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The Canterbury Tales Paperback – July 31, 2012

by Geoffrey Chaucer (Author)

292 customer reviews

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Geoffrey Chaucer (1343? – 1400), known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey. The Canterbury Tales was Chaucer's masterpiece, which did much to legitimize English as the major literary language at a time when French and Latin were dominant. He uses the tales and the descriptions of its characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time, and particularly of corruption in the Church.

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Product Details

Paperback: 394 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (July 31, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 147833598X
ISBN-13: 978-1478335986
Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.9 x 9.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (292 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,580,229 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #30745 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

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Customer Reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars

5 star		58%
4 star		19%
3 star		11%
2 star		4%
1 star		8%

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

350 of 357 people found the following review helpful

Canterbury Tales - Which Version is Best For You?

By Michael Wischmeyer on July 15, 2000

Format: Paperback

Over some period I have read several translations of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. My first experience, selections in a high school text, was not promising. (Perhaps, I was not yet ready for Chaucer.) Translating poetry from one language to another is difficult and often unsuccessful. Translating Chaucer from Middle English is not much easier. English has changed dramatically in the last 600 years, to the point that Middle English is nearly indecipherable. For example, we read Chaucer's description of the Knight's appearance:

Of fustian he wered a gipoun (Of coarse cloth he wore a doublet)
Al bismotered with his habergeoun (All rust-spotted by his coat-of-mail)

A glossary, diligence, and time are required for reading the original Chaucer. If you choose to do so, the Riverside Chaucer edition (edited by L. Benson) and the Norton Critical Edition (edited by Olson and Kolve) are highly recommended. The Signet Classic paperback edited by D. R. Howard modernizes the spelling a bit, but largely adheres to the original Chaucer and is an easier introduction to Middle English.

Although in most cases the instructor assigns a particular version of Canterbury Tales, it can be exceedingly helpful to pick-up an additional version or two. A slightly different translation may entirely surprise you, even resonate with you, making Chaucer much more enjoyable. I suggest that you look for these versions:

Selected Canterbury Tales, Dover Thrift edition - provides a poetic, rather than literal interpretation, and is quite readable. The collection of tales is fairly small, however.

Canterbury Tales, Penguin edition, translated by Nevill Coghill, is an excellent poetic translation.Read more ›

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168 of 175 people found the following review helpful

One degree of separation...

By Wanda B. Red VINE VOICE on May 10, 2006

Format: Paperback

The question is not whether to read the Canterbury Tales, but whether to read them in this translation -- or whether to go for the Middle English with all its difficulties.

I'm a purist. As a Chaucer teacher myself, I'd say read the tales in the Riverside Chaucer or in the Norton Critcal editon with lots of footnotes. But, yes, that is harder, and I'd rather see readers get some experience than none.

So, if you are going to compromise, Nevill Coghill's poetic translation is really as good a place to go as any. You will get the basic sense of Chaucer's verse; you'll get the basic rhymes and rhythms too. This is the translation that's used in most high school classes, and in many college survey classes that don't read the text in the original. It's really a fine compromise -- not only a good place to start, but also a decent trot if you are struggling with the Middle English.

You can find some closer translations of some of the tales online if you look up Michael Murphy's websites. But for all their virtues, they don't have the smoothness of Coghill's renditions; Murphy's translations are not the complete Tales; and it's clunky to print them out. This economical edition is probably still the best place to start with Chaucer, father of English poetry and the originator of comedy in the English language.

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162 of 180 people found the following review helpful

One of the major influences of modern literature.

