The Canterbury Tales: Geoffrey Chaucer (Penguin Classics)

A classic book

This Everyman's Library edition of The Canterbury Tales is published in as near to Geoffrey Chaucer's own words as the known manuscripts allow. Edited by A C Cawley, during his time as Professor of English and Medieval Literature in the University of Leeds, this edition was first published in 1958 and stands as one of the best editions of the Tales. Whilst later translations give the gist of the stories in modern language, the student of Medieval English will find this edition of great help in understanding the nuances of Chaucer's meanings to some words, some of which can be lost in translation to modern English. Begun in 1387, in what would have been considered to be Chaucer's old age, in medieval times; we can almost feel ourselves being jostled and cajoled by our companions as we walk the Pilgrims Way from London to Canterbury towards the shrine of Thomas Becket. All the while listening to the fables of farce, courtly love and stories of sexual shenanigans as we stop and replenish ourselves along the route. This 600 page edition includes the Prologue, a chronology of contemporaneous events, notes on pronunciation and a bibliography. Worthy of inclusion on your bookshelves. Another reprinting of this edition would be welcomed.

A book I always wanted to read. Struggled to make sense of some of the language

Excellent customer service and a great version of The Canterbury Tales.

Good

Very hard to read as it in old English. But if you persevere you will get the gist but still hard going.hence 3 stars.

Thankfully a modern typeface print of Chaucers Prologue to the Canebury Tales. It is heavily illustrated throughout by various artists and with several pages of the original manuscript (you can see why I say thankfullyfor the moder typeface from these pages. he other illusrtrations compliment the text and give a feeling for the way of life and dress of the time. It also contains at the end of the book a notes section giving a modern translation of some of the more unusual words and sayings. There are many publications of the full works but for the illustrations alone it worth the purchase, the middle english text is a bonus and reads so much better than a modern translation, one you get you tongue around the pronuciation. Go on bye it you wont be disapointed

Great value

EL libro cumplió todas mis expectativas. Lo que más me gustó fue el excelente acabado y calidad de materiales que conforman el libro.

Enjoyable book.

classic

This edition of The Canterbury Tales actually contains the tales combined with other poetry (disputedly written or not written by Chaucer), depending on the work. I am no English scholar, so my review, like my knowledge of poetry, is limited. I honestly purchased this work after wishing to know what a chanticleer was. I'm sure you are familiar with the phrase "biting off more than you can chew". Years ago I read Great Expectations, which is not an easy read. The Canterbury Tales made that seem easy. I am not educated enough to explain the form of poetry within, even knowing it is not the iambic pentameter that Shakespeare used. I consider this the Mount Everest of literature. Even modernized in translation, this poetry from the Middle Ages is not simple to read due to two factors: the juxtaposition of the words in each line throws your present-day reading comprehension for a loop, although sometimes you luckily fall into a rhythm, once you get the hang of it. Also, due to the use of Old (?) English terms we may not understand (followed by asterisks), the modern substitutes for them are provided at the end of the line, helpful but requiring one to start a line, jump to the end and then jump back to continue the line. I understand the meaning of "you knew the job was hard when you took it" and my personal quirks required me to finish this important work of literature once I started it. Reading this work required a substantial time investment. Maybe because this material exceeds my intelligence and a true scholar finds it a cake walk. But, honestly, once I finished, I felt like my brain had climbed Everest and was ready for something lighter. Whatever your motivation to read this, your most important qualities are patience and perseverence as you press on. Enjoy what I consider a hard-won battle to read Chaucer and learn about poetry from the Middle Ages and its contribution to English literature.

É um livro excelente, composto de 20 contos, que descreve a sociedade na época de Geoffrey Chaucer. Não é preociso ler os contos na ordem cronológica. Há ar pelos contos. Particularmente, eu não os leio na sequência. Recomendo, pois é 1000% de deleite.