What do you think?
Rate this book
The Canterbury Tales: Fifteen Tales and the General Prologue
Each is presented in the original language, with normalized spelling and substantial annotations for modern readers. Among the new added to the Second Edition are the much-requested "Merchant s Tale" and the "Tale of Sir Thopas." "Sources and Backgrounds" are included for the General Prologue and for most of the tales, enabling students to understandThe Canterbury Tales in light of relevant medieval ideas and attitudes and inviting comparison between Chaucer s work and his sources. "Criticism" includes nine essays, four of them new to this edition, by leading Chaucerians, among them F. R. H. DuBoulay, E. Talbot Donaldson, Barbara Nolani, and Lee Patterson. A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included."
600 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1390
About the author
Geoffrey Chaucer
1,845 books1,280 followersGeoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for The Canterbury Tales. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He was the first writer to be buried in what has since come to be called Poets' Corner, in Westminster Abbey. Chaucer also gained fame as a philosopher and astronomer, composing the scientific A Treatise on the Astrolabe for his 10-year-old son, Lewis. He maintained a career in the civil service as a bureaucrat, courtier, diplomat, and member of parliament.
Among Chaucer's many other works are The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, The Legend of Good Women, and Troilus and Criseyde. He is seen as crucial in legitimising the literary use of Middle English when the dominant literary languages in England were still Anglo-Norman French and Latin. Chaucer's contemporary Thomas Hoccleve hailed him as "the firste fyndere of our fair langage" (i.e., the first one capable of finding poetic matter in English). Almost two thousand English words are first attested to in Chaucerian manuscripts. As scholar Bruce Holsinger has argued, charting Chaucer's life and work comes with many challenges related to the "difficult disjunction between the written record of his public and private life and the literary corpus he left behind". His recorded works and his life show many personas that are "ironic, mysterious, elusive [or] cagey" in nature, ever-changing with new discoveries.
Among Chaucer's many other works are The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, The Legend of Good Women, and Troilus and Criseyde. He is seen as crucial in legitimising the literary use of Middle English when the dominant literary languages in England were still Anglo-Norman French and Latin. Chaucer's contemporary Thomas Hoccleve hailed him as "the firste fyndere of our fair langage" (i.e., the first one capable of finding poetic matter in English). Almost two thousand English words are first attested to in Chaucerian manuscripts. As scholar Bruce Holsinger has argued, charting Chaucer's life and work comes with many challenges related to the "difficult disjunction between the written record of his public and private life and the literary corpus he left behind". His recorded works and his life show many personas that are "ironic, mysterious, elusive [or] cagey" in nature, ever-changing with new discoveries.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
December 17, 2008
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
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
March 28, 2018
Finally finished this book after spending almost three months on it. It was pretty interesting. I think I would've preferred a translated version because I struggled with the old english. But our discussions in class about it helped and it was pretty funny. Who knew old books could be so entertaining lol.
November 2, 2020
Wow, this was something alright.
August 4, 2011
I enjoyed Chaucer, especially the Knight’s Tale. There is a study to be done on rival views of marriage in the Tales, though I am not inclined to do it. What more struck me was the consistency of happy endings. There is one tale in which a prince marries a commoner, then tests her love by pretending to kill their children to see if she will continue to submit to him. He lets years pass, and the people come to hate him while she continues to love him. At this point, the Tale felt like something Edgar Allen Poe wrote, and I expected the Tale to end with the prince recognizing that he had become evil and no longer merited the love of such a queen as she, perhaps being overthrown by her as a test to see if he loved her in the process. Something like that, some series of events in which the roles are reversed and the lesson bends back upon its teacher. Nothing of the sort happens. The Prince eventually ends the test, brings the children back, declares that all is well, and they live happily ever after. The story is discordant to the modern reader. However, I did note that the narrator ends by saying that we shouldn’t love like the prince, we should take no lessons from his marriage. The story was meant more as a parable. As a parable of God’s sovereignty, it works, but as nothing else, which is why I suspect the Tale must be hated by modern readers.
