Nor do they embody any ascetic ideals. The Wife of Bath gets through pilgrimages like she does husbands. Nearly all of the clergy are on the take. No fake news here.
Except, of course, Chaucer is making the whole thing up. The filth is all his, as is the soaring piety. Topics Geoffrey Chaucer Reading group. Order by newest oldest recommendations. Show 25 25 50 All. Threads collapsed expanded unthreaded. It was fun to read different tales from different walks of life.
I will probably someday pick up a more literal translation. Jan 07, Kater Cheek rated it liked it. I took a class in Middle English in college, and quickly realized that it was about as comprehensible as Dutch. Unlike Shakespeare, Middle English has to be translated. Too bad, because what I read of The Canterbury Tales seemed interesting. So when I saw this at the library, a translated retelling of the classic Medieval document, I decided to give it a go.
As many people know, it's an anthology of stories told by fellow travelers who are on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Many of the tales are lew I took a class in Middle English in college, and quickly realized that it was about as comprehensible as Dutch. Many of the tales are lewd and bawdy, and Ackroyd uses the appropriate Anglo-Saxon four letter words when applicable. Many of the tales have religious overtones, as fitting for a 14th century novel. But most of all, they're an interesting window into a misunderstood time.
What I liked most about this novel were the references to stories from antiquity. At one point, someone is speaking of ancient heroes, and he references a song with the line, 'Some talk of Alexander, and some of Hercules' this delighted me, because I know the song they're talking of, and as an American I rarely have the feeling of being part of a people with a long history.
I think I learned quite a bit about the middle ages from this. For example, I didn't realize that there were so many different types of clerics. It was like trying to compare different types of beer or something. This one does what now? I can't say I really liked the stories very much. As when I read the Bible, or any other centuries' old literature, the hatred, bigotry, anti-semitism and most especially the misogyny revolted me. The "perfect" heroine is like a fem-bot. She's flawlessly beautiful, completely obedient, has no needs or desires save obedience, and she never complains when you beat or torment or mistreat her.
Look, she didn't even complain when you murdered her baby! What a perfect woman!
Geoffrey Chaucer (Chaucer, Geoffrey, ) | The Online Books Page
She thinks she's dirt! Why can't all women be like that! The medieval hero slaughters all who come across him, unless he sees a pretty teen, in which case he convinces her that unless she fucks him, he will die and it will be all her fault. I was struck, too, by the similarities between the medieval English culture and certain modern cultures which also praise religiosity and obedience.
Everyone is obsessed with whether a man is cuckolded. Almost all the men are extremely jealous. And no wonder, when even the 'heroes' of some stories care as little about whether the Miller's daughter wants to have sex with him as whether the apple wants to be eaten. She says "no" when he rapes her, but in the morning she's calling him "lover. Wives are miserable because they want their husbands to obey them and be faithful, and husbands are miserable because their wives aren't obedient and faithful. No one is happy. It's also amusing the way that the characters will interject opinions as they tell their stories.
It's not enough to describe the way the evil mother-in-law frames her daughter-in-law for murder, the narrator has to go on at length with heavy metaphors to let us know that she's a viper. Sometimes, this hyperbole got a little out of hand. Near the end, I found myself skipping ahead to find out which story the Host judged the best never did say. In summary, it's a little dry and exaggerated for modern tastes, but it's a nice peep into the lives of people seven hundred years ago.
Peter Ackroyd's translation makes for quick reading and is easy to understand. I can't comment on the accuracy of the translation as this is the only version of the Canterbury Tales I have read but I can advise that I enjoyed it more for having read Peter Ackroyd's biography of Chaucer just prior, together they are a good series. Dec 11, Cecelia Hightower added it Shelves: The setting for this book is fourteenth-century London and was written by Chaucer late in his life.
The book is based on a group of about 26 people on a pilgrimage from Southwark to Canterbury Southwark is a community in Central London. This group all met at the Tabard Inn with introductions made all around. The inn-keeper proposed to the pilgrims that to make the journey more pleasant each member will provide an interesting story or tale and the one that provides the best story would be provi The setting for this book is fourteenth-century London and was written by Chaucer late in his life.
The inn-keeper proposed to the pilgrims that to make the journey more pleasant each member will provide an interesting story or tale and the one that provides the best story would be provided with a dinner and drinks at the end of their journey, at the inn-keeps expense. All agreed to this interesting challenge and so the contest was started on the next morning as the pilgrimage headed out. Since the original book was written in the 's, so it was in olde English making it rather hard for the regular reader to decipher at least I had a terrible time trying to understand the original version.
