Review
'Written in a lucid and elegant style, Wetherbee's book has lost nothing of its worth during the fifteen years that have elapsed since it was first published. It provides a useful and thought-provoking commentary to the Tales not only for university students or general readers but also for specialists.' Anglia
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Book Description
A modern playscript adaptation of some of Chaucer's fine Tales
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Paperback
edition.
Product Description
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 Canterbury Tales" gather 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. A graceful modren translation facing each page of the text allows the contemporary reader to enjoy the fast pace of these selections from "The Canterbury Tales" with the poetry of the Middle English original always at first hand.
Book Description
This textbook series provides concise and lucid introductions to major works of literature, from classical antiquity to the twentieth century. Each book provides close reading of the text, as well as giving a full account of its historical, cultural and intellectual background, a discussion of its influence, and further reading.
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From the Publisher
Contains a selection of the most popular tales, freshly rendered in a lively, accessible translation. Thoroughly edited and extensively annotated. Lavishly produced on natural, high-quality paper, and affordably priced.
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edition.
From the Back Cover
Chaucer's tale of his motley band of travellers on their pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas a Becket have become legendary and still represent, in John Dryden's words, "God's plenty."
The Canterbury Tales, compiled in the late fourteenth century, is an incisive portrait, infused with Chaucer's wry wit and vibrant, poetical languauge. He evokes a spectrum of colourful characters, from the bawdy Wife of Bath to the gallant Knight, the fastidious Prioress and the burly, drunken Miller. As they wend their way from Southwark to Canterbury, tales are told to pass the time, and the stories are as diverse as the narrators, encompassing themes such as adultery, revenge, courtly love, lechery, avarice and penitence.
As humorous today as when it was written over six centuries ago, The Canterbury Tales remains one of the most popular and enjoyable of the classic works of literature.
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About the Author
Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1343-1400) was an English author, poet, philosopher, bureaucrat courtier and diplomat. Sometimes called the father of English literature, Chaucer is credited by some scholars as being the first author to demonstrate the artistic legitimacy of the vernacular English language, rather than French or Latin. He wrote many works but is best know for The Canterbury Tales.
Colin Wilcockson was educated at Chigwell School and Merton College, Oxford, where he read English Language and Literature. In 1973, he was elected to a Fellowship at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he was for many years Director of Studies in English and in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic. He has published books, articles and reviews mainly on Medieval and Renaissance literature (he is one of the editors of The Riverside Chaucer), and on the twentieth-century Anglo-Welsh poet and artist, David Jones. He also publishes poetry. He is now an Emeritus Fellow of Pembroke College.
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Paperback
edition.