The Canterbury Tales

What do they say? Third time is a charm? It took me a third try to understand the attraction of this work, and even enjoy it.

I read the Bantam Duel-Language version, edited by A. Kent and Constance Hieatt. Reading the duel-language, with the Middle English on the opposite page of the Modern English helped tremendously. I could read the modern version first, for understanding, then read the original version for the poetry and humor. In this way, I could appreciate both the meat and the broth of the stories.

I am very glad that I read a book a year or two on the whole topic of Love and Chivalry in the Medieval times. It shines the light on a lot of behavior and actions in these stories which would have been dark and repulsive to me if I didn't understand where the ideas came from. Not that I'm saying the behaviors were not dark and repulsive. Even though not all of the tales were included here, I feel no compulsion to seek out more of them. This was an interesting read, and I'm glad I gave it a third chance. ( )

Ughh, we read this in my AP senior english class and I hated it. The writing pissed me off, the stories were weird, although their were a few entertaining moments they were rare enough that I hated it. Classics really don't seem to be my thing. ( )

Knight [3/5]; Miller [4/5]; Reeve [2/5]; Cook [1/5]; Man of Law [2/5]; Shipman [3/5]; Prioress [4/5]; Chaucer [4/5]; Monk [2/5]; Nun Priest [5/5]; Physician [3/5]; Pardoner [4/5]; Wife [4/5]; Friar [4/5]; Summoner [3/5]; Clerk [2/5]; Merchant [3/5]; Squire [1/5]; Franklin [3/5]; Second Nun [2/5]; Canons Yeoman [3/5]; Manciple [4/5]; Parson [2/5]

Therfore no womman of no clerk is preysed.
The clerk, whan he is old, and may noght do
Of Venus werkes worth his olde sho,
Than sit he doun, and writ in his dotage
That wommen can nat kepe hir mariage!

Well that was pretty decent, i mean i'd have given it 3-stars but grading on a curve against similar fare like the Decameron it stands up better.
I read a interlinear translation to start with until i could parse most of it, i may have missed a word or two here and there but got most of those from context. Oh and i skipped the Appendix stories, if you want me to read something never put it in the Appendix :P .

Anyway its fun enough at times.. i'm struggling a little right now to remember what happened in several of the tales but its been a long day.. and a long book ;) .

I did save at least a dozen bookmarks trying to decide what quotes to use so thats a good sign of quality or at least interest :) .

For I ne kan nat fynde
A man, though that I walked into Inde,
Neither in citee nor in no village,
That wolde chaunge his youthe for myn age;
And therfore mooth I han myn age stille,
As longe tyme as it is Goddes wille.
Ne Deeth, allas, ne wol nat han my lyf. ( )

I read this for a British author challenge; to read a narrative poetry. I have had this on my shelf for sometime. Not sure how long. My copy is a paperback, modern English translation by r.m. lumiansky (1948). Printing 1971. Canterbury Tales is really a collection of short stories told by a group of English pilgrims who are making the trip from a suburb of London to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury. So it is a frame story of sort. Each pilgrim was to tell 4 stories and someone was suppose to win. Written in the 1300's the stories give a cross-section of English society. England is Catholic at this time. Pilgrimages were encouraged. Maybe this explains why England is still a land of people who "walk". The Pilgrimage also accounts for the conglomeration of people that come together to tell these tales. You have Knights, Millers, Cooks, Man of Law, Prioress, Monk, Priest, Wife, Friar, Cleric, Merchants, Squires, Nun, Yeoman, etc as storytellers. The short story collection, 24 tales not all complete but these stories explore a variety of topics from moralizing, to religious, romance, bawdy. Some will seem very familiar because they have been borrowed from other sources. Chaucer wrote the works in Middle English. He did not write in Latin as was the custom, but wrote for the English people. I can't say I enjoyed all the stories but I enjoyed the fact that I read this book finally and now know what it is and I also appreciated that people were on a walk to see the shrine of Becket who I've read a bit about. Seems to fill in a spot for me. ( )

Classics