All in all I found it an interesting read. May 30, Julie Davis added it. After days of careful consideration, listening to audio samples, and having too many choices in my new Audible subscription I decided to throw caution to the winds and try something completely different from my usual fare. I've always wanted to tackle The Canterbury Tales but never felt brave enough. It was a conversation this morning that turned the tide. Our priest said that, although he had a great affection for Dante's Divine Comedy, it was The Canterbury Tales that he found most helpful After days of careful consideration, listening to audio samples, and having too many choices in my new Audible subscription Our priest said that, although he had a great affection for Dante's Divine Comedy, it was The Canterbury Tales that he found most helpful on the journey.
Now my journey begins under Geoffrey Chaucer's guidance, with Peter Ackroyd's assistance. Fingers crossed I don't hit too many potholes! Dec 29, Jaylia3 rated it liked it. A fun new edition of one of my favorite books. Reading this translation retelling I kept feeling I was reading about people I already knew--the pilgrims sound and act like people you might meet on the street. Mar 31, Sara rated it liked it Shelves: It was quite an undertaking to take the 14th Century tales and modernize them into a language for the 21st Century. Like many other people, my first encounter with The Canterbury Tales was in high school.
However, if this was the version being taught, there would be many parents going to school boards trying to get it banned. Everyone references how some of the tales are bawdy, but Middle English prevents them from truly seeing the base nature and dirty words in some of the tales. I like how the It was quite an undertaking to take the 14th Century tales and modernize them into a language for the 21st Century. I like how the tales reveal human nature has not changed in the course of the centuries: This version also lets the reader understand a few somewhat uncomfortable stories.
The one that stuck out most to me was The Clerk's Tale, which dealt with a Marquis who married a very beautiful and loyal woman. He decides to go out of his way to test her by saying he wants their children murdered, the town hates her, the Pope granted a bull for their divorce, sends her to live in poverty in her father's house, and is going to marry a new woman. In reality, the children were being raised away in luxury, the town loves her, the Pope was in on the "joke", and the new young wife being presented was really her daughter.
The wife shows she is a loyal and forgiving person and they live happily ever after.
- The Canterbury Tales: Chaucer's 'plein speke' is a raucous read | Books | The Guardian.
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Oct 23, Richard Rogers rated it really liked it. I liked reading this version of the Canterbury tales. I was looking for a prose translation, not just modern English, and this fit the bill. It is, of course, instantly comprehensible for a modern reader, and untangles some knots for me that I had left over from other versions, so I'm grateful the adapter went to the trouble.
I can't say it made me like the Canterbury Tales, which I thought it might. I had hoped that the language would sound more natural, maybe kinda funny, even, but it still sou I liked reading this version of the Canterbury tales. I had hoped that the language would sound more natural, maybe kinda funny, even, but it still sounds like rephrased poetry, coming at you in short, staccato sentences and retaining too many of Chaucer's tics.
The phrases "What else is there to say? I would have preferred if the author had taken more liberties with the text, maybe smooth it out, maybe give it more style. He did, at least, leave it pleasantly crude. For readers who want to read Chaucer's stories without fighting the language or scowling through contrived modern rhyme, this is a nice choice, my disappointments notwithstanding. It's accessible and clear and non-sanitized, and Chaucer's dialogue and stories still offers nice insights into the lives of people in that time.
This book was a boon and a pleasure to read. I'd tried to make my way through The Canterbury Tales before. Unfortunately, like many others, I was introduced to them in a freshman class assignment in the Norton Anthology. Reading it in Chaucer's original language is more for specialists than for enjoyment. I've attempted Nevill Coghill's wonderful and faithful verse translation several times but I just end up reading the "greatest hits. While more of a prose paraphrase in places than an exact translation, what we loose in fussiness, we gain in regaining the spirit and flavor of the original.
Some time later I read it is verse translation. This contemporary version has been a revelation. Ackroyd has decided to forfeit the poetry and, it seems to me, reproduce the impact. In the principles of dynamic equivalence he seems to be seeking to elicit the modern reader the same reactions that Chaucer's contemporaries would have had.
Overall a fun read to be re-visted again. May 07, Lauren Marshall rated it it was ok. I had always wanted to read the Canterbury Tales, but was intimidated by trying to read the verse without the support of a professor and classroom discussion. This prose retelling seemed like a good compromise. But, I really found many of the tales pretty boring. I feel like a lot of what might have been humorous was lost in translation, though there were still moments that were amusing.
Some of the longer tales were more interesting and complex, but many are just brief and dull. Anyway, I can't I had always wanted to read the Canterbury Tales, but was intimidated by trying to read the verse without the support of a professor and classroom discussion. Anyway, I can't really recommend this except to get an idea of what the stories are about, but I don't think it conveys the true character of the original Tales, judging by how important Chaucer's original work has remained.
