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The Canterbury Tales [Blackstone]
- Narrated by: Martin Jarvis, Jay Carnes, Ray Porter, John Lee, Malcolm Hillgartner, Ralph Cosham, Simon Vance
- Length: 20 hrs and 49 mins
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Publisher's summary
Thus we hear, translated into modern English, 20-some tales, told in the voices of knight and merchant, wife and miller, squire and nun, and many more. Some are bawdy, some spiritual, some romantic, some mysterious, some chivalrous. Between the stories, the travelers converse, joke, and argue, revealing much about their individual outlooks on life, as well as what life was like in late 14th-century England.
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He Who Fights with Monsters 2
- A LitRPG Adventure (He Who Fights with Monsters, Book 2)
- By: Shirtaloon, Travis Deverell
- Narrated by: Heath Miller
- Length: 22 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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But Jason Asano is settling into his new life. Now, a contest draws young elites to the city of Greenstone to compete for a grand prize. Jason must gather a band of companions if he is to stand a chance against the best the world has to offer. While the young adventurers are caught up in competition, the city leaders deal with revelations of betrayal as a vast and terrible enemy is revealed. Although Jason seems uninvolved, he has unknowingly crossed the enemy’s path before.
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Contrary to common reviews
- By Karen on 05-21-21
By: Shirtaloon, and others
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The Canterbury Tales
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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If you want to understand the daily life and psychology of the late Middle Ages, Ronald Ecker’s classic translation of The Canterbury Tales provides one of the very best means of doing so. Within its audio is to be found a broad range of society - high and low, male and female, rich and poor - who express their innermost beliefs and extravagant fantasies in a series of stories they tell as they make their way to Canterbury Cathedral.
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The book was better
- By Lana Whited on 08-28-20
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Canterbury Tales
- A New Unabridged Translation by Burton Raffel
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: uncredited
- Length: 22 hrs and 21 mins
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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 Tales gathers 29 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. This unabridged work is based on the new translation.
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Lack of coherant "chapters"
- By Jensophie on 02-24-10
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Canterbury Tales
- Penguin Classics
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer, Nevill Coghill (Translation)
- Narrated by: Lesley Manville, Daniel Weyman, Derek Jacobi, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Canterbury Tales Chaucer created one of the great touchstones of English literature, a masterly collection of chivalric romances, moral allegories and low farce. A story-telling competition between a group of pilgrims from all walks of life is the occasion for a series of tales that range from the Knight's account of courtly love and the ebullient Wife of Bath's Arthurian legend, to the ribald anecdotes of the Miller and the Cook.
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Not over performed but wonderfully performed
- By Michael J. Bernaski on 10-02-24
By: Geoffrey Chaucer, and others
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The Canterbury Tales
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Neville Coghill, Cecil Trouncer, Robert Ross
- Length: 1 hr and 15 mins
- Abridged
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Read in a mixture of Middle-English and modern English, The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.
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Terrible Recording Quality
- By Michael on 09-17-10
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Canterbury Tales: A Retelling
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Keith Moore, Toby Leonard Moore, Colin McPhillamy, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Author Peter Ackroyd has won the Somerset Maugham Award, the Whitbread Novel of the Year, and the Guardian Fiction Prize, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s immortal work, this retelling of The Canterbury Tales follows a party of travelers as they tell stories amongst themselves about love and chivalry, saints and legends, travel and adventure. Through allegory, satire, and humor, the tales help pass the time during their journey.
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WOW
- By Mitchell Drimmer on 02-25-15
By: Peter Ackroyd
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The Canterbury Tales
- The New Translation by Gerald J. Davis
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: John Hanks
- Length: 20 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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The classic collection of beloved tales, both sacred and profane, of travelers in medieval England. Complete and unabridged.
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Excellent.
- By MD on 06-29-21
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Canterbury Tales
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
If you want to understand the daily life and psychology of the late Middle Ages, Ronald Ecker’s classic translation of The Canterbury Tales provides one of the very best means of doing so. Within its audio is to be found a broad range of society - high and low, male and female, rich and poor - who express their innermost beliefs and extravagant fantasies in a series of stories they tell as they make their way to Canterbury Cathedral.
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The book was better
- By Lana Whited on 08-28-20
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
-
The Canterbury Tales
- A New Unabridged Translation by Burton Raffel
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: uncredited
- Length: 22 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
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 Tales gathers 29 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. This unabridged work is based on the new translation.
