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The Canterbury Tales [Norton Critical Edition, 2nd ed.]

by Geoffrey Chaucer, V.A. Kolve (Editor), Glending Olson (Editor)

Other authors: Bartholomaeus Anglicus (Contributor), Giovanni Boccaccio (Contributor), William Caxton (Contributor), Marie de France (Contributor), Jean de Meun (Contributor)23 more, Carolyn Dinshaw (Contributor), E. Talbot Donaldson (Contributor), F. R. H. Du Boulay (Contributor), Geoffrey of Vinsauf (Contributor), John Gower (Contributor), Arthur W. Hoffman (Contributor), George Lyman Kittredge (Contributor), William Langland (Contributor), Macrobius (Contributor), Walter Map (Contributor), Barbara Nolan (Contributor), Ovid (Contributor), Lee Patterson (Contributor), Francis Petrarch (Contributor), Pope Gregory X (Contributor), Robert Rypon (Contributor), St. Augustine (Contributor), St. Jerome (Contributor), Paul Strohm (Contributor), Theophrastus (Contributor), Thomas of Cantimpré (Contributor), William Thorpe, Sir (Contributor), Thomas Wimbledon (Contributor)

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627537,007 (4.16)None
Presents an annotated selection from Geoffrey Chaucer's medieval classic, "The Canterbury Tales," a series of stories narrated by pilgrims on their way to the shrine of Saint Thomas a Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. Includes the general prologue, sources and analogues, and critical essays.
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Showing 5 of 5
Since I was hanging around Kent and had been walking the ancient pilgrimage route, I thought I should get to know its most famous literary product. I finally found this book in a charity shop in Canterbury itself, and it seemed perfect - while it only contains fifteen of the tales (and some of those excerpts), fully half the book is made up of contextual information and analysis, so I could truly understand the work.
I was a little intimidated at first at the idea of reading in Middle English, but soon found that although it does take an effort, the poetic form of most of the tales naturally encouraged me to keep reading.
I found the Canterbury Tales a lot more engaging than the Decameron, mostly because the variety of characters were given strong and memorable personalities which occasionally would come into conflict. I could only imagine the knight's horror as his proud tale of honour and love is followed up by a slew of fart jokes and personal attacks.
On the other hand as a modern reader I found the Tales seemed a lot more hostile to women than the Decameron. It soon became tedious to read all the whinging about the terrible curse of marriage and the fickleness of wives. At least we women have the Wife of Bath in our corner!
The contextual material that followed was quite good, but the analysis...well it reminded me why I quit studying English literature despite being good enough to earn a scholarship: the tendency for literary analysis to be filled with insufferable pomposity that masks a distinct lack of substance.
On the one hand, one of the included essays did provide an interesting response to my biggest issue with the work, pitching the various stories involving marriage as a debate that concludes in support of marital harmony. And there were a few other useful tidbits I managed to pick up, like the contradictory character of the Prioress - her propriety perhaps hiding a hateful heart.
On the other, it took me about three times as long to read this section as it did the rest of the book combined. When it is easier to read actual non-Englishthan the modern English essays discussing it, I think there is an issue. Of course, this book is intended for university-level students of English literature so it could be a matter of me being the wrong audience, and I'd hate to be one of those "I don't understand it, therefore it's bad" cretins, but I can't help but feel the obfuscating language was covering for a lack of real substance.
An okay introduction, but in future I'll probably seek out a different version! ( )
  weemanda | Nov 2, 2023 |
Maybe one two many fart jokes for me, but it was still good! ( )
  barajash29 | Jan 22, 2020 |
Wikipedia assures me that by the time Canterbury Tales was written, the frame story was a tried and true storytelling technique. If so, I really wish Chaucer had made better use of it - like actually having things happen DURING the frame story - make it a story in and of itself, rather than a raft for the rest of the stories.

That being said, the stories themselves fulfill my "law of collection" - the good, the bad, the pointless. My favorite is the Wife of Bath's tale. ( )
  benuathanasia | Dec 6, 2017 |
Writing a "review" of The Canterbury Tales is difficult, not because the book/collection isn't worthy of a review, but because it is so widely variant and has so many nuances to be discussed.

For those who don't know, The Canterbury Tales is a book containing a bunch of stories told by individuals traveling together on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. The book is written in the late 1300s with the pilgrimage set in the same basic time. It begins with a "General Prologue" providing a description of each of the characters in the group as well as the "game" they'll be playing (that of telling stories on the way to Canterbury). Each pilgrim tells a different tale (well, not "all" of them...the work is "unfinished" in the sense that we're missing tales from some pilgrims). Some tales are set in their contemporary England while others are set in exotic lands, romantic settings, or ancient cultures.