March 14, 2009
I suppose it's a crime for an English Lit major to say this, but I'm not the biggest fan ever of Chaucer. We're studying the General Prologue, The Reeve's Tale and The Franklin's Tale, and none of it inspires me with great love. Just mostly indifference. I do like the way Chaucer plays with words.
This edition is great because of all the supporting material, like the analogues and some essays.
This edition is great because of all the supporting material, like the analogues and some essays.
March 10, 2023
I read the book that has the Middle English version printed on the left side with the Modern English translation to the right. Naturally, I read the right pages mostly, but, for the sake of making peace with some words that don’t rhyme, I consulted the left pages a lot of times. While the stories generally bored me, I had noted strength in the use of language (Middle and Modern). I loved the flow of words, despite the fact that I didn’t enjoy the story they told.
July 18, 2021
I really enjoyed my first read of The Canterbury Tales and was surprised by how humorous it was. The supplemental material in the end of this edition was pretty interesting for the most part. Some of the excerpts I skimmed, but there was some cool stuff there.
June 25, 2017
Maybe one two many fart jokes for me, but it was still good!
Currently reading
June 18, 2019Reading aloud from the Riverside Chaucer bit by bit with Eric, but want to be able to mark the completed texts separately—am going to tackle The House of Fame myself!
March 16, 2022
I read this several times a year, or at least I read a good chunk of it, and I think I love it more each time that I read it.
March 12, 2023
Wish I could rate them separately.
I love love love the wife of bath and I imagine her as lizzo. She is fab.
All the rest… I was not a fan 😔
I love love love the wife of bath and I imagine her as lizzo. She is fab.
All the rest… I was not a fan 😔
March 21, 2023
Double ace
November 2, 2023
4.5/5
Shame he died, I would have liked to see how it ended.
Shame he died, I would have liked to see how it ended.
March 30, 2024
Nice translation
Some stories are surprisingly crude.
Interesting to know the polyphony of sexual morality in medieval times.
Some stories are surprisingly crude.
Interesting to know the polyphony of sexual morality in medieval times.
August 23, 2017
Ok, so, this is another one of those authors you should really just skip if you're not a huge literature geek.
I read this in the original old English, which was ... well, not to put too fine a point on it, pretty freaking hard. I mean, you get into the language after a while, and it runs a little more smoothly, but still. Definitely not light bedtime reading.
For me, reading "The Canterbury Tales" was chiefly interesting in an historical, literary sense. The tales themselves are too dated in their ideas (particularly about gender roles) and morality to have any real applicability in today's society, and I feel like their entertainment value is chiefly rooted in their (usually moral) themes. So a couple of the tales were kind of funny, but mostly they were just, well ... meh.
(I realise this is not a strong literary point. But still.)
Being a huge nerd (power to us), I also decided to read the scholarly material (which was about half of the book) in its entirety. Reading the tales that provided the background material for Chaucer's retellings was quite fascinating, but most of the scholarly articles that followed were frustrating to read. For one thing, so many of them focus on this seemingly indisputable idea that Chaucer was a literary genius. They spend a lot of time qualifying their arguments with the author's genius, which, seen from a modern viewpoint (especially if you've studied literature at uni), makes their arguments seem ill-founded and biased. I did enjoy a couple of the articles, though, one that delved into the tripartite nature of Chaucer in the tales, and "Eunuch Hermeneutics". Would recommend to lit nerds.
Anyway, as mentioned above, only read this if you're a classic literature geek, or if you're really into medieval studies.
I read this in the original old English, which was ... well, not to put too fine a point on it, pretty freaking hard. I mean, you get into the language after a while, and it runs a little more smoothly, but still. Definitely not light bedtime reading.
For me, reading "The Canterbury Tales" was chiefly interesting in an historical, literary sense. The tales themselves are too dated in their ideas (particularly about gender roles) and morality to have any real applicability in today's society, and I feel like their entertainment value is chiefly rooted in their (usually moral) themes. So a couple of the tales were kind of funny, but mostly they were just, well ... meh.