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Lack of coherant "chapters"
- By Jensophie on 02-24-10
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Canterbury Tales
- Penguin Classics
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer, Nevill Coghill (Translation)
- Narrated by: Lesley Manville, Daniel Weyman, Derek Jacobi, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Canterbury Tales Chaucer created one of the great touchstones of English literature, a masterly collection of chivalric romances, moral allegories and low farce. A story-telling competition between a group of pilgrims from all walks of life is the occasion for a series of tales that range from the Knight's account of courtly love and the ebullient Wife of Bath's Arthurian legend, to the ribald anecdotes of the Miller and the Cook.
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Not over performed but wonderfully performed
- By Michael J. Bernaski on 10-02-24
By: Geoffrey Chaucer, and others
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The Canterbury Tales
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Neville Coghill, Cecil Trouncer, Robert Ross
- Length: 1 hr and 15 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Read in a mixture of Middle-English and modern English, The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.
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Terrible Recording Quality
- By Michael on 09-17-10
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
-
The Canterbury Tales: A Retelling
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Keith Moore, Toby Leonard Moore, Colin McPhillamy, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Author Peter Ackroyd has won the Somerset Maugham Award, the Whitbread Novel of the Year, and the Guardian Fiction Prize, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s immortal work, this retelling of The Canterbury Tales follows a party of travelers as they tell stories amongst themselves about love and chivalry, saints and legends, travel and adventure. Through allegory, satire, and humor, the tales help pass the time during their journey.
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WOW
- By Mitchell Drimmer on 02-25-15
By: Peter Ackroyd
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The Canterbury Tales
- The New Translation by Gerald J. Davis
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: John Hanks
- Length: 20 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall
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The classic collection of beloved tales, both sacred and profane, of travelers in medieval England. Complete and unabridged.
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Excellent.
- By MD on 06-29-21
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Canterbury Tales
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Jack Wynters
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories, written in the Middle English vernacular, supposedly told among a group of pilgrims traveling from London to Canterbury. Chaucer uses the form, possibly based on knowledge of Boccaccio’s Decameron gained on a visit to Italy in 1373, to provide a highly varied portrait of his society, both secular and religious. The journey of the pilgrims, unlike that of, say, Homer’s Odysseus or of Dante in the Divine Comedy, is relatively unimportant compared to the tales themselves, where Chaucer’s true interest lies.
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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Canterbury Tales
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Katie Haigh
- Length: 44 mins
- Abridged
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Geoffrey Chaucer, born around 1340, was the first great English poet. The immense popularity of the "Canterbury Tales" is shown by the number of manuscript copies still in existence. It was one of the first books printed in England. The vividness with which the author describes scenes and events and people, as if he had them before his eyes, is one of his greatest charms as a writer. Those who know him best, place him second only to Shakespeare as a writer of delightful English.
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The General Prologue and The Physician's Tale
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Richard Bebb, Philip Madoc, Michael Maloney
- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The Canterbury Tales, written near the end of Chaucer's life and hence towards the close of the 14th century, is perhaps the greatest English literary work of the Middle Ages: yet it speaks to us today with almost undimmed clarity and relevance.
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Workmanlike reading in clear Middle English
- By Celia on 09-14-08
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Canterbury Tales: The Prioress's Tale (Modern Verse Translation)
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Rosalind Shanks
- Length: 15 mins
- Unabridged
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This is a story from the Canterbury Tales III: Modern Verse Translation collection.
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Canterbury Tales
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Flo Gibson
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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In this first version of Chaucer's classic to be presented in modern English by John Tatlock and Percy Mackay, the tales told by a Miller, a Knight, a Frira, a Nun and many more are often bawdy, bloody and full of religious zeal
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Knight's Tale
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Richard Bebb
- Length: 2 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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The Knight's Tale of medieval wars and chivalry is the first tale told to the pilgrims as they set out to Canterbury. It concerns Theseus, returning from fighting at Thebes, and two brother knights Palamon and Arcite, imprisoned but yearning for their loves. But the real hero of this recording is Richard Bebb who, with the help of Professor Derek Brewer, the leading expert on Chaucerian pronunciation, make the original Middle English not only comprehensible to the modern ear, but exciting.
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Great recording
- By Kotzer on 06-25-19
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Canterbury Tales (Unabridged Selections)
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: David Butler
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Abridged
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This modern English edition of Chaucer's classic begins on a spring day in April. Sometime in the waning years of the 14th century, 29 travelers set out for Canterbury on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Thomas Beckett. Among them are a knight, a monk, a prioress, a plowman, a miller, a merchant, a clerk, and an oft-widowed wife from Bath. Travel is arduous and wearing; to maintain their spirits, this band of pilgrims entertain each other with a series of tall tales.
