The Canterbury Tales: A Selection (Penguin Classics)
by Geoffrey Chaucer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Geoffrey ChaucerEditor: Colin Wilcockson
Translator: Colin Wilcockson
Introduction: Colin Wilcockson
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-07-28
ISBN: 0140424458
Number of pages: 656
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Book Reviews of The Canterbury Tales: A Selection (Penguin Classics)
Book Review: Revisiting A Merry Genius
Summary: 5 Stars
It's easy to forget how enchanting and how modern Chaucer was. The setup of this edition enables the reader to enjoy the joyous musicality and the distinctive voices of the original poetry and---when he runs into trouble---to glance at the facing page where a literal prose translation clarifies obscure meanings. It's surprising how seldom this is necessary.
Summary of The Canterbury Tales: A Selection (Penguin Classics)
A selection of the best-loved and most frequently studied of The Canterbury Tales
This collection is the perfect introduction to one of the cornerstones of English literature. The General Prologue provides picturesque character sketches of the colorful band of pilgrims who gather at a London inn on their way to Canterbury. The nine tales chosen range from the noble Knight's story of rivalry in love to the boastful and hypocritical Pardoner's moral treatise, and from the exuberant Wife of Bath's Arthurian legend to the Miller's worldly, ribald farce. Incorporating every type of medieval narrative-bawdy anecdote, allegorical fable, and courtly romance-the tales selected here encompass the blend of universal human themes and individual personal detail that have enthralled readers for more than six hundred years.
This collection is the perfect introduction to one of the cornerstones of English literature. The General Prologue provides picturesque character sketches of the colorful band of pilgrims who gather at a London inn on their way to Canterbury. The nine tales chosen range from the noble Knight's story of rivalry in love to the boastful and hypocritical Pardoner's moral treatise, and from the exuberant Wife of Bath's Arthurian legend to the Miller's worldly, ribald farce. Incorporating every type of medieval narrative-bawdy anecdote, allegorical fable, and courtly romance-the tales selected here encompass the blend of universal human themes and individual personal detail that have enthralled readers for more than six hundred years.
On a spring day in April--sometime in the waning years of the 14th century--29 travelers set out for Canterbury on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Thomas Beckett. Among them is a knight, a monk, a prioress, a plowman, a miller, a merchant, a clerk, and an oft-widowed wife from Bath. Travel is arduous and wearing; to maintain their spirits, this band of pilgrims entertains each other with a series of tall tales that span the spectrum of literary genres. Five hundred years later, people are still reading Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. If you haven't yet made the acquaintance of the Franklin, the Pardoner, or the Squire because you never learned Middle English, take heart: this edition of the Tales has been translated into modern idiom.
From the heroic romance of "The Knight's Tale" to the low farce embodied in the stories of the Miller, the Reeve, and the Merchant, Chaucer treated such universal subjects as love, sex, and death in poetry that is simultaneously witty, insightful, and poignant. The Canterbury Tales is a grand tour of 14th-century English mores and morals--one that modern-day readers will enjoy.
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