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James's Reviews > The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales
by
by
Book Review
It was 1996 and my freshmen year at college. I had already declared English as my major and needed to choose between Chaucer and Shakespeare as the primary "classic" author to take a course on. I chose Shakespeare. My advisor told me that's the usual pick and most missed out. I laughed at her. She was 40 years older than me and told me all the dirty stuff was in Chaucer... "Are you sure?" she asked. At that point, I realized life was just beginning. I was so naive back then. We clicked and bonded over my 4 years at school. I later realized she taught the class and that's why she always joked with her prospective students. I ended up taking both, and I am so glad I did. I adored Shakespeare, but until you've read all of Chaucer's work, you don't realize what a canon it is. From The Wife of Bath to The Squire, the satire, humor and innuendo are at an all-time high. No clue how he wasn't burned at the stake for all that he wrote about in the 14th century. Simply put, pilgrims are on a journey to/from Canterbury and tell their tales. It's woven so well together, you can't help but feel as though you're part of the ride. If I didn't have a backlog of over 1000 books in my TBR, I'd take on this tome again. It's lyrical, humorous and thought-provoking. It's nonsense, weird and crazy. But that's what makes it worth a read. If you have a copy, sample one of the stories. It'll be fantastic to hear everyone's opinions!
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by.
It was 1996 and my freshmen year at college. I had already declared English as my major and needed to choose between Chaucer and Shakespeare as the primary "classic" author to take a course on. I chose Shakespeare. My advisor told me that's the usual pick and most missed out. I laughed at her. She was 40 years older than me and told me all the dirty stuff was in Chaucer... "Are you sure?" she asked. At that point, I realized life was just beginning. I was so naive back then. We clicked and bonded over my 4 years at school. I later realized she taught the class and that's why she always joked with her prospective students. I ended up taking both, and I am so glad I did. I adored Shakespeare, but until you've read all of Chaucer's work, you don't realize what a canon it is. From The Wife of Bath to The Squire, the satire, humor and innuendo are at an all-time high. No clue how he wasn't burned at the stake for all that he wrote about in the 14th century. Simply put, pilgrims are on a journey to/from Canterbury and tell their tales. It's woven so well together, you can't help but feel as though you're part of the ride. If I didn't have a backlog of over 1000 books in my TBR, I'd take on this tome again. It's lyrical, humorous and thought-provoking. It's nonsense, weird and crazy. But that's what makes it worth a read. If you have a copy, sample one of the stories. It'll be fantastic to hear everyone's opinions!
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
January 15, 1996
–
Finished Reading
September 5, 2016
– Shelved
March 11, 2017
– Shelved as:
1-fiction
March 11, 2017
– Shelved as:
3-written-pre-20th-century
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Oh, but there's so much dirty stuff in Shakespeare. According to one annotation I read, literally every third word in As You Like It is just filthy. That being said, I need to revisit Chaucer soon - it's been a long time, and I had a ball with him.
Yes to both. They knew how to use innuendo!
Great quote and awesome review!" Aw, thank you! :) I appreciate it.