Geoffrey Chaucer Books

The Canterbury Tales have always been on the "should-have" list for me, but except when compelled by a rigorous English class, I've avoided them. Only the memory of the adulterous Alison and her mischief stuck with me.

This book has rekindled my interest in reading The Canterbury Tales, for three reasons:

1. It balances the middle English quotations with several different editions and citations, so that I could actually pick an edition I'd probably like and read. How can I not like a work that features, and skewers, adultery, cheating, high-minded hypocrisy, and avarice in all its forms--and tunes my ear to my own native tongue, to boot?

2. West's thin and few references to Chaucer's biographical details hold the story together just enough to provide context for his contention about Chaucer's eminence in inventing English, an accolade often awarded to Shakespeare. What West has offered is not a biography of Chaucer, but a biography of English language development in the context of then-recent historical events. West offers some provocative thoughts about why Chaucer elected to tell the tale as he did. I agree with some, disagree with others, but West has made me think about what I took for granted.

3. I've never felt comfortable with the argument raging today about "dead white males" and why we study them, although I can see reason on both sides. West's overall achievement in this book justifies why Chaucer merits study--regardless of his sex, race, and national origin.

This won't satisfy if you need a biography, but if you've been frustrated by the middle English of The Canterbury Tales, this is an excellent guidebook to many very good translations--and to the Tales themselves.

The title is a little misleading. West does not focus on many of the more mundane aspects of Chaucer's life, nor does he spend much time in biographical matters (of which we know little). Rather, "Chaucer" is a wonderful introduction to the cultural and literary settings in which the great poet wrote.

West's "Chaucer" is an engaging introduction to the works of the man--great for beginners--but is not an academic work, or even a thorough, critical analysis on Chaucer's writings.

We know more about Chaucer than Shakespeare. Sure, Will gets all the press and accolades for his works in Modern English. "Modern", relative to Chaucer, anyway. Today's average reader can still dope out the Elizabethan English, even if he has to keep a dictionary handy or read a few footnotes. But reading Chaucer in the original idiom of "Middle" English requires extensive aids, such as a modern translation or enrollment in an upper-level college class.

Thus, other than the Prologue and maybe a Canterbury Tale or two (esp. the Miller's Tale), Chaucer is underappreciated as a writer whose works survived 600 years.

But Chaucer deserves a lot of literary credit as well. Chaucer, for example, set the stage for the modern novel. He was, to quote the author, "not just a pioneer but part of mainstream of European literature. . . [Chaucer] became a model or inspiration to subsequent poets, esp. Shakespeare. Troilus [and Cressida], even more than Canterbury Tales, allows us to think of Chaucer as a pioneer of the novel."

Readers of West's book will appreciate Chaucer as an innovator of the written word. In addition, the reader will learn a great deal about Chaucer's cultural and historical milieu. There are chapters dealing with the Black Plague and the Civil War of his time. Interestingly, the Plague seems less important, notwithstanding the opinion of another historian, Barbara Tuchmann.

Chaucer's life was intertwined with Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V, whose lives were put on stage by the greatest playwright of all time who put these words in the mouth of Chaucer's patron, "Old John of Gaunt, time-honored Lancaster": "For gnarling sorrow hath less power to bite The man that mocks at it and sets it light."

Perhaps he had Chaucer in mind.

While the author writes well and entertainingly, I had made the fatal assumption when I ordered this book that something subtitled <> would, in fact, discuss his life.

However, the book mentions Chaucer's wife only once in the main text, plus a mention in the chronology -- and doesn't even acknowledge that Chaucer had three known children, let alone discuss them -- though he does have a one-liner about the birth of Thomas Chaucer in the chronology. The cbronology, BTW, says Thomas was the first-born. An old book (1970s) I have says the first-born was Elizabeth. If that's been discredited, a short paragraph would have been most useful.

A book which omits the most important people in a subject's life is, to my mind, most definitely not a <> The omission is, for me, most frustrating, because there is or was a controversy about the paternity of Thomas Chaucer and perhaps Elizabeth on which I assumed this book would provide the latest insights.

