The Canterbury Tales

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Summary: The Canterbury Tales, Reviewed by Philip Moore
Review: Have you ever sat amongst friends, or maybe even strangers, and swapped stories with each person attempting to make their tale appear to be the most impelling. This is in essence the design of Geoffrey Chauncer's "Canterbury Tales", a collection of stories told by a group of travelers on a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral. Of these stories the most noted are "The Knight's Tale", "The Wife of Bath's Tale", "The Miller's Tale", "The Reeve's Tale", and "The Parson's Tale". Chaucer, born in the early 1340s (the exact date is unknown), lived a most notable life and had a profound impact on English literature. Much of his works are influenced by love and his distain for the Church in the form of satirical humor. The latter due impart to the corruption within the clergy and the condition of the people from their suffering of drought, famine, and disease. Chaucer's work brought to light a new age of literature full of wit, comedy, and daily life.

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Summary: The Canterbury Tales
Review: Chaucer, the father of English uses the "Canterbury Tales" to define a time period not known to many. Like many poets he uses and wrote for the specific contexts within which he lived. His works are like a mirrror to his time. During this time there were many medieval and courtly romances to pursue one another to a direct point. Being a engrossed student and an avid reader Chaucer knows just what his feelings are and expresses them quite frequently throughout his work. The Canerbury Tales, is a story of pilgrims that come together and set off on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Thomas. Chaucer made his groups of pilgrims into a picture of the society of his time of which the like is not to be found elsewhere. In the journey there are men of a variety including a squire, physic, a man of law, carpenter ,and a knight to name a few. Also a wife of bath who tries greatlty to show her defense of being married five times. This is a story that Chaucer puts together brillantly to show the effects upon life during his time. The contrast between apperence and reality are use of the general prologue and Chaucer's great power of vivid description. The Canterbury Tales still remain, to a larger extent, a measure of the English society of the 14th century as it covers a cross-section of the society of that time era.

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Summary: Chaucer appeals to everyone
Review: The Canterbury Tales is so appealing due to it's diverseness. Chaucer was involved with every level of society during his time. This is shown with how the characters are so well-rounded. The short, but insightful description of the travelers is also helpful in picturing this group riding on thier way to the shrine of Becket. A great book everyone should read, but one of those you have to be in the mood for. Also don't expect a continuing theme or story, but short stories that sometimes leaves you hanging.

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Summary: Splendid Contemporary Translation Plus Original Text
Review: I strongly commend the Hieatts' excellent contemporary translation of Chaucer's greatest contribution to English literature. It is coupled with a copy of the original Middle English text. I found all the tales quite engrossing; it's hard for me to say which I liked best. I concur with previous reviewers who have said Chaucer should be read by all. Truly if one wishes to understand how English became an important literary language, then the best place to start is by reading Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales".

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Summary: Nice introduction to the world of Chaucer
Review: Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales are nothing short of genius and one of the few glimpses we have into 14th century life today. Romance, Comedy, Adventure and Fantasy - there should be something here to amuse everyone.

If you're a little to intimidated by the original Middle-English version then this is the book for you. My suggestion is to read this version first, then get a copy in the original Middle-English and read that.

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Summary: Delightful to Hear in the Recorded Books Edition
Review: This version will appeal most to those who have read and studied The Canterbury Tales and enjoyed them.

The Canterbury Tales are best heard aloud. With commentary by Professor Murphy and talented actors, the various tales come appealingly alive. Chaucer's Middle English has its archaic words explained, and leaves the beauty of the meter and rhymes intact.

The tales explore primarily relations between men and women, people and God, and consistently challenge hypocrisy. The tales also exemplify all the major story forms in use during the Middle Ages.

The book's structure is unbelievable subtle and complex, providing the opportunity to peel the onion down to its core, one layer at a time. Modern anthologies look awfully weak by comparison.

Although the material is old, the ideas are not. You will also be impressed by how much closer God was to the lives of these people than He is today. The renunciation at the end comes as a mighty jolt, as a result.

My favorites are by the miller, wife of Bath, pardoner, and nun's priest.

Where do you see the opportunity to give and share spiritual and worldly love? How can you give and receive more love?

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Summary: Chaucer created modern English as we know it.
Review: Every English-speaker should read Chaucer. As Dante did for Italian, Chaucer did for English - making the English vernacular an accepted language to write literature with, standardizing usages by inspiring imitation, and making up or adopting literally hundreds upon hundreds of words into the language. Chaucer is where old English ends and Middle English begins.

