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The Canterbury Tales: A Prose Version in Modern English (Vintage Classics)
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About The Canterbury Tales: A Prose Version In Modern
Product Description A clear modern prose translation of Chaucer’s masterpiece of Middle English storytelling by the acclaimed poet David Wright. The Canterbury Tales has entertained readers for centuries, with its comic animal fables, moral allegories, miniature epics of courtly love, and rollicking erotic farces that bring fourteenth-century England to life on every page. The gloriously varied stories, narrated by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, are peopled with saints, sinners, and ordinary mortals in a vivid panorama of the medieval world. This prose translation renders these tales as accessible and irresistible to modern readers as they were to Chaucer’s contemporaries. Review “A delight . . . [Raffel’s translation] provides more opportunities to savor the counterpoint of Chaucer’s earthy humor against passages of piercingly beautiful lyric poetry.”— Kirkus Reviews “Masterly . . . This new translation beckons us to make our own pilgrimage back to the very wellsprings of literature in our language.” —Billy Collins “ The Canterbury Tales has remained popular for seven centuries. It is the most approachable masterpiece of the medieval world, and Mr. Raffel’s translation makes the stories even more inviting.” —Wall Street Journal About the Author GEOFFREY CHAUCER (1343–1400) was England’s most famous medieval poet and writer, sometimes called the father of English literature. DAVID WRIGHT (1920–1994) was born in South Africa and died in England. He was a poet who drew inspiration from Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales, both of which he translated into modern English. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. The Knight’s Tale The old legends tell us there was once a Duke called Theseus who was lord and ruler of Athens. In his time there was no mightier conqueror under the sun. He had overrun many rich kingdoms, and by his generalship and knightly valour had conquered the land of the Amazons, then called Scythia, and wedded Hippolyta their queen, whom he brought home with him to his own land in the greatest pomp and splendour, together with her younger sister Emily. And so I leave this noble Duke and his armed host riding victoriously and with music towards Athens. If it weren't too long to listen to I would certainly describe in detail how the land of women was vanquished by Theseus and his knights; and especially the pitched battle between the Athenians and the Amazons; how Hippolyta, the fierce and beautiful queen of Scythia, was besieged; the feast that took place at their wedding, and the great storm that blew up on their voyage home. But for the time being I must pass over all these things—God knows I have a big field to plough and weak oxen in my team. The rest of my tale is long enough; and I don't want to stand in the way of the others in our party. Let everyone tell his tale in turn and we'll see who wins the dinner. So I'll begin again where I left off. The Duke I spoke of had just approached the outskirts of the town when, in the midst of all his joy and triumph, he noticed out of the corner of his eye a band of ladies dressed in black kneeling two by two in a row on the highway. They were weeping and wailing, making a lamentation the like of which no living creature ever heard; nor would they stop their clamour until they had laid hold of his bridle-rein. 'Who may you be who disturb my homecoming and the general joy with these outcries?' asked Theseus. 'Is it because you grudge me these honours that you complain and cry out like this? Or has somebody insulted or injured you? Tell me if it can be redressed, and why you are thus clothed in black.' Almost fainting, with a deathlike countenance pitiful to see, the eldest of these ladies began to speak: 'My lord, to whom Fortune has granted victory and all the honours of a conqueror, we do not grudge you your laurels or your triumph, but beg for aid and mercy. Have mercy on our distress and grief! Out of the nobility