I gave up about halfway through. IMO, the real subject of this book is a lengthy backgrounder on Chaucer's poetry. When my interest in what influenced Chaucer revives (as it frequently does), perhaps I'll give it another try.

Chaucer: 1340-1400, The Life And Times Of The First English Poet is an engaging new portrait of the life and times of Geoffrey Chaucer whose career included courtly offices situated him at the center of cultural activity in medieval London, and whose poetry became a primary force in the evolution of modern English. Richard West is a distinguished journalist who has meticulously researched Chaucer's life and blends biography with history and literary criticism into a coherent presentation of a literary genius who survived the Black Death as a child, fought in France during the Hundred Years War, was a diplomat to Italy, served in the English court during the Peasants' Revolt and murder of Richard II -- and whose central work, The Canterbury Tales, illuminated the nature of human life in the Middle Ages in such a way as to capture the respect and attention of readers for more than six hundred years. Highly recommended, essential reading for students of Chaucer and his writings.

I agree with previous reviewers--this edition has become far too expensive. A few years ago I was THRILLED to discover such a fabulous text, lighter than the Riverside (I ruined my knees carrying that thing around as an undergrad), for only 40 dollars. It became my standard teaching text. And now suddenly it's up to sixty-two? Houghton Mifflin has obviously been taking some lessons from Harry Bailey.

As a college teacher, I love this text, but also won't assign it because it is too expensive. It is virtually the same price as the complete Oxford Riverside Chaucer.

In Chaucer's work, 'The Canterbury Tales', perhaps the greatest of English literary works from the period of the language known as Middle English, there is one particular piece that have always stood out for me.

'A Clerk ther was of Oxenford also,'

This is perhaps my favourite character, as when I first read it, it seemed to epitomise what I hoped for in my own life.

'That unto logik hadde longe y-go.
....
For him was lever have at his beddes heed
Twenty bokes, clad in blak or reed,

Of Aristotle and his philosophye,
Than robes riche, of fithele, or gay sautrye,
But al be that he was a philosophre,
Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre,
But al that he mighte of his freendes hente,
On bokes and on lerninge he it spente,
and bisily gan for the soules preye
Of hem that yaf him wherwith to scoleye.
....
...gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.'

Every now and then I cannot help but re-read this part of the Prologue, for a reminder of what I'm aiming for in my own life.

Chaucer was son of a wine merchant, something near and dear to my heart. Chaucer was well-read, well-phrased, well-mannered, industrious in literary and legal/administrative pursuits, as I trust I will become, if not already so qualified.

As one can see from the above examples, English has changed much over the past 600 years, but not so much as to make these passages unrecognisable. Compare for yourself with a modern translation, and see how much you can decipher.

Chaucer is one of the first great English authors of name; most (but not all) literary output in English prior to this time was anonymous. Living in the 1300s, he held administrative posts of importance under Kings from the time of Edward III to Henry IV. Never one to shrink from spending too much money (he had to reapply for pensions and ask for advances several times in his life) or shying away from controversy (he fell out of and came back into favour several times). When he died, he was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey, in a section on the south side that has since become Poet's Corner, largely due to Chaucer, the first great English poet, having been buried there.

In addition to his magnus opus, 'The Canterbury Tales', a collection of stories with prologue told by pilgrims on their journey to Canterbury (car radios and in-flight movies were rare in those days), Chaucer wrote minor poems to suit various occasions (his first record as poet comes from having written a poem as elegy on the death of John of Gaunt's first wife, Blanche, in 1369), and the major work for which he was noted for 'Troilus and Criseyde', which showed his sense of humour, power of observation and attention to detail, and keen dramatic skills in language. This work is often compared to Dante and Boccaccio, perhaps the most famous poets of the day. 'The Canterbury Tales' is actually intended to be much longer - 120 tales told by 30 pilgrims (two each on the way to Canterbury, and two each returning). As it is, there are only 24 tales plus a prologue - had it been completed, it would be by far the longest poem in the English language.

There is a strong, practical side to Chaucer's writing, sophisticated yet not aloof and removed from the affairs of the world, cultured yet in tune with the better (and more interesting) aspects of the common people, too.

This edition by Larry Benson is designed for those who only want the Canterbury Tales, not the other writings of Chaucer, but want a set of the complete tales and prologue from standard texts. This comes from the Riverside Chaucer, with introductory notes explaining plot, versification, and various issues that might arise in the translation of the tales. The indexes include one for proper names. There is also a timeline showing Chaucer's life that is handy for students.

For those who want the Canterbury Tales in good form, this is a good volume to get.

This edition of the Canterbury Tales, edited by Larry Benson, is superb. It is based on the Riverside Chaucer, Third Edition (also edited by Benson) and is as authoritative as you can get. It's greatest attribute is the presentation of a highly readable text that will be appreciated by scholars and lovers of Chaucer of all levels. It's beautifully glossed, but in an unobtrusive manner that allows the language to sing off the page without any unneccesary interruptions; the copious (and useful) vocab and grammar notes are clearly marked by line and placed below the body text, thus one can read (aloud preferably!) at one's own pace without being constantly interrupted. The placement and economy of the notes also makes for a clear presentation and a great reading text that allows one to approach the Tales at one's own pace. Highly informative and entertaining essays on Chaucer's life, outlining the history and conext in which he lived and wrote, and on the language and versification of the Tales introduce the volume and provide an excellent jumping off point into the them. The latter essay is a decent - albeit brief - introduction to reading and pronounciation of the Middle English that Chaucer employs in the Tales, but it is far from comprehensive in that it confines its survey to just the Tales. Although covering only the most basic elements thereof while paying scant attention to the nuances of inflection and grammar (and, again, variations and specifics of Middle English in general and Chaucer's language in his other works), it is still a great gateway, especially for the novice reader of Chaucer who wishes to engage the author and the work in their original vernacular. And this is really where this edition acheives - it presents a highly readable and accesible version of Chaucer's masterpiece and allows readers of all levels to approach the poem(s) on their own terms, unencumbered by an intrusive or burdensome sholarly apparatus. In other words, one can approach the Tales with just enough context, historically and linguistically, to engage with it in a manner as close to possible as a fluent reader of Middle English would have. And the perfect balance between inspiring the novice reader to venture forth independently and the superior guidance that is readily available with just a quick glance toward the bottom of the page, will undoubtadly improve one's reading and comprehension of Middle English. Scholars of all levels will appreciate and enjoy this edition. Larry Benson (still teaching at Harvard, by the way) is one of the great Chaucerians and has given us one of the best editions of Chaucer available - one that is equally beneficial and interesting to both the student and the layman. The point is, you can't outgrow this one. If anything, you can grow into it. What more could one want?

Based on the Riverside Chaucer, this edition is the critical text of Chaucer's *Canterbury Tales.* It is accompanied by glosses of the Middle English at the bottom of the page, a useful glossary, and explanatory notes that guide the reader to further criticism. All of the above make it a good trustworthy teaching text as well as a resource for the serious amateur reader who wants to get to know Chaucer's most famous poem in its own language.

The price of the book, however, is a scandal. I teach Chaucer, and I'm embarrassed to assign a flimsy paperback like this to my students, expecting them to pay $55 for it. If perchance someone from Houghton Mifflin ever happens to read this review, please revisit the question of how you price textbooks like this one. Next time around I'm planning to use the Norton Critical edition; it may not have all twenty-four tales (it has fifteen), but the glosses are better, and it also includes a rich offering of primary contexts (Boccaccio, Petrarch, the Romance of the Rose, etc.) and criticism. And it costs less than $15.

Why read Chaucer? Well, in the first place for the beauty and masculine vigor of his English, an English one soon catches on to after a bit of practice. Why else? Well, because Chaucer was intensely human and his stories are interesting, and are either truly poignant or richly comic and sometimes even both. Also for the rich gallery of unforgettable human types his stories bring before us.

Of course, Chaucer isn't for everyone. Those with no feeling for his language and no sense of humor, and whose own humanity is not their strongest point, may lack what is needed to appreciate Chaucer at his true worth.

And in the presence of critical editions such as the present one, there is a danger of forgetting that so much of Chaucer's power is in the sheer music of his lines. Those new to Chaucer would be well advised to learn how to read Middle English _aloud_ as soon as possible by listening to one of the many excellent recordings. If they were to do this they'd soon find their pleasure in Chaucer magnified enormously.

Excellent background materials. The price is right for most college students. The vast chronological distance between ourselves and Chaucer demands that we learn more of his world than we do of contemporary writers and the selections of Boccaccio go a long way toward facilitating this. Much more has to be asked of students than to merely put Chaucer into one's own words. We need to ask why Chaucer would want to put these words to paper. And this edition can get that process of historical investigation going.

This edition is designed for those coming to the Middle English for the first time. All the difficulties are glossed, usually on the same line in italics. Far more glossing than any other edition. The spelling has also been regularized so that the same word is spelt the same each time. There are other aids as well: past participles are set as y-clept not yclept, and there are footnotes for particularly difficult lines.

While this is a wonder of words, a piece completely in poetry form, this is perhaps the worst book I have ever read. Unless you are a lit major or have a lot of free time on your hands and can sit through pointless speeches consisting of endless pointless description, buy anything else.

Rather than read selections from the Canterbury Tales in a modern English translation, the beginning reader of medieval literature would do much better to read this attractive and well glossed edition of the original. The carefully chosen background materials also , esp. the primary texts, usefully orient the reader in Chaucer's contemporary literary and ideological tradtions. Chaucer is a magnificent poet; he is a master storyteller, funny, humble, complex. Chaucer gives Shakespeare a run for his money.

As an undergraduate my Chaucer lecturer began his lectures on 'The Knight's Tale' with a ringing (and unconvincing) denunciation of Terry Jones' thesis. If his intention was to discourage us from believing Jones, he failed. Several of us raced to the library to get our hands on Jones' book and I remember reading it eagerly and finding it entirely convincing.

Years later, with a great deal more experience in litrary analysis and a far greater knowledge of Chaucer under my belt, I re-read Jones and was surprised to find his thesis rathe more threadbare. It is still a provocative and entertaining book, and one which shook up the usually somnolent field of Chaucer studies, but his central thesis simply doesn't stand up to detailed scrutiny. His work has some serious and ultimately fatal flaws.

Firstly, Jones argues we should not just look at where the Knight fought, but where he didn't fight. Why no mention of him fighting in France like a good English knight? He must, argues Jones, be a mercenary. But it's hard to see how Chaucer could be indicating this with a list of *Crusading* campaigns. The heartlands of mercenary activity in the 14th Century were in the endless wars in Italy, so why doesn't Chaucer have his mercenary knight fighting there? Jones himself constantly refers to examples of mercenaries in Italy to illustrate many of his points, but never explains why this supposedly archetypal mercenary didn't campaign there.

Secondly, Jones goes to great lengths to argue that the crusades the Knight took part in were not noble, chivalric and virtuous ventures, but actually grubby, savage and often futile affairs. This may be true from a modern person's perspective, but what Jones (who has an admitted anti-Church bias) thinks about these campaigns is irrelevant - it's how they were seen in Chaucer's time that is important. And, unfortunately for Jones' thesis, in Chaucer's time they simply *were* seen as noble, chivalric and virtuous ventures.

Thirdly, Jones devotes a great deal of attention to the Knight's appearance, saying this is an obvious clue to his mercenary status. "One might expect a glorious figure in shining armour, with banners flying, a dragon on his shield and a crested helm glinting in the sun.' he argues. Instead, we have a figure in a fustian gypon stained with rust. Again, this argument is weak. A chivalric paragon may have worn armour and carried banners on campaign, but the Knight was on a pilgrimage. He goes on to argue that the Knight's fustian 'gypon' is a sign that the Knight is poor and that it is stained by his mail 'habergeon' because, unlike a real knight, he doesn't wear a coat of plates or breastplate and fauld over his mail and under his gypon or surcoat. He goes on to present evidence that Italian mercenaries went into battle more lightly armed in this manner, but that some form of plate over the mail shirt was ubiquitous for knights in this period. But Jones is simply wrong on that last point, however, and the Alliterative Morte Arthur depicts an arming scene where no less a chivalric paragon than King Arthur himself wears a gypon directly over his mail.

Fourthly, Jones completely ignores the Squire, who is the Knight's son and whose description follows that of the Knight in the 'General Prologue'. In stark contrast to his father, the Squire is presented as fashionably and brightly dressed in the latest style, with great emphasis on his up to-date hairstyle and courtly manners. Unlike his father, the younger man has fought not for the sake of Christendom, but 'in hope to stonden in his lady grace.' (GP l. 88). His campaign was 'in Flaundres, in Artoys and Pycardie' (GP l. 86) - most probably a reference to the 'Pseudo-crusade' of Bishop Henry Despencer in 1383. Unlike his father's crusading campaigns, the Squire took part in one that was widely condemned at the time and regarded as a debasement of the crusading ideal. Jones argues that Chaucer tends to be wry and satirical in his characterisation, but forgets that three of his characters - the Knight, the Parson and the Ploughman - seem to be paragons representing the Three Estates, while it is the *other* characters who stand in satirical relation to them.

Jones' book is provocative and highly readable, but in many places it seems he is straining to find something - anything - to support his ideas while skating over alternative interpretations. For this reason (and not academic snobbery) his thesis has been largely rejected, though his book has been welcomed. This book is recommended, but it should be read with due caution.

This is an epic diagnosis of a character in Chaucer's Canterberry Tales. Not for the casual reader, this in depth study of the character and his times is done in a professional (non comedic)manner.

I have been teaching Chaucer for over ten years and believe Jones' book on Chaucer's knight to be an excellent example of literary criticism that debunks the standard view of Chaucer's knight. I am surprised that I have such difficulty finding the book. One would think that it would be available for every student studying Chaucer. As the first character in the prologue, the understanding of the knight sets the tone for the entire work. Jones' research enticed me to do some research on my own. His book made me look at the other characters with a jaundiced eye, and I found the entire work of The Canterbury Tales to be a medieval version of "Saturday Night Live." I am now in love with Chaucer because of Jones. The book is worth the read for any student studying Chaucer. Jones makes the medieval world come alive with solid facts to support his perspective.

Terry Jones reveals Chaucer's Knight to be a Thug-for-Hire. He cogently explains the historical background, the concept of "chivalrie" in the 14th century, and in his own words, explains a 600 year old joke. The book is written with both style and wit. It is on solid ground for the most part, but does omit some data about the Knight's contemporaries, some of which behaved just as disgracefully but were members of the leading nobility rather than ignoble mercenaries.

A summary:

English teachers universally take the description "Parfit Gentle Knight" at face value. Chaucer's contemporaries would have had quite a different view.

A good analagy: what would someone in 2600 make of the following description of a "Good 20th Century Soldier".

*Being "Highly decorated", with both the Silver Star and Order of Lenin.

*Having more kills than any other sniper in Sarajevo or Beirut.

*With being there when Kuwait City was won, and having brought back much loot to Baghdad than anyone else.

*Wearing an unidentifiable uniform with no rank or army insignia, and carrying a Chinese-made AK-47 loaded with dum-dum bullets and no serial number.

*Being an expert Boxer, who's killed every opponent who faced him in the ring.

*And he's served in more places than any other soldier, in Colombia, Chechnya, the Golden Triangle and the Ivory Coast.

A must-read for anyone studying Chaucer.

There is quite an array of voices in this production with authentic-sounding accents. Very animated without being over done. I wouldn't let kids listen to the Wive's Tale, however; it is pretty risque.

Not a complete version. This is Volume II which contains The Wife of Bath's Tale, The Clerk's Tale, The Reeve's Tale, and The Nun's Priest's Tale.

Unfortunately, I had to read this book for a class on Chaucer. The book is an unbiased, fact-filled historical account of what is known about Geoffrey Chaucer. It includes a mind-numbing string of references to actual documents related to Chaucer, anything that mentioned him. It is not exciting. It is not fun to read. The good thing is that the author does not take it upon himself to make Chaucer into some kind of hero, or super-poet.

Dr. Pearsall's Chaucerian Biography is an excellent critical biography that will serve the serious Chaucer scholar well in getting a better acquaintance with biographical contexts in the study of "The Canterbury Tales" as well as other of Chaucer's great poetic works. Pearsall's detailed approach to biographical and literary matters coupled with the fact that he does not conjecture about biographical material makes this edition a wonderful addition to the work on Chaucer scholarship

"Astronomical Lore in Chaucer" is a pretty interesting idea for a book, but buyers should be aware that this is a reprint of a book first published in 1919. This was after Einstein's first papers on relativity were published, but long before the idea of the "Big Bang" was a hot topic. Astronomy has progressed a lot since 1919. So, the author makes occasional statements about astronomy that will rest uneasily in the mind of the alert reader. Also -- social science in general was a very different scene in 1919 than it is today, so be prepared for some statements you may actually find offensive.

That said, the writing style is pleasantly, rollingly Edwardian, reminiscent of Saki or Olaf Stapledon, and the book is packed with intriguing notions. In Chaucer's day, astronomy and astrology were not differentiated, so let's just say the science isn't always overwhelmingly hardcore. Nevertheless, Chaucer was apparently considered an expert with the medieval astrolabe, so he did have things to say that were actually cutting-edge science in the 14th century.

The book is divided into four sections, dealing with I.)Astronomy in the Middle Ages, II.)Chaucer's Scientific Knowledge, III.)Chaucer's Cosmology, IV.)Chaucer's Astronomy, and finally V.)Astronomical Lore in Chaucer. The actual quotes don't really kick in until chapter two. There are many entertaining, illuminating little passages sprinkled throughout this highly neato book. All you need to be wary of is the fact that the book is a little out of date, and then you can relax and enjoy it. Two thumbs up.

By happenstance, I started listening to The Canterbury Tales on Palm Sunday, the same day that the narration begins. As I pulled out of my driveway on an April morning, I had Chaucer's famous description of spring in my ears as a Christian procession marched by, led by a bag-pipe player. I was on a trek to Niagara Falls, but I was hearing the account of a different sort of pilgrimage, written 600 years ago, but still sounding beautiful to the ear. In fact, I much preferred listening to these tales rather than reading them silently myself from the page. This is poetry, and the scansion and lyricism can easily get lost as the modern reader struggles with the early spellings and olden vocabulary. Be advised that the first tale, that of the knight, is extraordinarily long, formalistic, predictable, and maybe even just kind of boring. It must be a purposeful tip of Chaucer's funny-looking hat to the epic poetry of Homer. But don't give up early! Chaucer rewards the patient with the following tale from the miller which is the exact opposite--short, mean, and bawdy! You'll be shocked at just how old some of the English language's four-letter words are. This pattern continues as Chaucer has each of his pilgrims take turns telling stories in their own voice, and the diversity and contrast is enjoyable. BEWARE: Although this is advertised as an unabridged reading, I was dubious when I saw its rather short length. After listening to the entire program, I looked at my very thick printed version and found several tales there that were not included in the audio reading. Nonetheless, such editing may be for the best--except for purists and academics--as this version certainly offers the lay reader/listener a representative sample of what Chaucer could do with an earlier version of our language.

This is a great edition of the prologue, the illustrations really accent the story very well.

My teenage son is currently studying Chaucer for his English literature class and is having a blast learning the Middle English and even older English phrases used in Chaucer's original writings. I am impressed because he usually hates literature, so aces to Davis for creating such a great motivating helpmate. (I have been using it, too, and it makes the translations easy and comprehension much better - wish I had had this when I was in high school),