing me of laziness and other dire character flaws; I got tired of feeling guilty whenever I walked by it and finally picked it up.
The copy I have has 643 pages (see why I dreaded starting?), but I was delighted to find it only half that long because it's a side-by-side translation: old English on the even pages, modern English on the odd pages. I was surprised and relieved at how easy the translation was to read. I was also surprised at how raunchy the "tales" are. In one breath the tale tellers are talking about religion and holiness and Christ paying the price for their sins and in the next they're talking about the lusty behaviour of one knight/prince/hero after another.
Now that I've read it I still question what the appeal is. I didn't mind reading it but that's not much of an endorsement is it? I think it's one of those books that has to be studied to fully appreciate it; I'm sure there's a lot more to be seen in it than a casual reading will reveal. Alas, I have no desire to study it. I might have enjoyed a serious study in school, but that ship has sailed and a casual reading was quite sufficient to satisfy my curiosity. There were some good moments when I was able to get interested enough to follow a particular tale, but there were also many times I found myself bored and reading only to get to the end.
As I said earlier, I found the language quite manageable to read; the modern English flows easily, though it loses the rhyming couplets in the translation. Chaucer is sometimes plain spoken in describing romantic encounters (until there's no romance left at all really) as in lines 1106-1109 in The Merchants Tale:
"Ladies, I ask you not to be angry with me;
I cannot gloss, I am a blunt man.
Without warning, then, this Damien
pulled up his smock, and in he thrust."
As I said; plainspoken. And there is lots of talk about women being defiled and then taking their own lives rather than live with the shame. There is no mention of the defiling men or their shame. Huh.
Some of the tales are more memorable than others; I expect that's a matter of personal preference more than anything else. The one image that has planted itself in my brain and will probably stay there (because of it's utter ridiculousness) as a permanent icon for "The Canterbury Tales" is from "The Merchant's Tale". At one point in the story the merchant is sitting under a tree while his wife and another man have sex in the tree above him. If only I could erase that unfortunate picture.
I'm putting it back on the shelf now where it will not make me feel guilty anymore. I'm moving on to something far more entertaining: "Hot Water" by P.G. Wodehouse.
