Chaucer Translator [Hardcover]

Paul Beekman Taylor (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0761809635 | ISBN-13: 978-0761809630 | Publication Date: December 11, 1997

This book argues that Chaucer's theory of translation is based upon particular hermeneutic procedures of the day applied to the authoritative literary texts in the European cultural tradition. These texts encompass the European tradition extending from Plato through Christian humanism and Jean de Meun to Italian and French contemporaries. The work displays Chaucer's development as a translator from early attempts to render contemporary French poetry in an English courtly idiom to the later masterly translations in Troilus andThe Canterbury Tales. The later translations disdain mirroring Latin and vernacular texts with English and instead read through the surface of a literary source to a sense Chaucer "discovers" or "invents". Throughout the book, emphasis is placed on Chaucer's sensitivity to the poetic possibilities in the polysemy of the English language.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Taylor's strength is in the pursuit of detail, and his studies do illustrate the complexity of Chaucer's interaction with 'olde bokes.'" (--Kathleen Davis Studies In The Age Of Chaucer )

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: University Press Of America (December 11, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761809635
• ISBN-13: 978-0761809630
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,121,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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