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    The Canterbury Tales II
    The Canterbury Tales II
    The Canterbury Tales II
    Audiobook3 hours

    The Canterbury Tales II

    Written by Geoffrey Chaucer

    Narrated by Philip Madoc, Frances Jeater, Charlie Simpson and

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Four more delightful tales from one of the most entertaining storytellers of all time. Though writing in the thirteenth century, Chaucer’s wit and observation comes down undiminished through the ages, especially in this accessible modern verse translation. The stories vary considerably from the uproarious Wife of Bath’s Tale, promoting the power of women to the sober account of patient Griselda in the Clerk’s Tale.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNaxos Audiobooks
    Release dateApr 1, 2002
    ISBN9789629546472
    The Canterbury Tales II
    Author

    Geoffrey Chaucer

    Often referred to as the father of English poetry, Geoffrey Chaucer was a fourteenth-century philosopher, alchemist, astrologer, bureaucrat, diplomat, and author of many significant poems. Chaucer’s writing was influential in English literary tradition, as it introduced new rhyming schemes and helped develop the vernacular tradition—the use of everyday English—rather than the literary French and Latin, which were common in written works of the time. Chaucer’s best-known—and most imitated—works include The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde, The Book of the Duchess, and The House of Fame.

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    Reviews for The Canterbury Tales II

    4/5

    74 ratings44 reviews

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    • 4/5
      A wonderful introduction to the tales. I suggest reading this before tackling them in the original, as it really helps to have an idea of what's happening as you translate. And when you read the original, try reading it aloud. Sometimes just hearing how the words sound will help you translate the meaning.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This beautiful old volume was sadly printed in the worst of times. Even though I've been careful in its storage, and in handling, the dreaded acidity is catching up with the paper. I imagine that in perhaps another 50 years, the pages will be completely yellowed and crumbly, and it'll be gone. This volume is written in the original English (the East Midland dialect, according to Untermeyer's excellent introduction) of the day, with an excellent glossary at the end (but beginning, I suspect, to be less than helpful, nearly 100 years after publication).His stories give insight into the day to day lives of people in his time (the 1300s), and he wrote in a manner that is still lively and readable today.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Chaucer presents a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket's at Canterbury Cathedral. To make the journey interesting they settle upon the plan that each of them should tell a tale for the amusement of the others. Eventually a vote would decide who had told the best story. By this structure, Chaucer is able to tell several otherwise unrelated stories. This could be considered the first major piece of literature in English.
    • 5/5
      I suppose this is my own Ulysses. Canterbury Tales is certainly one of those books, like Ulysses or Proust or Golden Bowl, that no one's actually read or if they have they hated it or if they didn't they're lying because they think it'll impress you. But I took a whole class on this in college and I had this terrific professor, and she showed me how awesome this is. Really, it's a heap of fun. Are you impressed?
    • 1/5
      Some of the tales were wildly funny, especially the Wife of Bath, but most I found boring and endless. Quite ironically, when I would get feed up with the tale, the host would jump in and tell the story teller how boring or frightfully horrid they were being. All in all I really dislike this book and hope I don't have to read it ever again. I might have appreciated it more in school, having a teacher to help me along with it.
    • 5/5
      I received this book as part of the Early Reviewers program, and have slowly been slogging through it. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Canterbury tales - as you can see, I've given it 4.5 stars. No matter what translation, I find the Tales always to be a long, hard read - but this translation is beautiful. It makes the long, hard read much less of a slog and much more enjoyable!
    • 4/5
      The first time I had to read this book for school I hated it. Later, as an adult I came to love the book. Some stories are more captivating than others but they're all entertaining. Each story carries different characteristics, and range in purposes from providing moral dilemmas to being just plain hilarious. Everything from love, jealousy, hate, revenge, sex, and stupidity is covered! If you read this book for school, and hated it, give it another chance! It deserves that much at least!
    • 4/5
      This particular translation proved to be an easier read than I had expected. A little of the flow feels like it has been sacrificed in favor of readability, but that didn't bother me- rather, I enjoyed the chance to read the stories without having to over-think the poetry. I always have my older editions for the times when the beauty of the language is more important to me than the stories!
    • 5/5
      Written in the late 1380's through the early 1390's, Chaucer combines the elements of a diverse cast of travelers, age-old human themes, some borrowed stories from others (cleverly giving credit much of the time), and his own talent for tying everything together through a host that serves as both MC and judge. Some stories are baudy. Most of those that deal with religion have a tonque-in-cheek attitude, though there are a few that truly deal with love and virtue. This is a must-read classic.
    • 5/5
      You wouldn't think a collection of medieval stories would be so entertaining. Some of these are hilarious. The copy I had also contained the original Chaucerian English in a facing-page translation which was really neat.
    • 5/5
      Oh, the treasure of finding and holding a shopworn copy of Chaucer's tales in my hands is just too much for words. His tales are not just downright funny, but they can be applied even today to the people we work with, live with, and play with on a daily basis. In fact, I kept laughing every time I read another tale that was a ringer for someone I knew. The classics hold up well, don't they?


