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Pink's Reviews > The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales
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My biggest fear about this book was that it would be like The Pilgrim's Progress. Although they followed a similar format, they couldn't have been more different for me. The Pilgrim's Progress was boring and preachy, whereas this was delightfully bawdy.
There are many translations, from Middle English, to Victorian verse, to modern day prose. So sample a few and read what you're comfortable with. Then dive in and enjoy the stories. They can be read independently of one another, but often play off each other so they're best read in order, though this differs between editions. If you happen to hit one you don't like, feel free to skip it, as there'll be another riotous tale along soon enough.
These can be read lightly, laughing at the rudeness and humour, or studied more in depth, to find hidden subtleties and meanings. It's the sort of book that re-reading will enrich your experience and it's one I'm glad to have tried for my first time.
So don't be scared of stuffy or complex tales because it's 600 years old. Really, not that much has changed today.
There are many translations, from Middle English, to Victorian verse, to modern day prose. So sample a few and read what you're comfortable with. Then dive in and enjoy the stories. They can be read independently of one another, but often play off each other so they're best read in order, though this differs between editions. If you happen to hit one you don't like, feel free to skip it, as there'll be another riotous tale along soon enough.
These can be read lightly, laughing at the rudeness and humour, or studied more in depth, to find hidden subtleties and meanings. It's the sort of book that re-reading will enrich your experience and it's one I'm glad to have tried for my first time.
So don't be scared of stuffy or complex tales because it's 600 years old. Really, not that much has changed today.
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Reading Progress
August 27, 2014
– Shelved
March 1, 2017
–
Started Reading
March 30, 2017
–
Finished Reading
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Leni
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rated it 3 stars
May 15, 2017 01:57PM
I'm reading it on Serial Reader, and I'm pretty sure that's a "Victorian Verse" version. I only have a few issues left, and I hate to admit it but I'll be so happy when I'm done! Maybe a different version would have worked better for me.
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Probably. I wasn't keen on that version myself, I went for a more modern translation, by Coghill, which was still in verse, but a lot more readable.
After googling a lot of excerpts I have concluded that Serial Reader is using the J.U. Nicolson from 1934, which is a later date than I expected!
Oh okay, is that the same one that's on project gutenberg? I read a few excerpts of that one, but didn't like it very much. Sometimes when the poetry is too 'flowery', it just goes straight over my head and I don't take any of it in.
No, it is thankfully more modern than the Gutenberg version! I think Gutenberg uses the Cowden Clarke translation from the 1860s (which reads like it's almost a century older than that again). It's like they've tried to make sure every translation into modern English doesn't sound too modern.
I suppose so. I mean the Coghill translation doesn't sound that modern, but I suppose that's because of the rhyming style. Plus I found some tales were more tiresome than others.
Give the original Middle English version a try. It takes a little practice -- and it helps if you've heard a recording of part of it -- but it's well worth it.