This translated version is okay if you just want to get the story out of the tales, but if you find you like Chaucer even the smallest bit I would strongly urge you to try reading the original Middle English. It honestly is not all that hard if you give it any effort at all and you will be richly rewarded - Chaucer's poetry is simply breathtaking. This translation is decent, but know that you are missing half the show.

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Summary: Depicts every level of 14th century England.
Review: Thoroughly interesting. The organization of this book must of been very creative for the time. A group consisting of everyone from a cook to a knight set out on a religios pilgrimage to Canterbury. A humorous tavern owner suggests a way to help pass the time, everyone tells a story, and the persone who tells the best story gets a free dinner. The stories range from serious tales about chivalry and love (knight) to the disgusting and perverse (summoner). Apparently Chaucer planned to have each member of the party tell two tales, but I suppose he didn't get around to finishing the collection. Also, I think 1 or 2 of the stories are not complete, but that's in every edition you can buy.

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Summary: A brilliant translation and an excellent place to start.
Review: CHAUCER : THE CANTERBURY TALES. Translated into Modern English by Nevill Coghill. 504 pp. Penguin Classics. ISBN : 0140440224 (pbk.)

Nevill Coghill's brilliant modern English translation of Chaucer's masterpiece, 'The Canterbury Tales,' has always been a bestseller and it's easy to understand why. Chaucer was an intensely human writer and a great comic artist, but besides the ribaldry and sheer good fun of tales such as 'The Miller's Tale,' we also know he was capable of other things. His range was wide, and the striking thing about Coghill's translation is how amazingly faithful it is to the spirit of the original - at times bawdy and hilariously funny, at other times more serious and moving when Chaucer shifts to a more poignant mode.

But despite the brilliance of Coghill's translation, a translation so effective that it was even made into a successful musical, and despite the fact that it remains the best possible introduction to Chaucer for those who don't know Middle English, those who restrict themselves to Coghill are going to miss a lot - such readers are certainly going to get the stories, but they're going to lose much of the beauty those stories have in the original language. The difference is as great as that between a black-and-white movie and technicolor.

Chaucer's Middle English _looks_ difficult to many, and I think I know why. It _looks_ difficult because that in fact is what people are doing, they are _looking_ at it, they are reading silently and trying to take it in through the eye. This is a recipe for instant frustration and failure. But fortunately there is a quick and easy remedy.

So much of Chaucer's power is in the sheer music of his lines, and in their energy and thrust. He was writing when English was at its most masculine and vigorous. And his writings were intended, as was the common practice in the Middle Ages when silent reading was considered a freakish phenomenon, to be read aloud. Those new to Chaucer would therefore be well advised, after reading and enjoying Nevill Coghill's rendering, to learn how to read Middle English _aloud_ as soon as possible by listening to one of the many excellent recordings (one of the best is by Robert Ross on Caedmon).

Coghill certainly captures the spirit of Chaucer, but modern English cannot really convey the full flavor and intensity of the original. Learn how to roll a few of Chaucer's Middle English lines around on your tongue and you'll soon hear what I mean. You'll also find that it isn't nearly so difficult as it _looks_, and your pleasure in Chaucer will be magnified enormously.

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Summary: Holier Than Thou!
Review: This book was written in a very poor taste and judgement. It's stories, regardless of whether they are fictitious or not are inflametory and extremely anti-semetic, reflecting the cruel and brutal self rightousness, anti-semetism and violence of it's times, which is understandable to a degree considering when, where and by whom this book was written.

Here's what I mean, this is from the story of the Prioress's Tale within the book, "The serpent Satan, our first enemy, Who has his wasps' nest in the heart of Jews" or "This cursed jew, as the little child passed by, grabbed him and held him in a cruel grip, and cut his throat and threw him in a pit. It was a cesspit that they threw him in, where these jews used to go to purge their bowels. Oh Herods of our day! O fiendish nation!"

There is no doubt that it is exactly works such as these by self righteous holier then thou individuals such as the author of this work and others like him who through out centuries contributed to the savage, cruel and inhumane opression and persecution of jews as well as other peoples during the crusades, the inquisitions and of course the holocaust. What is not quite so understandable however is why this book and it's author have remained to be popular to this day.