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it was very nice and in good shape, it was old but i expected that. it was also a very good price. i enjoyed it.
The Kindle version of the Penguin "Canterbury Tales" edited by Jill Mann has very bad formatting. Though the text is sprinkled with useful notes that appear to have links to allow them to be accessed, it is not possible to click on a note indication because the entire text is treated as though it were an image. I hope the publisher will correct this formatting problem, as this appears to be quite a useful edition.
Later in college I received strong doses of Middle English, and strong doses of this particular work. I found it in this chunky edition.As has been stated, it does take some work; but that is okay as this edition is well footnoted, has a wonderful glossary of explanatory notes and gives the full tale, which makes the reading much less intimidating for someone like me. Enter this book.I have never been and never will be, nor do I have a desire to be an expert in Middle English. Taking it a story at a time, reading, listening and then reading again, it all fell in place for me. That being said though, and in lieu of my statement above, I have always been drawn to this particular work and have searched through many different translations and editions of Chaucer's writing to find just the right one, the one I could connect with.
Now I know that there is probably many a professor out there; indeed many a graduate student who have spent life times in the study of this work and others of its ilk that are probably scoffing at my feeble and rather time consuming attempts here. No, I hardly think so, but that has never really been my goal. Hey, will I ever be a wine tasting expert. I am also one of those people who has been blessed or cursed, depending on how you look at it, with an acute literary curiosity and can be at times, rather tenacious when I go after something.
Yes, I did the work and produced the grades as all must do if they want to graduate, but still, I just did not get it. I am sorry to report that most of it went well over my head, for the most part due to laziness on my part. This method worked for me, I am able to enjoy this work now and as it is for my personal satisfaction rather than gaining the ability to actually teach the subject to others, I am quite satisfied with my little endeavor. I was first introduced, to some degree, to this early ancestor of our language in high school. I then took this work being reviewed here, read it, and again, ordered a CD from the library which was read in Middle English. I dearly wanted to have some understanding (at least more than I had) of this particular work.
Now for those of you who are purest; I can fully understand where you are coming from. Now I have found that if I hear something and then read it, I get far more out of the work. There is no getting around the fact that I am one of those individuals who struggled with this work and struggled with Middle English. I know, it is sort of pathetic at some level. That is okay though.
Will I ever be an expert.
I have approached this work with a three pronged attack.
I feel much the same about fly fishing, birding and certain aspects art.
Being older helped; there was greater understanding on my part, but still, I felt I was missing much.
While I would never under any circumstances use worms to catch a trout, I can certainly understand why some would and I have no ill will toward them.This translation and edition was extremely helpful.
When I feel the need, this is the volume I turn to.
I first read several translations in Modern English and I then ordered from the library a set of books on tapes and actually listened to the reading of the Modern English Translation.
No, but I do enjoy a glass of good wine now and then and can appreciate the good from the bad; that satisfies my personal needs as to wine, much as this read has helped satisfy my personal needs as to the writings of Chaucer.
I received a great amount of joy from using it and can only give it high marks due to that.Don BlankenshipThe Ozarks
Below is such a listing, cross-referenced to text fragment. The update into Modern English is acceptable, and is a good choice for someone who has no mastery of Middle English, or would merely prefer to listen to a modern English reading.
The tales are read by many voices, including those of Martin Jarvis, Jay Carnes, Ray Porter, John Lee, Malcolm Hillgartner, Ralph Cosham, Simon Vance. Appropriate accents are used by the readers.The price is right and the quality is excellent.
This is a very enjoyable reading of The Canterbury Tales, rendered into modern English verse. The complete Nicolson rendering is available as a Dover Giant Thrift Edition; the prologue and selected tales are available as a Dover Thrift Edition.
The text is complete, except for a curious omission of the Guildsmen in the Prologue.The text of this audio book was originally published as Canterbury Tales: Rendered into Modern English by J.U. Nicolson, published by Garden City Publishing Company, Inc., New York (1934).
