During his life, Geoffrey Chaucer (born c.1340) was courtier, diplomat, revenue collector, administrator, negotiator, overseer of building projects, landowner and knight of the shire. He was servant, retainer, husband, friend and father, but is now mainly known as a poet and 'the father of English literature', a postion to which he was raised by other writers in the generation after his death. It was Boccaccio's Decameron which inspired Chaucer, in the 1390s, to begin work on The Canterbury Tales, which was still ...
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During his life, Geoffrey Chaucer (born c.1340) was courtier, diplomat, revenue collector, administrator, negotiator, overseer of building projects, landowner and knight of the shire. He was servant, retainer, husband, friend and father, but is now mainly known as a poet and 'the father of English literature', a postion to which he was raised by other writers in the generation after his death. It was Boccaccio's Decameron which inspired Chaucer, in the 1390s, to begin work on The Canterbury Tales, which was still unfinished at his death in October 1400. It tells the story of a group of 30 pilgrims who meet at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, on the south bank of the Thames opposite the city of London, and travel together to visit the then famous shrine of St Thomas Becket in Canterbury cathedral. The tavern host, who accompanies them, suggests that they amuse one another along the way by telling stories, with the best storyteller awarded a meal in the tavern (paid for by all the others) on their return. The stories told by the pilgrims range from bawdy comedies through saints' lives and moral tracts to courtly romances, always delivered with a generous helping of Chaucer's own sly wit and ironic humour. Although basing his characters on the stereotypes of 'estates satire', Chaucer succeeds in his aim of producing an overview of his times and their culture, for posterity, in the manner of Italian, proto-Renaissance, writers.This transcription and edition is taken from British Library MS Harley 7334, produced within ten years of Chaucer's death. The on-page notes and glosses aim to enable readers with little or no previous experience of medieva
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Add this copy of The Canterbury Tales (Wordsworth Poetry Library) to cart. $2.98, good condition, Sold by Your Online Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Houston, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Wordsworth.
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I thought I was buying the Canterbury Tales. That's what the title says, but it is some little paraphrase of the Canterbury tales, a few pages long and in modern English. They should call it what it is. I didn't want to give it any stars but it wouldn't publish without a rating. The real rating is Zero Stars.
Khlit
Jun 23, 2009
Crummy, boring
I had to read this for medieval literature and it was my least favorite book. The stories are either boring, bawdy, or cliche. The plot lines, despite being written long ago, are uninteresting and easy to predict. It is not worth the time it takes to read. Don't be deceived by the fact that it is a so-called classic. And I don't say this as a classic-hater, being a classicist myself, but as a critic.
The Pageturner
Oct 29, 2008
Pilgrimage Through Reading
This book was assigned to us in British Literature class. We only read a few selected story, but each one made me laugh, especially "The Wife of Bath". If the you, the reader reads nothing else in the book, you MUST read "The Wife of Bath". It is exceedingly comical. It is a good idea to have Cliff notes next to you as you, that way you can catch the slang terms and inuendos. Wonderful read and superb portrayal of characters, making them "real".
brin1956
Apr 3, 2007
A classic
This is a wonderful story and based on real life. Chaucer was one on the greatest writers of his time.