(I realise this is not a strong literary point. But still.)
Being a huge nerd (power to us), I also decided to read the scholarly material (which was about half of the book) in its entirety. Reading the tales that provided the background material for Chaucer's retellings was quite fascinating, but most of the scholarly articles that followed were frustrating to read. For one thing, so many of them focus on this seemingly indisputable idea that Chaucer was a literary genius. They spend a lot of time qualifying their arguments with the author's genius, which, seen from a modern viewpoint (especially if you've studied literature at uni), makes their arguments seem ill-founded and biased. I did enjoy a couple of the articles, though, one that delved into the tripartite nature of Chaucer in the tales, and "Eunuch Hermeneutics". Would recommend to lit nerds.
Anyway, as mentioned above, only read this if you're a classic literature geek, or if you're really into medieval studies.
January 2, 2017
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!
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!
August 27, 2016
Gadzooks! I've finished the Canterbury Tales.
I found it best to read it aloud until I was comfortable with the Middle English, once the rhyme patterns start to get established it's much easier to read because the brain predicts what the couplet should end with even if it's spelled in unexpected ways. (I don't know how well this would work if you don't have an English accent to start with).
I also used Google http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cant..., reading the synopsis first so that I knew the outline before reading and could make more sense of it. But there are lots of little things that I picked up on in the full text that are not in the Google synopses so it's no substitute for reading the real thing. On the other hand I probably would have missed the subtleties in the prologues without Google, especially the way succeeding tales undercut the one before, as each teller tries to outdo, or contradict his/her predecessor.
And now I must read The Decameron, because Chaucer drew on it for more than one tale!
I found it best to read it aloud until I was comfortable with the Middle English, once the rhyme patterns start to get established it's much easier to read because the brain predicts what the couplet should end with even if it's spelled in unexpected ways. (I don't know how well this would work if you don't have an English accent to start with).
I also used Google http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cant..., reading the synopsis first so that I knew the outline before reading and could make more sense of it. But there are lots of little things that I picked up on in the full text that are not in the Google synopses so it's no substitute for reading the real thing. On the other hand I probably would have missed the subtleties in the prologues without Google, especially the way succeeding tales undercut the one before, as each teller tries to outdo, or contradict his/her predecessor.
And now I must read The Decameron, because Chaucer drew on it for more than one tale!
May 20, 2013
Did not read all of this, but read the a good bit of it for a class. I'm so glad I read it in a class as well. Certain tales are more enjoyable than others, but it truly is remarkable how enjoyable it still is to read today. The Middle English gets easier to read the further you get into it, and the way Chaucer works with language is remarkable and subversive. I read the General Prologue, the Knight's Tale, the Miller's Tale, the Wife of Bath's Tale, the Pardoner's Tale, and the Nun's Priest's Tale, and I loved each and every one of them. I tried to read the Clerk's Tale, but that one was a bit more difficult for me in subject matter to get through. What I read from the book was amazing though, and I am so glad to have had the guidance of a class to help me get the most out of the Tales!
August 6, 2015
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales provide a vivid and powerful glimpse into the past--reading them is like entering a literary time machine.
The selected excerpts are presented in Middle English with pronunciation hints and New English explanations.
As well there are plenty of notes and references to aid in understanding.
The book begins with an introduction explaining the editors' sources and reasoning, and goes into the Prologue relating to the tales they have chosen.
A nice bonus is that this Norton Critical Edition has some Middle English audio files available on the internet at: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/engli...
The selected excerpts are presented in Middle English with pronunciation hints and New English explanations.
As well there are plenty of notes and references to aid in understanding.
The book begins with an introduction explaining the editors' sources and reasoning, and goes into the Prologue relating to the tales they have chosen.
A nice bonus is that this Norton Critical Edition has some Middle English audio files available on the internet at: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/engli...
