The Canterbury Tales (Oxford World's Classics)
by Geoffrey Chaucer
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
discuss this book
![100 Greatest Books of All Time [Franklin Library]](http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/groups/1214759499p2/5313.jpg)
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
Where's the love? Add this book to your favorite list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 8019)
I liked this but it was a difficult book to have assigned over summer break. I really just wanted to rate this so you all could read my Canterbury Tale. I think that it should be added to the book... =)
So Beginnith the Prologue of the Lady Amelia
My name is Amelia, yes that is me,
I carry a lofty title, as I’m sure you can see.
But I have chosen to run away,
And from my home, forever I will have to stay.
In my purse I keep not my fame,
For I have left all that comes with my name.
...more
So Beginnith the Prologue of the Lady Amelia
My name is Amelia, yes that is me,
I carry a lofty title, as I’m sure you can see.
But I have chosen to run away,
And from my home, forever I will have to stay.
In my purse I keep not my fame,
For I have left all that comes with my name.
...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
2 comments
Read in December, 2006
Qué sorpresa más agradable. Qué libro más genial. Vale, hay algunos cuentos mejores que otros y el sermón del capellán del final es un muermo de cuidado, pero es el peaje que se tiene que pagar en prácticamente cualquier obra medieval. Pero lo sorprendente es que el resto del libro no tiene esta moral católica tan rancia, sino que es atrevido y a veces incluso picante. Pero, aunque no sea en plan católico, sí que todo el libro es un libro moral: cada cuento tiene su moraleja, cada cue...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in October, 1996
The first time I read this book, again, was high school. I remember reading "The Nun's Priest's Tale," and that's about it.
So when I was told it was part of my curriculum, I thought, "Oh, great!" (heavy on the sarcasm). I don't know what I was thinking! I LOVE this book! It's probably my second favorite piece of literature to teach (after "The Collector" and "Equus").
I normally cover the following:
The General Prologue: introduction to all the...more
So when I was told it was part of my curriculum, I thought, "Oh, great!" (heavy on the sarcasm). I don't know what I was thinking! I LOVE this book! It's probably my second favorite piece of literature to teach (after "The Collector" and "Equus").
I normally cover the following:
The General Prologue: introduction to all the...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1995
Ha ha. I remember this book. We had to memorize part of the prologue for the book in old English. That was fun. I still remember about half of it:
Whan that Aprill with his shoures sote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,
And bathed euery veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in euery holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe course yronne,
And smale fowles m...more
Whan that Aprill with his shoures sote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,
And bathed euery veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in euery holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe course yronne,
And smale fowles m...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
no-one
I'm actually listening to this on CD and it has been "translated" from it's original "Old English" to a bit more modern English. And I must say, I am grateful that it has been, they provided a snippet of what it might have actually originally sounded like and I could barely understand a single word! It was amazing!
I couldn't finish this. Perhaps it's the translation. Perhaps they didn't translate it enough. Perhaps it's just the content. But I just didn't care for t...more
I couldn't finish this. Perhaps it's the translation. Perhaps they didn't translate it enough. Perhaps it's just the content. But I just didn't care for t...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
When I was assigned this book to read for my World Literature class, I was somewhat afraid. This was not only because I figured I wouldn't understand the language but also because it seemed extremely boring.However, once I bought the book and read it, I was surprised to find that I was wrong about both of these things.
First,in terms of the language, although it was written in Middle English, the author of this edition takes the liberty of having a translation of each section. This of course ...more
First,in terms of the language, although it was written in Middle English, the author of this edition takes the liberty of having a translation of each section. This of course ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in December, 2007
I read this in Middle English, so it was extremely challenging, but well worth the extra effort. The "Canturbury Tales" are a collection of stories, all but two of which, were written in verse. In the framing story, 24 pilgrims are on their way from Southwark to Canturbury to visit the Saint Thomas Becket shrine at Canturbury Cathedral. When they stop along the way, they entertain the group with tales, some serious, some hilarious, some racy, some satirical, and some laced with reli...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
I found this rather disappointing, but not because of Chaucer's text, but rather the structure and layout chosen by the author and editors. The facing page arrangement of Middle English vs a modern english translation was good - it kept intelligibility high without losing sight of the original metre / versification. However, all the notes were tucked away at the back of the book, obscurely referenced by an asterix placed seemingly at random in the text to indicate you should look something up....more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
Reading The Canterbury Tales of Geoffrey Chaucer from beginning to end is an exhilarating experience. The humor and variety that abound in these stories particularly impresses this reader. That aside, the game established by Chaucer at the Tabard the night before the journey is a competition for the tale "of best sentence and moost solaas," the prize being "a soper at oure aller cost." He leaves no doubt that some of his pilgrims would rate the prospect of a free meal more hi...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 2008
I read some of the Tales several years ago, but wanted to refresh my memory. Apparently the Tales I read before were carefully selected, because I certainly don't remember any being PG-13 or even R-rated! THAT surprised me... although really it was just a couple of the Tales. I wouldn't let that scare you off. I also did not remember that the Tales were so interesting, philosophical, insightful, and even funny. It took a while to get mentally "into it", but once I did, I really en...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
It's disconcerting to me to look at the "published" date on the listing and see 1390!
