![]() The cast of characters comes from all levels of society: everything from a nun to a miller to a "clerk" (i.e. You'll understand and enjoy the text much more, and that's worth making some adjustments for. ![]() If you are reading this for the first time, I would definitely encourage you to experience this great work of English literature, but with some advice: Get a more modern translation unless you have a background in medieval language, and don't feel bad about skimming through or skipping the parts that drag on and on pointlessly. Some stories like the Miller's Tale or the Pardoner's Tale read nice and tight, with comedy and twist endings much like you'd see today. I'm sure they were the height of excitement in their day, but my modern ear can't tolerate all the unnecessary text. ![]() That said, I got a bit farther in and also remembered what I hated about medieval works: The long, pointless rambling, irrelevant details, and sermons. ![]() But I've always liked to read stuff like that: Chaucer, Beowulf, the Iliad, el Poema del Mio Cid. The language is so fun, and the variant spellings and uses of words we don't see today give amazing insight to the story. So I started off eagerly, and got into the Knight's Tale, and found with joy that I still really, really like reading old texts in Middle English. ![]() I remember reading the Canterbury Tales in high school and really enjoying it, but that was 25 years ago. Caveat: I only read the Canterbury tales out of this collection, for book club, but this edition was free online. ![]()
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