The Canterbury Tales

A collection of stories framed by a pilgrimage from Thomas's sanctuary to Becket in Canterbury, Kent. The 30 pilgrims who undertake the journey gather at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, across the Thames, from London. They agree to participate in a storytelling contest while traveling, and Harry Bailly, host of the Tabard, serves as the emcee for the contest. Most pilgrims are presented by brief vivid sketches in the "General Prologue". Among the 24 stories interspersed, there are short and dramatic scenes, featuring animated exchanges, usually involving the host and one or more pilgrims. Chaucer did not complete the plan for his book: the return trip from Canterbury is not included and some of the pilgrims do not tell stories.

The use of a pilgrimage as a framing device allowed Chaucer to bring together people from all walks of life: knight, monk, merchant, forgiver and many others. The multiplicity of social types, as well as the device of the narrative contest itself, allowed the presentation of a highly varied collection of literary genres: religious legend, courteous romance, saintly life, allegorical tale, fable of the beast, medieval sermon and, at the sometimes mixtures of these genres. The stories offer complex depictions of pilgrims, while, at the same time, the tales present notable examples of short narratives on the back, in addition to two prose exhibitions. The pilgrimage, which in medieval practice combined a fundamentally religious purpose with the secular benefit of spring break, enabled a broader consideration of the relationship between the pleasures and vices of this world and the spiritual aspirations for the next. ( )

NA

It had a nice rhyming rhythm to listen to.

The clerk's tale made me mad. Griselda's husband decides to test her. So he makes her believe he had their daughter killed. Than does the same when they have a son. He sends her back to her father with nothing. Than he announces the Pope has given permission to marry. He puts Griselda in charge of the work of getting everything ready for the wedding. Through it all she is completely faithfully and never complains or criticisms him So he realizes she is faithful so he takes her back and reveals the children are alive. And they live happily ever-after. It made me so mad that there was no bad consequences for him.

The Parson's tale was a sermon of penance. ( )

A collection of humorous tales told by fictional pilgrims on a trip to Canterbury. The variety of the characters and the tales paint an ironic portrait of English life in the fifteenth century. Tales addressed the role of the church in society, the differences between the classes and the secular and non-secular members of the party. Lots of sex and violence coupled with Middle English poetry made this at times light and fun and at times something that had to be concentrated on to get the meaning of the language (and a cheat sheet of Middle English terms was required). Great characters and wit made this an entertaining read and one that I would recommend with the proper translation tools.
( )

Introduzione e commento di Mario Praz ( )