The Canterbury Tales

My first Medieval read and it was both interesting and pervasive.

The chain goes Bocaccio, Chaucer, Shakespear.

Thanks Mr. Jenkins for making us read this book and interpreting it!! I loved it!!!

This is a 14th Century collection of bawdy and cynical poetry written in Middle English, all woven together in the story of a pilgrimage to Thomas Becket's shrine in Canterbury. The diverse collection of people involved in the journey are each to tell a tale while the Host offers a reward for the best story. As each character tells his yarn, the others interrupt to ridicule and poke fun, each...more

This is a 14th Century collection of bawdy and cynical poetry written in Middle English, all woven together in the story of a pilgrimage to Thomas Becket's shrine in Canterbury. The diverse collection of people involved in the journey are each to tell a tale while the Host offers a reward for the best story. As each character tells his yarn, the others interrupt to ridicule and poke fun, each trying to outdo each other. Stories are named after the character who tells it and not what the story is actually about. I can see where the context is historical, the language poetic and the stories an important account of literature of the middle ages, however the stories are so over-the-top and are filled with so much rhetoric that they did not hold my interest. I made it through the book pretty quickly since I was not tempted to break down and analyze each story for hidden meaning or context beyond what was given in its introduction. If you enjoy Shakespeare's raucus comedies, then you will probably enjoy these tales if you can follow the Middle English. The version of the book that I read included a modern English translation, which was nice.   hide

This is an interesting book. Some stories are pretty interesting..

An interesting tales full of wit and humor.

Can one ever get tired of Chaucer's witt?

The writing itself is brilliant, of course, but it's anti-semitism and sexism are, for me, difficult to get past. I have to keep reminding myself of the time period it was written during.

I would have loved to have been on this pilgrimage!