By R. D. Allison (dallison@biochem.med.ufl.edu) on June 22, 1999

Format: Paperback

The version of this classic I read was a translation into modern English by Nevill Coghill. As you can see above, I awarded Chaucer (and the translation) five stars; but I do have a criticism. This translation (and many other publications of Chaucer) do not contain the two prose tales ("The Tale of Melibee" and "The Parson's Tale"). These are rarely read and I understand the publisher's and the translator's desire to keep the book to a managable size. Still, that should be the readers decision and no one else's. I had to go to the University library and get a complete copy in order to read those sections. As I mentioned, this copy is a translation into modern English. However, I do recommend that readers take a look at the Middle English version, at least of the Prologue. Many years ago, when I was in high school, my teacher had the entire class memorize the first part of the Prologue in the original Middle English. Almost forty years later, I still know it. I am always stunned at how beautiful, fluid, and melodic the poetry is, even if you don't understand the words. Twenty-nine pilgrims meet in the Tabard Inn in Southwark on their way to Canterbury. The host suggests that the pilgrims tell four stories each in order to shorten the trip (the work is incomplete in that only twenty-four stories are told). The tales are linked by narrative exchanges and each tale is presented in the manner and style of the character providing the story. This book was a major influence on literature. In fact, the development of the "short story" format owes much to these tales.Read more ›

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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful

Canterbury Tales - Which Version is Best For You?

By Michael Wischmeyer on April 28, 2007

Format: Paperback

Over some period I have read several translations of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. My first experience, selections in a high school text, was not promising. (Possibly, I was not yet ready for Chaucer.) Translating poetry from one language to another is difficult and often unsuccessful. Translating Chaucer from Middle English is not much easier. English has changed dramatically in the last 600 years, to the point that Middle English is nearly indecipherable. For example, we read Chaucer's description of the Knight's appearance:

Of fustian he wered a gipoun (Of coarse cloth he wore a doublet)
Al bismotered with his habergeoun (All rust-spotted by his coat-of-mail)

A glossary, persistence, and considerable time are required for reading the original Chaucer. If you choose to do so, the Riverside Chaucer edition (edited by L. Benson) and the Norton Critical Edition (edited by Olson and Kolve) are highly recommended. The Signet Classic paperback (edited by D. R. Howard) modernizes the spelling a bit, but still largely adheres to the original Chaucer.

Although your instructor will most likely assign a particular edition of Canterbury Tales, it can be exceedingly helpful to pick-up an additional version or two. A slightly different translation may entirely surprise you, may even resonate with you, making Chaucer much more enjoyable. I suggest that you look for these versions:

Canterbury Tales, Penguin edition, translated by Nevill Coghill, is an excellent poetic translation. It is a complete collection arranged by Group A thru H. It also includes The Parson's Prologue, The Parson's Tale in synopsis, and Chaucer's Retractions. Coghill's translation remains my favorite.Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Not my favorite translation. This is in a only slightly more ...

Not my favorite translation. This is in a only slightly more modern than the olde English version. But what a steal for a gorgeous leather bound book!!

Published 20 days ago by Molly

A classic that I loved.

Published 26 days ago by BeeToyn

Tales not for Nuns

`Medieval' is largely a derogatory term in the modern language. `Medieval' stands for uncivilised, brutal, unsophisticated. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer

Don't buy the Kindle version - formatting is broken

Don't buy the Kindle version. The formatting is thoroughly broken and can't be read.

Published 1 month ago by Ivan Stojic

dirty, adventurous

As with most people, my first exposure to Chaucer was in a Brit Lit class in college. This translation from Middle English to Modern English by Neville made it very accessible to... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Randee Baty

The formatting is atrocious to the point of being unreadable ...

The formatting is atrocious to the point of being unreadable. They insert definitions into the middle of a sentence with no warning or formatting change. Avoid this version.

Published 2 months ago by Steven MacDonald

Bad kindle version

The kindle version is a mess. I had to return it an order another version. Avoid this one.

Published 2 months ago by Vlad

Reading material for school

Published 2 months ago by kenneth

this is a foundation work for understanding English literature

this is a foundation work for understanding English literature

Published 2 months ago by K. masters

absolutely wonderful thank you so much! a great addition to my collection :)

Published 2 months ago by Miranda Jane

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