Jul 03, Patrick Barry rated it liked it. A retelling on Chaucer's tales turning poetry into prose. I had read 6 of the tales in the old poetry for an English class.
The Canterbury Tales is our reading group book for September
It as it turned out was a pretty good condensation of the tales. It avoided a lot of the repetitious tales that denigrated women. It was an ambitious undertaking by the author, but not a fantastic read. I sus A retelling on Chaucer's tales turning poetry into prose. I suspect that had to do with the dated source material.
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Jul 06, Paige rated it liked it. Some of the stories are hilarious which made me like the tales a lot. It was neat how there were multiple tales, because when I didn't enjoy one I usually liked the next. Although, some of them were confusing when I read the stories. Sometimes I thought the narrator of the tales were talking about themselves rather than the people they were telling the story about.
Other than that I would recommend. It was just slightly harder to understand the translation for me. Entertaining reworking of the tales and some good historical and biographical details at the start to set the scene. Having studied a couple of the tales and the prologue many years ago it never occurred to me to read the whole work and I hazard that this is a perfect way to do so. An easy read in this format, and I am happy to be better informed in such a manner.
A good read which I augmented with a free, unabridged audio book. Aug 22, Les Wilson rated it really liked it. A good retelling and pleased that it retains the original Old English headings. Chaucer is sadly Greatly Ignored, and should be compulsory reading in schools.
The Canterbury Tales: Chaucer's 'plein speke' is a raucous read
His works contain so much historical literature references. Nov 12, Stephania rated it really liked it. Who said that people in Mediaeval times didn't have a sense of humour? I haven't actually read Chaucer's original 'Canterbury Tales' yet, but I thought that this modern-day translation would help give me a background understanding for when I finally have to for uni.
I must say that this wasn't what I was expecting. I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way though. I think it stems more from my surprise at how vulgar most of the stories turned out to be? They were constantly full of sex or dirty sexual jokes or references and I really don't think that I wo 3. They were constantly full of sex or dirty sexual jokes or references and I really don't think that I would clued onto that fact had I read the original in the first place.
Maybe it was just the language that Ackroyd used in his translation, although I'm sure if I was more familiar with the original medieval swearing and vulgarities, I would soon be able to verify if that was the case or not. Regardless, I enjoyed most of these stories. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Peter Ackroyd CBE is an English novelist and biographer with a particular interest in the history and culture of London.
Peter Ackroyd's mother worked in the personnel department of an engineering firm, his father having left the family home when Ackroyd was a baby. He was reading newspapers by the age of 5 and, at 9, wrote a play about Guy Fawkes. Reputedly, he first realized he was gay at the age Peter Ackroyd CBE is an English novelist and biographer with a particular interest in the history and culture of London.
Reputedly, he first realized he was gay at the age of 7. Ackroyd was educated at St. Benedict's, Ealing and at Clare College, Cambridge, from which he graduated with a double first in English. The result of this fellowship was Ackroyd's Notes for a New Culture , written when he was only 22 and eventually published in The title, a playful echo of T.
Eliot's Notes Towards the Definition of Culture , was an early indication of Ackroyd's penchant for creatively exploring and reexamining the works of other London-based writers. Ackroyd's literary career began with poetry, including such works as London Lickpenny and The Diversions of Purley He later moved into fiction and has become an acclaimed author, winning the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for the biography Thomas More and being shortlisted for the Booker Prize in Ackroyd worked at The Spectator magazine between and and became joint managing editor in In he published The Great Fire of London , his first novel.
This novel deals with one of Ackroyd's great heroes, Charles Dickens, and is a reworking of Little Dorrit. The novel set the stage for the long sequence of novels Ackroyd has produced since, all of which deal in some way with the complex interaction of time and space, and what Ackroyd calls "the spirit of place". It is also the first in a sequence of novels of London, through which he traces the changing, but curiously consistent nature of the city. Often this theme is explored through the city's artists, and especially its writers.
Ackroyd has always shown a great interest in the city of London, and one of his best known works, London: The Biography , is an extensive and thorough discussion of London through the ages. His fascination with London literary and artistic figures is also displayed in the sequence of biographies he has produced of Ezra Pound , T. The city itself stands astride all these works, as it does in the fiction.
From to , Ackroyd wrote a six-book non-fiction series Voyages Through Time , intended for readers as young as eight. This was his first work for children. The critically acclaimed series is an extensive narrative of key periods in world history. Early in his career, Ackroyd was nominated a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in and, as well as producing fiction, biography and other literary works, is also a regular radio and television broadcaster and book critic. Books by Peter Ackroyd.
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