So what do you say in a brief review of The Canterbury Tales?

To start with, I would suggest you try reading it in the original Middle English. The language/spelling/pronunciation can be a problem, so be sure you get an edition that's glossed (unless you're proficient in Middle English). During the semester, I found a "children's" edition of the tales at my local library. It included Modern English "translations" of a couple of the tales along with some illustrations. It was kind of fun to read, but it lost some of the rhythm and drive of the tales by having them in a modern format.

Secondly, there are some bits that can be skipped, but it's difficult to identify which ones. For example, some might suggest that the entire Pardoner's Prologue (and much of his tale) can be ignored altogether and that you should just focus on the actual "tale" part of his tale. While his tale is entertaining and the reading would be much shorter if that's all you read, you would miss a TON of social and religious commentary which is very interesting. Similarly, the Wife of Bath has lengthy rambling passages in her Prologue and the Merchant includes numerous lengthy lists that have little bearing on the plot. It's difficult to create a good synopsis of what can safely be skipped, because it depends in a large extent on what you want to get out of it. Worse still, if you're reading in the unfamiliar Middle English, it's harder to quickly scan the text and get a feel for when the narrative has gotten back to the 'heart of the matter.'

The writing is fun and clever (once you get through the 'translation' issues with the Middle English). For a common reference, it's like reading Shakespeare, only more archaic by a couple hundred years. The language of the narrative varies depending on the narrator of the particular prologue/tale, but with Chaucer at the helm behind the scenes, the writing is generally very good, descriptive, layered, humorous, inspiring, etc. (except for when he's trying to illustrate 'bad writing', and then it's good in that it's so bad).

The messages presented are widely varied as well. The Knight's Tale was an intriguing tale of romance and chivalry with lots of courtly intrigue...but at times it felt a little dry. The Miller and the Reeve were hilarious tales and introduced me to a new (to me) genre in the fabliau. The Wife of Bath had an interesting prologue and a fun tale, again with a semi-romantic style and an interesting moral. The Nun's Priest gave us a fun little animal fable. The Prioress presented a strange little tale about miracles or anti-semitism or devout love or something else?

Overall, I would definitely recommend having a copy of The Canterbury Tales on your shelf. Some tales are easier to read than others. Some tales are more fun while others are more thought provoking (as stated in one of the prologues, a tale has one of two purposes, to educate or to entertain...and there are examples of each). Once you get your teeth into the language (probably the biggest hurdle) I suspect you'll enjoy these.

*****
5 stars ( )
10 vote theokester | Dec 17, 2008 |
I read this first in high school, but we read a modernized version. In a college course, we read it in the original Middle English. It took a lot more concentration, but I appreciated it that much more. I do however have the opening 18 lines trapped in my head forever. (In high school, that was the only section we read in the original tongue and we had to memorize it. It won't go away!) ( )
  megaden | Jan 29, 2008 |
Showing 5 of 5
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» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Geoffrey Chaucerprimary authorall editionscalculated
Kolve, V.A.Editormain authorall editionsconfirmed
Olson, GlendingEditormain authorall editionsconfirmed
Anglicus, BartholomaeusContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Boccaccio, GiovanniContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Caxton, WilliamContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
de France, MarieContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
de Meun, JeanContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Dinshaw, CarolynContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Donaldson, E. TalbotContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Du Boulay, F. R. H.Contributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Geoffrey of VinsaufContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Gower, JohnContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Hoffman, Arthur W.Contributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Kittredge, George LymanContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Langland, WilliamContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
MacrobiusContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Map, WalterContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Nolan, BarbaraContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
OvidContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Patterson, LeeContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Petrarch, FrancisContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Pope Gregory XContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Rypon, RobertContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
St. AugustineContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
St. JeromeContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Strohm, PaulContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
TheophrastusContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Thomas of CantimpréContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Thorpe, William, SirContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Wimbledon, ThomasContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed

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The second Norton Critical Edition of THE CANTERBURY TALES contains a selection of the stories together with several essays about the stories. It should not be combined with the major work. It also contains six tales not included in the first Norton Critical Edition. Thank you.
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Presents an annotated selection from Geoffrey Chaucer's medieval classic, "The Canterbury Tales," a series of stories narrated by pilgrims on their way to the shrine of Saint Thomas a Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. Includes the general prologue, sources and analogues, and critical essays.

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