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Still enjoyable, relevant, and beautiful
- By Sean on 05-27-03
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Canterbury Tales: The Knight's Tale (Modern Verse Translation)
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Edward de Souza
- Length: 55 mins
- Abridged
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This is a story from the Canterbury Tales I: Modern Verse Translation collection. Chaucer's greatest work, written towards the end of the fourteenth century, paints a brilliant picture of medieval life, society and values. The stories range from the romantic, courtly idealism of "The Knight's Tale" to the joyous bawdy of the Miller's; all are told with a freshness and vigor in this modern verse translation that make them a delight to hear.
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The Knight's Tale
- By Asheley on 08-02-18
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis
- By: Louis Markos, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Louis Markos
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
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What can we still learn from C.S. Lewis? Find out in these 12 insightful lectures that cover the author's spiritual autobiography, novels, and his scholarly writings that reflect on pain and grief, love and friendship, prophecy and miracles, and education and mythology.
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Basically a collection of sermons
- By Richard on 11-20-13
By: Louis Markos, and others
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Sir Gawain & the Green Knight
- New Verse Translation
- By: Naxos AudioBooks, Benedict Flynn - translator
- Narrated by: Jasper Britton
- Length: 2 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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A mysterious knight all in green arrives at King Arthur's court and issues a bizarre challenge. Gawain answers the knight - but at what cost? This new translation keeps all the poetic power of the original's extraordinary alliteration. One of the greatest stories of English literature from any period, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a magical, medieval combination of the epic and the uncanny.
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In stori stif and stronge
- By John on 04-10-13
By: Naxos AudioBooks, and others
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The Canterbury Tales
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Philip Madoc, Edward de Souza
- Length: 3 hrs and 21 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
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Chaucer's greatest work, written towards the end of the fourteenth century, paints a brilliant picture of medieval life, society and values. The stories range from the romantic, courtly idealism of "The Knight's Tale" to the joyous bawdy of the Miller's; all are told with a freshness and vigor in this modern verse translation that make them a delight to hear.
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Abridged
- By Tad Davis on 10-28-22
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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Beowulf
- By: Stephen Mitchell
- Narrated by: Stephen Mitchell
- Length: 3 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Stephen Mitchell's marvelously clear and vivid rendering recreates the robust masculine music of the original. It both hews closely to the Old English and captures its wild energy and vitality, not just as a deep "work of literature" but also as a rousing entertainment that can still stir our feelings and rivet our attention today, after more than a thousand years. This new translation - spare, sinuous, vigorous in its narration, and translucent in its poetry - makes a masterpiece accessible to everyone.
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Great translation, weak reading
- By Tad Davis on 10-24-17
By: Stephen Mitchell
What listeners say about The Canterbury Tales [Blackstone]
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tim Coley
- 12-23-14
good collection of stories
Very good performance. some of the tales felt a little rushed. It is odd that some of the tales abruptly end.
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- Kindle Customer
- 10-12-11
This audio is worth the listen
I once owned the Canterbury Tales but I gave it to my local library when I moved, I really liked Canterbury but I did not have the time to reread them, Audio Books makes it possible for me to enjoy this collection again. Thirty travelers, from many walks of life, on a pilgrimage to the shrine at Canterbury are invited by the Tabard Inn keeper to tell stories that he will judge in exchange for a free meal when the winner returns. The travelers tell their stories covering many topics which are narrated by Martin Jarvis and Jay Carnes both doing justice to Geoffrey Chaucer works. This version of Canterbury is worth hearing and one I will come back to in the future, it is a keeper.
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12 people found this helpful
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- James B. Rich
- 08-07-12
Epitome of what an audio book should be!
A Middle-English classic in the tradition of the Decameron, a series of storied told by a wide cross-section of 15th century English men & women. Terrific story telling, wonderful reading and a translation that maintains the rhythms and syntax of the original. Listening to the readers I found it simple to follow the original Middle English.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Rebecca
- 03-31-13
Literary History that I'm Glad I've Read
Not what I expected. I knew it was about a group of pilgrims going to Canterbury and of course I'd heard of some of the bawdier tales.
The variety of styles are fabulous - some more high-tone, and others lively and humorous. I'm wondering if this is the first documentation of fart jokes?
Many of the religious tales are criticism of the church - carnal priests, the church selling "indulgences", unchristian rants.
And then the Parson's tale at the end seems to almost negate the former and begs people to repent and guard against the seven deadly sins. After that, Chaucer has a brief ending that asks for God's mercy and begs forgiveness. I thought - "what the heck was that?" and actually was pleased to read that many others reacted the same way.
