The Canterbury Tales

by Chaucer, Geoffrey

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Item#: 2735602

The Canterbury Tales were originally planned to include over 100 stories, but Chaucer completed only 22. The device of using a p

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The Canterbury Tales were originally planned to include over 100 stories, but Chaucer completed only 22. The device of using a pilgrimage as a setting for the telling of tales was not uncommon--medieval pilgrims traditionally told stories to liven up the long trek--but Chaucer's version is infinitely more sophisticated, matching the teller and his tale in a way that greatly enriches the content. This, and the interactions between the pilgrims, give the Canterbury Tales the complexity of a good novel. The Tales reflect Chaucer's wide experience with all levels of English society: the royals, the aristocracy, the clergy, the middle class from which he came, and the lower classes, for whom he invariably shows sympathy and understanding. They are also notable for the dialogue that is set up about marriage, its virtues and liabilities, and the proper role of husband and wife--giving the work a coherent unity and an even greater resonance.

Author:: Chaucer, Geoffrey

ISBN:: 9780671727697
Format:: Paperback
Pages:: 433
Publish Date:: 06/01/1990
Publisher:: Pocket Classics

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Like Charles Lamb's edition of Shakespeare, Hastings's loose prose translation of seven of Chaucer's tales is more faithful to the work's plot than to the poet's language. This is not a prudish retelling (even the bawdy Miller's tale is included here) but the vigor of Chaucer's text is considerably tamed. In the original, the pilgrims possess unique voices, but here the tone is uniformly bookish. The colloquial speech of the storyteller is replaced by formal prose; for example, while Cohen (see review above) directly translates Chaucer's "domb as a stoon'' as "silent as stones,'' Hastings writes "in solemn silence.'' Cartwright's startling paintings skillfully suggest the stylized flatness of a medieval canvas, but often without the accompanying richness of detail. Like Punch and Judy puppets, the faces and voices of these pilgrims are generally representative but lack the life and charm of the original text. Ages 10-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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