January 18, 2008
Chaucer is hilarious! This is the story of an interesting group that is going on a pilgrimage and on the way make a game of telling stories. The best story told will get a free dinner on the return of their trip. The Miller's tale is my favorite, had me on the floor laughing. Crude, rude, and just plain funny. The average reader might want to find a text written in modern English as middle English can be hard to master. But if your up to the challenge I promise after a bit you will get used to it and come to appreciate its qualities.
April 8, 2009
Read for ENG 346A. I feel like I'm cheating a little here because I have to review some of the tales (and all of the analogues -- damn you, Boccaccio!) for the exam, but classes ended today, so it seemed like a good time. At least one of those stars is for my professor, who is fantastic and who, particularly when it comes to letting me talk him into the ground, has the patience of a saint. (Were it not for him, I'd be taking away one of those stars for the Reeve, who makes me physically ill.)
March 2, 2020
Wonderful edition of a true classic which preserves the original text and adds extensive explanations so that a modern reader can enjoy it. English is not my native language and I was surprised about a couple of similarities to German, especially Low-German. Very interesting and exciting to see how the meaning of words has changed over time.
I had some fun moments trying to read the poems aloud to get a feeling for the medieval English and the rhymes. My neighbours were quite amused. :-)
I had some fun moments trying to read the poems aloud to get a feeling for the medieval English and the rhymes. My neighbours were quite amused. :-)
July 24, 2011
I highly recommend reading (at least some of) Canterbury Tales in the original Middle English, along with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Middle English has such a fun sing-song element to it, and I love the rampant alliteration. It's also intriguing to see the English language at this period of development; it cleared up some misconceptions I had and opened my eyes about certain word origins (e.g., fortnight makes a lot more sense when spelled as fourteniht).
January 31, 2014
This man wrote the book...and taught the class. As a grad student, I had the honor of taking a Chaucer class with Glending Olsen, this author, at Cleveland State University. He had a command of the OE language (Chaucer's original version is included alongside the translation, which makes this book a real find) as well as a wealth of knowledge about the life and times of Chaucer. I have a signed copy--a prized memento from my college years. Fabulous book!
November 17, 2022
My copy of the book was part of the collection we had in our basement library. It is so old, Goodreads doesn't even have the edition on file. I read this* when I was twelve or thirteen, randomly picked it out of the shelf the way kids click a movie on Netflix today. And whoa, it was pretty risqué, with practically everyone and his raunchy cook acting out scenes from a 1980s sex comedy. Think fifteenth century Porky's.
* An abridged version for sure.
* An abridged version for sure.
July 5, 2007
Enjoyable if you allow it to be!
I have read this several times and the last time I read it, we analyzed it so closely that I had to read baisc summaries of the storylines. I do not know if it was the specific analogous, simple, and modern-day language summaries, or the particular analysis I was doing, but they are GREAT tales and can be really funny. You have to allow them to be!
I have read this several times and the last time I read it, we analyzed it so closely that I had to read baisc summaries of the storylines. I do not know if it was the specific analogous, simple, and modern-day language summaries, or the particular analysis I was doing, but they are GREAT tales and can be really funny. You have to allow them to be!
July 28, 2007
It's ribald, penetrating. Interesting not only for Chaucer's expertly veiled critique of 14th century England, but increasingly so in light of his having read it before the court. To think that he criticized the very crown before him without the other having the slightest idea of it is almost impossible to believe. In fact, did I invent that history?
October 10, 2015
I love the Cantebury Tales, but was not pleased with this Norton Critical Edition. The footnotes and gloss were not the best I've read on Cantebury Tales and missed key things other versions I've seen have covered. Also, the accompanying critical and contextual sources missed pieces I would have liked to seen. I had professors who refused to use this version when teaching and now I see why.
December 6, 2008
I love this book. The middle english is hard to get used to at first, but then it becomes easier. These are fun stories written by an amazing poet. Well worth the effort, and a valuable glimpse into medieval life.
April 27, 2021
The format of this edition is, without a doubt, the best way to read Chaucer: the original Middle English, with a gloss of unfamiliar words in the margin. It's a pity it feels the need to miss out six of them with no explanation, or even a note to flag up the lacuna.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews