![]() Hopper's translation includes the prologue and tales told by the Knight, the Prioress, the Nun's Priest, the Pardoner, the Wife of Bath and the Franklin.Īs I worked my way through this version of Chaucer it quickly became clear to me that I wanted to read more of the tales in the original, but that I would still need a little help with Middle English. ![]() It is extremely easy to scan both nearly simultaneously and before you know it, you'll be reading the original without much effort. ![]() Each line is shown in the original in Times New Roman and the translation just below it in italic typeface. Published in 1948 it is a great way to teach yourself Middle English and get a feel for the Tales in the original. Vincent Hopper produced in this small volume a very helpful, highly readable, very close translation of six of the original twenty-four Canterbury Tales, along with the famed prologue. I tried Peter Ackroyd's retelling, which I cannot recommend, and then turned to this as a bridge back to the original And the language! It is so rich and inventive, changing as each character tells his tale. ![]() I was struck by how cheerful the whole thing was-bawdy, funny, touching and full of memorable characters. Having recently finished Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror, I was eager to revisit Chaucer and get a feel for the literature of the calamitous 14th century. ![]()
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