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The Portable Chaucer
Both The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Cressida are presented complete in this anthology, in fresh modern translations by Theodore Morrison that convey both the gravity and gaiety of the Middle English originals. The Portable Chaucer also contains selections from The Book of Duchess, The House of Fame, The Bird's Parliament, and The Legend of Good Women, together with s...more
Paperback, Revised Edition, The Viking Portable Library #81, 611 pages
Published
May 26th 1977
by Penguin Books
(first published January 1st 1949)
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It is difficult to write this review
because I have found two sides to my view:
1. Chaucer's poetry-Because of the constant rhythm and rhyme, I found "Canterbury Tales" had far more in it than was necessary, and much seemed to have no point other than to keep the rhyme scheme working properly. However, some of the other works in this collection I really enjoyed.
2. The collection itself-Morrison did something with this collection that I really enjoyed. There are notes before, inside, and after many...more
because I have found two sides to my view:
1. Chaucer's poetry-Because of the constant rhythm and rhyme, I found "Canterbury Tales" had far more in it than was necessary, and much seemed to have no point other than to keep the rhyme scheme working properly. However, some of the other works in this collection I really enjoyed.
2. The collection itself-Morrison did something with this collection that I really enjoyed. There are notes before, inside, and after many...more
For I am culturally deprived.
Chaucer's lot, I have but ne'er before espied
I never bothered because, well,'tis said "it is old hat".
What is old hat comes round again. And that is that.
Nothing really is quite new under the sun.
But now this task has just begun
This poet of yore, I yet ignore?
There is an interest, and he's no more the bore.
Perchance to read, perchance to befriend-
More to say when we get to the end.
And so we have, endured to book
This note on Chaucer of which I betook
The edition i...more
Chaucer's lot, I have but ne'er before espied
I never bothered because, well,'tis said "it is old hat".
What is old hat comes round again. And that is that.
Nothing really is quite new under the sun.
But now this task has just begun
This poet of yore, I yet ignore?
There is an interest, and he's no more the bore.
Perchance to read, perchance to befriend-
More to say when we get to the end.
And so we have, endured to book
This note on Chaucer of which I betook
The edition i...more
I liked it. It was a very smart move to put "The Canterbury Tales" before "Troilus and Cressida", and I didn't mind at all the translator's abridgements. Definitely worth reading. I got this book for twenty cents at a thrift store and couldn't be happier.
The low points are simple: there are abridgements, so a "complete" Canterbury Tales is missing, and Troilus and Cressida has been condensed for space and interest. So some readers may feel like they are missing out on a complete work.
I'm not an...more
The low points are simple: there are abridgements, so a "complete" Canterbury Tales is missing, and Troilus and Cressida has been condensed for space and interest. So some readers may feel like they are missing out on a complete work.
I'm not an...more
Pretty thorough overview of Chaucer. I had heard the Canterbury Tales was "bawdy" but didn't realize how, um, free the characters are -- lots of sex, some group action and a lot of anti-religious sentiment. "Troilus and Cressida" was incredibly boring and the translator's notes admit as much. But there are lots of "gems" throughout the book and Chaucer perfectly crystalized why I read (aside from being a writer):
"My reading, as I hope, may sometime light/On something that will profit me at need...more
"My reading, as I hope, may sometime light/On something that will profit me at need...more
Feb 27, 2011
BonFire
marked it as to-read
I just bought this at the local Goodwill store. The copy I have is from 1975, so it is older than I am. It has notes from previous owners in it. This is awesome.
Read this in a college lit class and enjoyed it.
Jul 29, 2008
Matt
added it
It's considered a classic...might as well have been written by Henry Miller for a dollar a word.
May 15, 2013
Catrina Gara
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Nov 04, 2012
Paula
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5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
adventure,
classics,
comedy-humor,
drama,
literary-fiction,
my-library,
philosophy,
religion-spirituality,
psychology,
poetry
Oct 28, 2012
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Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – October 25, 1400?) was an English author, poet, philosopher, bureaucrat, courtier and diplomat. Although he wrote many works, he is best remembered for his unfinished frame narrative The Canterbury Tales. Sometimes called the father of English literature, Chaucer is credited by some scholars as being the first author to demonstrate the artistic legitimacy of the vernacu...more
More about Geoffrey Chaucer...
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