David Wright's translation of The Canterbury Tales into modern
verse--the first to appear in over thirty years--makes one of the
greatest works of English literature accessible to all readers while
preserving the wit and vivacity of Chaucer's original text.
The Canterbury Tales
Chaucer, G & Wright D (1390 & 1985). [Genre: collection]
Source: own copy
The
Canterbury Tales were a surprise for me. I honestly didn’t expect to
enjoy them as much as I did, it was more one of those books I’d included
on my Classics Club list in
an effort to make myself more ‘well-rounded’ (plus I don’t really like
having copies of books on my shelves for years that I’ve never read). So
I went into it thinking it would be my ‘alternate’ book and I’d read a
tale or a section of tales in-between other
books. Of course, I got suckered in and ended up reading it almost
exclusively.
I
think in all honesty part of my enjoyment was caused by reading a
modern translation (the acclaimed Oxford World Classics translation by
poet David Wright). Wright does a beautiful job of retaining the poetry of the
original and shows quite the mastery of the English language. He also
doesn’t try to soften or alter the contents of the tale in any way other
than to bring the language into a more modern
form – it’s obvious how careful he’s been.
Then
of course there are the tales themselves. I inevitably enjoyed some
more than others, and in many cases was shocked by just how sexually
graphic some were! The ones I
enjoyed most were:
The
Knight’s Tale – a really traditional medieval tale of courtly love,
which bought me straight back to my university history lectures on
medieval storytelling
The
Wife of Bath’s Tale – the tale itself is a nice retelling of a
longstanding legend, but I enjoyed this one just as much for the
discussion of feminine and wifely roles in
the prologue, and how this discussion effects the tales that follow
(which are often related to the relationship between husband and wife,
and feminine roles in particular).
The
Merchant’s Tale – although rather blue, I found this tale of an
aristocrat who takes a young wife and finds himself cuckolded
surprisingly funny.
The
Clerk’s Tale – reminiscent of Job, a husband tests his every faithful
wife’s loyalty in increasingly cruel ways. I found Griselda’s loyalty
gorgeously touching and although
her husband’s methods are awful, the overall message is a good one.
The ones I enjoyed the least?
The Squire’s Tale – I was actually really enjoying this one, and then it just ended. Oh why couldn’t Chaucer have finished it!!
The
Monk’s Tale – Ugh. Not really a tale, rather just a list of heroic
figures that had tragic ends, that continues until the host (rightly)
tells him to stop being so depressing.
The Canterbury Tales ticks another book off my 2014 TBR pile challenge list, my Classics Club list, and I'm counting it in the 'Classic in translation' category for the Back to the Classics challenge.
Oh, I will look for this edition of The Canterbury Tales. I like what you say about Wright's translation. And congrats on hitting three challenges at once.
ReplyDeleteWrights translation is definitely a goodie!
DeleteThanks so much for reviewing this. I've been a bit afraid to tackle this book and am glad to know about this version.
ReplyDeleteIt was very readable, a great option if you're intimidated by the language
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