This book has modern language - and it was still difficult - especially with some tales - like the Parson's being over 3 hours with much lecturing and quoting of Greek and Roman philosophers and the scriptures. Still - a piece of history that I'm glad I have read.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Temecula Preparatory School
- 10-25-11
why this book
the book shows how the gruop of people that were complete strangers can get along on the way to canterbury
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1 person found this helpful
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- John
- 12-15-21
Superb Narration, Random Navigation
Giving each Canterbury pilgrim their own distinctive voice is an editorial choice so logical, it beats me why this is the only recording to do it. Every performance here is simply superb.
So it's a pity the navigation isn't. Why is the Knight’s Tale broken into eleven seemingly random fragments? And every other tale suffers similar dismemberment. Ah, well. Even with all that hunting and pecking among the “chapters”, this is still well worth the credit.
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- Reviewer786
- 01-20-14
A classic of many poetic tales.
From a literary perspective this book was a work of art, from a personal perspective I both hated and loved The Canterbury Tales.
Literarily, most of the book was in poem. Rhythm and rhymes of various sorts added all the enoyable but relatively meaningless cues to listen for. In a sense, the poetry almost added an element of song to the storyline. Although at times, regular prose was used without rhyme, which seemed to resemble some of the elements of rational composition as in essay format.
The setting was of old England, and the main setting was actually a platform for storytelling. And so from the main setting numerous stories were told. Stories of knights, kings, law, religion, sailing, commerce, battle, treachery, and many more human situations were all told in varying styles. A lot of old English words made interpretation a challenge at times, but the descriptions and plots were so highly developed as to make the effort worthwhile.
My favorites were of adventure and trustworthy reason, and least favorites were of grossness and manipulative reason. Possibly the most hated was the judgemental fanatic who would first describe a great or majestic thing, and then try to position himself as the benevolate giver of that thing, and then add a bunch of ridiculous conditions merged with tortorous language. When in reality all he did was say words, and I found myself having to repeatedly reclaim the words, and blockade the storyteller from any object of thought, so not to have a good concept ruined by such ruthless tactics.
All in all, I enjoyed the book, and feel the entire range of human experience was somehow included. For one author to be able to change into and out of such modes, and write them in poetry with such an array of words, tells me why Chaucer is such a highly regarded author throughout the world's times.
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- Dawn
- 03-11-09
Perfect for grad students
I purchased this audiobook to listen to as I read the Tales in Middle English for a graduate level seminar in Chaucer. Listening to this translation brought a deeper level of understanding to my studies. The translators' voices and tones fit perfectly with the tales they related. I enjoyed this experience immensely, and would recommend it to any student of Medieval Literature.
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54 people found this helpful
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- Jefferson
- 06-14-10
A Perfect Canterbury Tales from Many Voices
The fourteen readers of The Canterbury Tales are excellent in changing their inflection, tone, and register to suit whatever is happening in their tales. Thus the ribald tales and insulting exchanges between pilgrims are funny, the tragic tales moving, and the virtuous tales uplifting. Nicholson's translation into modern English seems accurate enough; he maintains much of Chaucer's language and rhymes. At the same time, it is easy to follow the tales because of the fine readers, the clear translation, and Chaucer's natural storytelling.
The tales and their prologues and epilogues (in which the pilgrims comment on the tales and each other) are fascinating and enjoyable and depict the full range of human folly (sanctimonious con men friars, corrupt judges, cuckolded husbands, lickerish wives, drunken cooks, and crooked millers) and goodness (noble courtly lovers, wise wives, faithful husbands, self-sacrificing virgins, and pure saints). The variety of tales is also impressive: beast fables, ribald jokes, sermons, parables, romances, and so on. They give a priceless glimpse into various Medieval English occupations, lifestyles, and philosophies.
In short, if you're interested in Chaucer's tales, the Middle Ages, fine readings of good poetry, and life, or if you're studying the original Middle English version, I recommend this audiobook.
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36 people found this helpful
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- Grant
- 03-23-14
Beautiful production; mixed bag for modern folks
The work is beautifully performed by multiple readers, who all do a marvelous job. The text has been modernized for contemporary readers, but still retains little touches of middle English vocabulary and pronunciation here and there. These touches are enough to give the text some period flavor, but not so much as to obscure understanding; meaning is generally clear enough from context.
As far as the text goes, well, despite it's being a classic, it is a bit of a mixed bag for the modern listener. Some parts are just a lot less enjoyable than others. Say the material falls into three categories. First, there are parts that are universal and timeless, and can be easily and fully appreciated by a modern reader. A second group is still enjoyable but is noticeably less accessible. The reader who is not familiar with the period may miss significant amounts of nuance and references unless they are prepared to do a little extra work (say, a quick whiz thru Wikipedia. Third, there are a couple of selections that are impenetrable or just a bore unless you have very specialized tastes or knowledge or both. So just be warned that a few of the tales (and some are not even really stories) will leave you impatient to move on to the next selection.
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