The Canterbury Tales: A Selection (Penguin Classics) - Softcover

Chaucer, Geoffrey

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140424458 ISBN 13: 9780140424454

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2008

Synopsis

This selection of the best-loved and most frequently studied of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales provides a fascinating introduction to one of the great cornerstones of English literature. The General Prologue gives vivid character sketches of the colourful band of pilgrims who gather at a London inn on their way to Canterbury, while the nine tales chosen range from the noble Knight’s story of rivalry in love to the boastful Pardoner’s moral treatise, from the exuberant Wife of Bath’s Arthurian legend to the Miller’s worldly, ribald farce. Incorporating every style of Medieval narrative – bawdy anecdote, allegorical fable and courtly romance – the tales brought together here encompass the blend of universal human themes and individual personal detail that have fascinated readers for over 600 years.

For this selection the original fourteenth-century Middle English is presented with a facing-page modern prose translation. This volume also contains a chronology, further reading and an introduction examining Chaucer’s life and work and the literary influences on the Tales.

Translated and edited with an introduction by Colin Wilcockson

About this title

Product Description:

A selection of the 'Chaucer's Canterbury Tales' that provides an introduction to one of the cornerstones of English literature. It offers character sketches of the colourful band of pilgrims who gather at a London inn on their way to Canterbury. It contains an introduction examining Chaucer's life and work and the literary influences on the Tales.

Review:

"A delight . . . [Raffel's translation] provides more opportunities to savor the counterpoint of Chaucer's earthy humor against passages of piercingly beautiful lyric poetry."--Kirkus Reviews

"Masterly . . . This new translation beckons us to make our own pilgrimage back to the very wellsprings of literature in our language." --Billy Collins

"The Canterbury Tales has remained popular for seven centuries. It is the most approachable masterpiece of the medieval world, and Mr. Raffel's translation makes the stories even more inviting."--Wall Street Journal

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0140424458
• ISBN 13: 9780140424454
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 640