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| Epigraph |
...I have translated some parts of his works, only that I might perpetuate his memory, or at least refresh it, amongst my countrymen. If I have altered him anywhere for the better, I must at the same time acknowledge, that I could have done nothing without him...
JOHN DRYDEN on translating Chaucer
Preface to the Fables
1700 
And such as Chaucer is, shall Dryden be.
ALEXANDER POPE
Essay on Criticism
1711
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| First words |
When the sweet showers of April have pierced/
The drought of March, and pierced it to the root,/
And every vein is bathed in that moisture/
Whose quickening force will engender the flower;/
And when the west wind too with its sweet breath/
Has given life in every wood and field/
To tender shoots, and when the stripling sun/
Has run his half-course in Aries, the Ram,/
And when small birds are making melodies,/
That sleep all the night long with open eyes,/
(Nature so prompts them, and encourages);/
Then people long to go on pilgrimages,/
And palmers to take ship for foreign shores,/
And distant shrines, famous in different lands;/
And most especially, from all the shires/
Of England, to Canterbury they come,/
The holy blessed martyr there to seek,/
Who gave his help to them when they were sick. When in April the sweet showers fall
And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all
The veins are bathed in liquor of such power
As brings about the engendering of the flower,
When also Zephyrus with his sweet breath
Exhales an air in every grove and heath
Upon the tender shoots, and the young sun
His half-course in the sign of the Ram has run,
And the small fowl are making melody
That sleep away the night with open eye
(So nature pricks them and their heart engages)
Then people long to go on pilgrimages
And palmers long to seek the stranger strands
Of far-off saints, hallowed in sundry lands,
And specially, from every shire's end
Of England, down to Canterbury they wend
To seek the holy blissful martyr, quick
To give his help to them when they were sick.
(translated by Nevill Coghill, 1951) | |
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Sloth makes men believe that goodness is so painfully hard and so complicated that it requires more daring than they possess, as Saint George says. | |
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| Disambiguation notice |
This record is for the unabridged Canterbury Tales. Please do not combine selected tales or incomplete portions of multi-volume sets onto this record. Thank you! This work contains editions with a selection from the Canterbury Tales. (But not the Norton Critical Edition.) | |
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▾Common Knowledge (short form) | Canonical title | The Canterbury Tales | | Original publication date | 1380–1399, 1994, 1952 (Coghill translation), 14th century CE (source material), 1964–05 (Hieatt translation), written mid 14th century (show all 7), 1994 (J.U. Nicolson translation) | | People/Characters | The Wife of Bath/Alisoun/Alyson/Alys, The Knight, The Miller, The Reeve, The Cook, The Man of Law (show all 22), The Friar, The Summoner, The Clerk, The Merchant, The Squire, The Franklin, The Physician, The Pardoner, The Shipman, The Prioress, The Monk, The nun, The Manciple, The Canon, The Parson, Chaucer the Pilgrim | | Important places | Canterbury, Kent, England, UK, England, England, UK, Southwark, London, England, UK | | Awards and honors | The Telegraph's 110 Best Books: The Perfect Library (2008), Newsweek's Top 100 Books: The Meta-List (2009, No. 11) | | Epigraph | ...I have translated some parts of his works, only that I might perpetuate his memory, or at least refresh it, amongst my countrymen. If I have altered him anywhere for the better, I must at the same time acknowledge, that... (show all) I could have done nothing without him...
JOHN DRYDEN on translating Chaucer
Preface to the Fables
1700,
And such as Chaucer is, shall Dryden be.
ALEXANDER POPE
Essay on Criticism
1711 | | First words | When the sweet showers of April have pierced/
The drought of March, and pierced it to the root,/
And every vein is bathed in that moisture/
Whose quickening force will engender the flower;/
And when the west wind ... (show all)too with its sweet breath/
Has given life in every wood and field/
To tender shoots, and when the stripling sun/
Has run his half-course in Aries, the Ram,/
And when small birds are making melodies,/
That sleep all the night long with open eyes,/
(Nature so prompts them, and encourages);/
Then people long to go on pilgrimages,/
And palmers to take ship for foreign shores,/
And distant shrines, famous in different lands;/
And most especially, from all the shires/
Of England, to Canterbury they come,/
The holy blessed martyr there to seek,/
Who gave his help to them when they were sick., When in April the sweet showers fall
And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all
The veins are bathed in liquor of such power
As brings about the engendering of the flower,
When also Zephyrus with his swe... (show all)et breath
Exhales an air in every grove and heath
Upon the tender shoots, and the young sun
His half-course in the sign of the Ram has run,
And the small fowl are making melody
That sleep away the night with open eye
(So nature pricks them and their heart engages)
Then people long to go on pilgrimages
And palmers long to seek the stranger strands
Of far-off saints, hallowed in sundry lands,
And specially, from every shire's end
Of England, down to Canterbury they wend
To seek the holy blissful martyr, quick
To give his help to them when they were sick.
(translated by Nevill Coghill, 1951) | | Quotations | Sloth makes men believe that goodness is so painfully hard and so complicated that it requires more daring than they possess, as Saint George says. | | Last words | (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Therefore I advise you now this counsel take: Forsake sin, before your sins you forsake.
Therfore I rede yow this conseil take, forsaketh sinne, er sinne ye forsake.
| | Description | blurb: The Canterbury Tales stands conspicuous among the great literary achievements of the Middle Ages. Told by a jovial procession of pilgrims - knight, priest, yeoman, miller, or cook - as they ride towards the shrine of T... (show all)homas a’ Becket, they present a picture of a nation taking shape. The tone of this never resting comedy is, but turns, learned, fantastic, lewd, pious, and ludicrous. Geoffrey Chaucer began his great task on about 1386. This version in modern English, by Nevill Coghill, preserves the freshness and racy vitality of Chaucer’s narrative.
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▾LibraryThing members' description
| Book description |
blurb: The Canterbury Tales stands conspicuous among the great literary achievements of the Middle Ages. Told by a jovial procession of pilgrims - knight, priest, yeoman, miller, or cook - as they ride towards the shrine of Thomas a’ Becket, they present a picture of a nation taking shape. The tone of this never resting comedy is, but turns, learned, fantastic, lewd, pious, and ludicrous. Geoffrey Chaucer began his great task on about 1386. This version in modern English, by Nevill Coghill, preserves the freshness and racy vitality of Chaucer’s narrative.
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▾Book descriptions
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. (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:11 -0400) (see all 8 descriptions) ▾Open Shelves Classification The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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