I'll admit I probably didn't delve into this as much as scholarly appropriate - I read the translation mostly since plowing through the old english seemed a bit unnecessary since I wasn't reading it for a class. I do appreciate the magnitude of the work however - don't get me wrong.
I was pretty much surprised by the misogyny and the graphic sexuality contained within. I don't know what I exp...more
I'll admit I probably didn't delve into this as much as scholarly appropriate - I read the translation mostly since plowing through the old english seemed a bit unnecessary since I wasn't reading it for a class. I do appreciate the magnitude of the work however - don't get me wrong.
I was pretty much surprised by the misogyny and the graphic sexuality contained within. I don't know what I exp...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in January, 1997
I really love this collection of stories. Who didn't love the Wife of Bath? Or the Friar (a timely parable all Priests and Pastor should read). I loved The Canterbury Tales so much that I memorized the prologue in Old English (and can still partially recite it)...
"Whan that Aprille with his shoures sote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour,
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Ins...more
"Whan that Aprille with his shoures sote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour,
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Ins...more
Like this review?
yes
(2 people liked it)
1 comments
Look out, Bocaccio -- there's a new author of clever, bawdy rhyming tales, and his name is Geoffrey Chaucer! Whether you're a reeve, abbot, or just a simple canon's yeoman, you're sure to find something delightful in this witty, incisive collection. My personal favorites were the one about Chaunticleer the rooster and the one where the dude gets a red-hot poker shoved up his butt. I read it while I was laid up with the plague, and Chaucer's insouciant descriptions and intricate plotting helped i...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
1 comments
Read in May, 2008
I know you think it's stupid that I have the Canterbury Tales here, but I've found the best way for me to do the classics is through audio books (it also helps me pass the 30-minute daily commute). I'm on disc 6 of 12. I'm pretty sure we read this in high school, and I'm pretty sure I thought it was stupid, but I have an awesome performance version. I never knew Chaucer wrote about some of the scandalous things he did--the Miller's Tale or the Reeve's Tale, for instance. I wonder if they del...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Came across Canterbury Tales in my closet and have gone through a bunch of the tales already, in an excellent translation (I love so much those ten syllables a line!). Such good plain stories. That's all it is, incredibly winding and simple-told stories of crazy star-crossed love and sexual misplay, and a lot of well-presented religious precepts.
Note: I'm not near the book right now, so I can't tell you the translator, but it isn't this book pictured above, I just chose it because it was eas...more
Note: I'm not near the book right now, so I can't tell you the translator, but it isn't this book pictured above, I just chose it because it was eas...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I was first introduced to this literary treasure when I was a senior in high school. Nancy Barr was an awesome teacher (with the world's greatest collection of shoes!) and she really instilled in me a love for the classics. For class we read just a portion of the tales, but I often checked out the book from the city library over the years so I could keep reading more. My teacher helped me to understand the characters as she explained their backgrounds in class and it really made me like each ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
The premise: a variety of personalities going on a pilgrimage pass the time by taking turns telling stories. The often-observed quality that makes this an enduring classic is that, even 600 years later, we still laugh at the same jokes,
flounder about trying to find a significant other, work more than we think we ought, and fear death. I loved the pace and lilt of the reading, but the text is very descriptive and at times it was difficult to focus and absorb what was being said. The tales ar...more
flounder about trying to find a significant other, work more than we think we ought, and fear death. I loved the pace and lilt of the reading, but the text is very descriptive and at times it was difficult to focus and absorb what was being said. The tales ar...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in prose, the rest in verse). The tales, some of which are originals and others not, are contained inside a frame tale and told by a collection of pilgrims on a pilgrimage from Southwark to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.
People who like to read short story should try to read them too, because they are short and very stirring. Yo...more
People who like to read short story should try to read them too, because they are short and very stirring. Yo...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Its really hard to review this as a book because it really is just a collection of individual tales and they're all so different...I wonder if Chaucer wasn't a bit schitzophrenic. Its a great classic, even beyond the ever-popular "Wife of Bath's Tale" (in all its bawdy gloriousness). Its a really interesting capture of a complete cross-section of life from the "middle" ages. The device of a Pilgramage allows for the grouping of characters/storytellers from all walks of life t...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 2008
I remembered reading sections of the Canterbury Tales in high school reading class, and I really enjoyed them. I thought it might be neat to read the whole thing. I was surprised at some of the earlier stories and how raunchy they could be. There were also many stories about the relationships between husbands and wives (quite hilarious). Some opinions never change after hundreds or years! This particular edition was written in modern English so it was much easier to understand than the old ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
