A modern English translation, background information and glossary accompany the original Middle English text of Chaucer's poem about travelers on a pilgrimage

A retelling of the medieval poem about a group of travelers on a pilgrimage to Canterbury and the tales they tell each other

A retelling of the medieval poem about a group of travelers on a pilgrimage to Canterbury and the tales they tell each other.

Lively, absorbing, often outrageously funny, Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is a work of genius, an undisputed classic that has held a special appeal for each generation of readers. The Tales gathers twenty-nine of literature’s most enduring (and endearing) characters in a vivid group portrait that captures the full spectrum of medieval society, from the exalted Knight to the humble Plowman. This new edition includes a comprehensive introduction that summarizes some of the most important historical events and movements that defined the world of Chaucer and his pilgrims; two additional tales (Reeve’s and Shipman’s); introductions for each tale designed to prepare the reader for a better understanding and enjoyment of the tale; newly written and conveniently placed explanatory notes; and a new, more easily understood system for learning to pronounce Chaucerian Middle English. From the Paperback edition.

The poem, in the original Middle English, is accompanied by background information, notes, and marginal glosses, and tells the story of a group of travelers on a pilgrimage

Beyond its importance as a literary work of unvarnished genius, Geoffrey Chaucer’s unfinished epic poem is also one of the most beloved works in the English language–and for good reason: It is lively, absorbing, perceptive, and outrageously funny. But despite the brilliance of Chaucer’s work, the continual evolution of our language has rendered his words unfamiliar to many of us. Esteemed poet, translator, and scholar Burton Raffel’s magnificent new unabridged translation brings Chaucer’s poetry back to life, ensuring that none of the original’s wit, wisdom, or humanity is lost to the modern reader. This Modern Library edition also features an Introduction by the widely influential medievalist and author John Miles Foley that discusses Chaucer’s work as well as his life and times.

A diverse group of travelers on a pilgrimage to Canterbury exchanges an array of tales, including "The Wife of Bath," "The Prioress' Tale," "The Nun's Priest Tale," and "The Shipman's Tale," that paint a vivid picture of fourteenth-century medieval life, society, and values. Reprint.

No Fear: The Canterbury Tales gives you the original tales on the left-hand page, side-by-side with an easy-to-understand translation on the right. Featuring the complete text, a line-by-line translation that puts Chaucer into everyday language, a complete list of characters with descriptions, and plenty of helpful commentary, No Fear: The Canterbury Tales allows you to read the tales in all their brilliance—and actually understand what they mean!

David Wright’s classic translation brings Chaucer’s masterpiece of Middle English storytelling into clear modern prose. The Canterbury Tales has entertained readers for centuries, with its comic animal fables, moral allegories, miniature epics of courtly love, and rollicking erotic farces that bring fourteenth-century England to life on every page. The gloriously varied stories, narrated by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, are peopled with saints, sinners, and ordinary mortals in a vivid panorama of the medieval world. This prose translation renders these tales as accessible and irresistible to modern readers as they were to Chaucer’s contemporaries.

" A lively microbiography of Chaucer that tells the story of the tumultuous year that led to the creation of The Canterbury Tales. In 1386, Geoffrey Chaucer endured his worst year, but began his best poem. The father of English literature did not enjoy in his lifetime the literary celebrity that he has today-far from it. The middle-aged Chaucer was living in London, working as a midlevel bureaucrat and sometime poet, until a personal and professional crisis set him down the road leading to The CanterburyTales. In the politically and economically fraught London of the late fourteenth century, Chaucer was swept up against his will in a series of disastrous events that would ultimately leave him jobless, homeless, separated from his wife, exiled from his city, and isolated in the countryside of Kent-with no more audience to hear the poetry he labored over. At the loneliest time of his life, Chaucer made the revolutionary decision to keep writing, and to write for a national audience, for posterity, and for fame. Brought expertly to life by Paul Strohm, this is the eye-opening story of the birth one of the most celebrated literary creations of the English language"--