      Book Season = Sping ("when the sweet showers of April fall and shoot")
    • 2/5
      Zeer ongelijkmatig; sommige verhalen zitten met haken en ogen in elkaar, andere zijn pareltjes.Steken er bovenuit: ridder,vrouw uit Bath, klerk, grondbezitter, aflaatkramer, nonnenpriester.Wel mooie psychologische tekening.
    • 3/5
      Fun stuff. I've also tried to read it in Middle English a couple of times, but never stuck it out.
    • 4/5
      Mark Twain said something like: "Classics are books you think you ought to read, but never do." Well, I am glad I put in the hours to listen to this book, but I cannot say I enjoyed much of it. Partially, it was the narration--some of the accents used were simply impossible--and partially it was boredom that set in when discussing theology that is so far from my own. Still, it is part of the "canon" and as such, it is good to be a bit more literate today than I was yesterday....
    • 5/5
      My Chaucer professor at the University of Miami, Dr. Eugene Clasby, used to say that Chaucer was a greater writer than Shakespeare (and he taught Shakespeare, too). I'm going to leave it at that, except to say that The Wife of Bath's Tale is a brilliant moral lesson about embracing your life.
    • 4/5
      Maybe one day I'll read ALL of the tales. Not today.
    • 4/5
      Fun reads but a bit eclectic in a chaotic sense.
    • 5/5
      I studied The Canterbury Tales in a required literature class. The Tales comprised the entire syllabus. Our professor was one of those rare gems who made the work absolutely come alive. Each Tale became its own masterpiece. We learned to read in Middle English and to translate Middle English to Modern English. From a master, I learned to love and appreciate Chaucer's work. My five-star rating is for the late Professor Douglas Wurtele of Ottawa, ON, who spent his academic life studying Chaucer and tirelessly sharing his rich enthusiasm with his students.
    • 3/5
      Having not read The Canterbury Tales since high school, I really have no basis of comparison to say how this translation stands up to prior editions, but I can say that it was a very accessible book. I won't go into the details of the story, as I would be just rehashing everything that has been said before, but I did find the book enjoyable. It still takes awhile to get into the flow of the text, but once there, the reading was quite easy.
    • 3/5
      From the mind-numbingly boring Monk's Tale to the spirited Wife of Bath, these tales seemed to be either really good or really dull. I was able to follow the language (for the most part) once I went through the Prologue with a fine-tooth comb looking up every unfamiliar word. After that, I had the hang of it. I'm glad I read it, but I doubt that I'll ever read it again.
    • 1/5
      Stopped at page 20. The way this is written I had way too much trouble keeping characters separate as I read. I was only in the earliest part of the book but had to keep deciding which character any pronoun referred to. It became way too bothersome to me and disinteresting once I accepted that it wasn't going to change. I really bought the book because I had heard that the Wife of Bath's tale was a bit risque...I finally just went to her chapter and read the last page and will suffice with that. A shame.
    • 4/5
      The whole idea of the Canterbury Tales is very cool, and I certainly enjoy reading the different stories and poetry, but I find that I don't actually -like- most of the stories. They all follow a distinct pattern and are either crude and tragic or just plain tragic.
    • 2/5
      I read The Prologue, The Cook's Prologue & Tale, The Prioress's Prologue & Tale, Words of the Host to the Monk, The Monk's Tale, The Nun's Priest's Tale, the Pardoner's Prologue & Tale, The Wife of Bath's Prologue & Tale

      I enjoyed reading it, but its not a book I'd just pick up and read for fun.
    • 3/5
      Normally I would give CT a four-star rating, but the particular edition I'm writing about is not written in the original Middle English; it's been "translated" and modified with a mind for the flow of verse rather than the original meanings of the words. Since I find so much of Chaucer's humor washed out by editors' tampering, I give this edition a measly three stars.
    • 5/5
      The Canterbury Tales are at the same time a historical and literary reading. Through the characters you can see a whole frame of representations from Middle Ages. From the women of Bath to merchant, prayers, prioesses, friars... religious, economical, burguois and low society. This book is an incredible source for scholars, students and readers.
    • 2/5
      It haunted me in my high school English class, and I guess I just couldn't get the sour taste out of my mouth. I do respect the scope of this novel, and the ambitious points of view expressed by each character's story. This just wasn't my cup of tea.
    • 3/5
      Wow! Almost readable in original English after 660 years. Irreverent & ebullient.Read Samoa Nov 2003
    • 3/5
      One of my English teachers had a penchant for making his students memorize passages from certain books. Thanks to him, I will forever have the first few lines of the prologue memorized. It randomly pops into my head in lilting Middle English, and I find myself repeating, "Whan that aprill with his shoures soote, the droghte of march hath perced to the roote, and bathed every veyne in switch licour..."
    • 3/5
      Canterbury Tales were ruined for me in school. If I'd read them out of school I would have loved them. Some of the stories are superb while some of them fall flat. If you don't mind shifting between the enthralling and mundane this book wouldn't be half-bad.
    • 4/5
      I first read this book in the 11th grade in Ms. Robert's English class. I think this was one of the first books where I really began to take an interest in the classics, which was unwittingly encouraged by Ms. Robert's excellent teaching of the class (for example, the day we read The Knight's Tale, we were told to pronounce "knight" as "kuh-nig-ut"). It is an interesting glimpse into mediaeval times, which, as it turns out, weren't so different from a human perspective than the present.One of the books I took with me and read while deployed to Iraq.