While Coghill does a better job of updating the text than Nicolson, this is a scholar's quibble - either edition is just fine.The only problem with this audio book is the lack of a listing of the contents by disk and track. Pls excuse the editing imposed by the text entry window.GROUP ADisk 01: Track 01.The Prologue : At the Tabard InnDisk 01: Track 02.The Prologue : The Knight; The Squire; The YeomanDisk 01: Track 03.The Prologue : The Prioress; her Chaplain; three PriestsDisk 01: Track 04.The Prologue : The MonkDisk 01: Track 05.The Prologue : The FriarDisk 01: Track 06.The Prologue : The Merchant; The Clerk of Oxford; The LawyerDisk 01: Track 07.The Prologue : The Franklin; The Cook; The Sailor [The Guildsmen are not included]Disk 01: Track 08.The Prologue : The Physician; The Wife of BathDisk 01: Track 09.The Prologue : The Parson; The PlowmanDisk 01: Track 10.The Prologue : The Miller; The MancipleDisk 01: Track 11.The Prologue : The ReeveDisk 01: Track 12.The Prologue : The SummonerDisk 01: Track 13.The Prologue : The PardonerDisk 01: Track 14.The Prologue : That evening; The Host Disk 01: Track 15.The Prologue : The wager; The journey beginsDisk 01: Track 16-23.The Knight's TaleDisk 02: Track 01-21.The Knight's Tale (continued)Disk 03: Track 01-06.The Knight's Tale (continued)Disk 03: Track 07-17.The Miller's Prologue; The Miller's TaleDisk 04: Track 01-07.The Reeve's Prologue; The Reeve's TaleDisk 04: Track 08-09.The Cook's Prologue; The Cook's TaleGROUP BDisk 04: Track 10-11.Introduction to the Lawyer's PrologueDisk 04: Track 12-22.The Lawyer's Prologue; The Lawyer's TaleDisk 05: Track 01-04.The Lawyer's Tale (continued)Disk 05: Track 05-11.The Sailor's Prologue; The Sailor's TaleDisk 05: Track 12.Words of the Host to the Sailor and the Prioress; The Prioress's PrologueDisk 05: Track 13-16.The Prioress's TaleDisk 05: Track 17-19.Prologue to Sir Thopas; Sir ThopasDisk 05: Track 20.Prologue to MelibeusDisk 06: Track 01-21.The Tale of MelibeusDisk 07: Track 01-11.The Tale of Melibeus (continued)Disk 07: Track 12-21.The Monk's Prologue; The Monk's Tale : Lucifer; Adam; Samson; Hercules; Nebuchadnezzar; Belshazzar; Zenobia; Pedro, King of Spain; Peter, King of Cyprus; Bernabo of Lombardy; Ugolino, Count of Pisa; NeroDisk 08: Track 01-04.The Monk's Tale (continued) : Antiochus Epiphanes; Alexander; Julius Caesar; Croesus; The Prologue to the Nun's Priest's TaleDisk 08: Track 05-13.The Nun's Priest's TaleDisk 08: Track 14.The Nun's Priest's Tale (continued); The Epilogue to the Nun's Priest's TaleGROUP CDisk 08: Track 15-19.The Physician's TaleDisk 08: Track 20.The Words of the Host to the Physician and the PardonerDisk 08: Track 21-22.The Prologue of the Pardoner's TaleDisk 09: Track 01-08.The Pardoner's TaleGROUP DDisk 09: Track 09-21.The Wife of Bath's Prologue; Behold the Words Between the Summoner and the FriarDisk 10: Track 01-07.The Wife of Bath's TaleDisk 10: Track 08-13.The Friar's Prologue; The Friar's Tale Disk 10: Track 14-21.The Summoner's Prologue; The Summoner's Tale Disk 11: Track 01-03.The Summoner's Tale (continued)GROUP EDisk 11: Track 04-19.The Clerk's Prologue; The Clerk's TaleDisk 11: Track 20.Envoy of ChaucerDisk 11: Track 21.The Merchant's PrologueDisk 12: Track 01-18.The Merchant's TaleGROUP FDisk 12: Track 19-22.The Squire's Prologue; The Squire's TaleDisk 13: Track 01-05.The Squire's Tale (continued)Disk 13: Track 06-18.Words of the Franklin; The Franklin's Prologue; The Franklin's TaleGROUP GDisk 13: Track 19-20.The Second Nun's PrologueDisk 14: Track 01-07.The Second Nun's TaleDisk 14: Track 08-20.The Canon's Yeoman's Prologue; The Canon's Yeoman's TaleGROUP HDisk 15: Track 01-06.The Manciple's Prologue; The Manciple's TaleGROUP IDisk 15: Track 07-22.The Parson's Prologue; The Parson's TaleDisk 16: Track 01-22.The Parson's Tale (continued)Disk 17: Track 01-20.The Parson's Tale (continued)Disk 17: Track 21.Wherein Chaucer Takes Leave of His Book
Having read the Canterbury Tales earlier, I appreciated the fact that I already had a handle on the general storyline of the tales and could instead concentrate on the nuances of the language and the beauty of the rhyme scheme. It can be a little long and dry in parts, but it helps to give a clear picture of the characters in the party as they interact with one another and tell their respective tales.
If you don't know what it's about, the Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral. The tales are told as a way to entertain each other on their journey and the one who tells the best tale will earn a fine meal paid for by the other travelers.
The Canterbury Tales is an entertaining romp through the Medieval English countryside. It is a very entertaining read and if one wants more than just entertainment, there is a lot of social commentary about life in medieval England that can be gleaned throughout the text.I was a little unsure what to expect when I read this and don't be turned off by the introductory prologue in which our narrator introduces all of the characters.
This is actually an incomplete work as Chaucer died before completing it, but it is a fine example of early English literature and one of the most important pieces of the English Canon.The tales here vary in length and content as to the prologues and epilogues containing the goings on of the party members. Chaucer writes with a great sense of humor and, since he is writing in the language of the common folk, the content contains many lewd and bawdy jokes and events.
Added note: I had to read this again for another class and this time we read it in the original Middle English. I thoroughly enjoyed this second time through the book.
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