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It is quite a burden for students such as myself to
fully understand Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales with all its intricacies
and hidden meanings, especially when perusing the Middle English text
of this fine collage of tales. Enter the Internet! Suddenly, I am granted
access to a multitude of information on literary works that can substantially
facilitate my understanding of The Canterbury Tales, all from the
privacy of my own home (connection to the Internet required). In my quest
for a better understanding of The Canterbury Tales, I have found
three websites that are worthy of any struggling Chaucer student's attention.
The first Chaucer related website that I happened
to come across while running a specific site search on the Google Internet
search engine can be accessed by any Internet browser at "http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/CT-prolog-para.html."
After many futile attempts to make sense of many Middle English words
that I happened to stumble on in Chaucer's work, I must say I was truly
relieved at the sight of this site. Here one can easily understand the
Middle English for it is accompanied by modern English, the language that
is to us most dear:
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Here bygynneth the Book of the tales of Caunterbury
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Here begins the Bookof the Tales of Canterbury
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1: Whan that aprill with his shoures
soote
2: The droghte of march hath perced
to the roote,
3: And bathed every veyne in swich
licour
4: Of which vertu engendred is the
flour;
5: Whan zephirus eek with his sweete
breeth
6: Inspired hath in every holt and
heeth
7: Tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
8: Hath in the ram his halve cours
yronne,
9: And smale foweles maken melodye,
10: That slepen al the nyght with open
ye
11: (so priketh hem nature in hir corages);
12: Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
13: And palmeres for to seken straunge
strondes,
14: To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry
londes;
15: And specially from every shires
ende
16: Of engelond to caunterbury they
wende,
17: The hooly blisful martir for to
seke,
18: That hem hath holpen whan that
they were seeke.
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When April with his showers sweet with
fruit
The drought of March has pierced unto
the root
And bathed each vein with liquor that
has power
To generate therein and sire the flower;
When Zephyr also has, with his sweet
breath,
Quickened again, in every holt and
heath,
The tender shoots and buds, and the
young sun
Into the Ram one half his course has
run,
And many little birds make melody
That sleep through all the night with
open eye
(So Nature pricks them on to ramp
and rage)-
Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage,
And palmers to go seeking out strange
strands,
To distant shrines well known in sundry
lands.
And specially from every shire's end
Of England they to Canterbury wend,
The holy blessed martyr there to seek
Who helped them when they lay so ill
and weal
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Once we understand the language of Chaucer's work,
we can aspire to greater things. After somewhat mastering the text, we
can delve deeper into the tales and characters of The Canterbury Tales.
But where does one start? Luckily there is a site to help us understand
Chaucer on a higher level, "http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canterbury/."
With a foolproof navigation system consisting of two navigation-bars conspicuously
located at the left frame of the page, this site provides the user with
various summaries and critical analysis of the characters and their tales.
Here is one example of the kind of summary on Chaucer one might find on
this site:
| Chaucer is often considered one of the least appreciated
authors of Western literature, not because he is rarely studied, but
because his work is generally not recognized as revolutionary. The
Canterbury Tales, the keystone of Chaucer's work, helped dramatically
alter literature and society in two main ways. First, it changed the
history of the English people by changing their language; by merging
the French of the nobility with the Anglo-Saxon of the common people,
the Canterbury Tales legitimized a language that both groups could
use while simultaneously creating greatest literary example. Second,
and more universally, he changed the idea of a literary character,
which in turn changed the way readers think and approach literature.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canterbury/,
10/24/00. |
And should the user get lonely there is a Chaucer discussion forum where
I am sure the user will be entertained. The discussion forum (message
board) is subdivided into "The Canterbury Tales" and "Medieval Literature."
Here each user can post a question or comment that he might have on the
subject of interest and in turn receive feedback from others users.
Another worthwhile site that I would recommend is
"http://www.classicnote.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/canterbury/."
This site contains The Canterbury Tales' translation, Chaucer's biography
and a short summary of Chaucer's work, as well as some historical background
on the tales:
| The Canterbury Tales is one of the landmarks of English
literature, perhaps the greatest work produced in Middle English and
certainly among the most ambitious. It is one of the few works of
the English Middle Ages that has had a continuous history of publication.
It was the last of Geoffrey Chaucer's works, written after Troilus
and Creseyde during the final years of Chaucer's life. Chaucer did
not complete the entire Canterbury Tales as he designed it. He structured
the tales so that each pilgrim would tell four tales, leading to a
total of over one hundred tales. However, Chaucer only completed twenty-four
tales, not even completing one tale for each pilgrim. http://www.classicnote.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/canterbury/,
10/24/00. |
The user can also find vivid descriptions and highlights of the characters
that we find in The Canterbury Tales. Not only does the site contain
a description of the characters telling their tales, but it also provides
the description of the characters within those tales. For instance, if
you wanted to better familiarize yourself with the characters of the Wife
of Bath's tale, you would find the information you are looking for displayed
in the following form:
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Wife of Bath's Tale
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| Jankin: The fifth husband of the Wife of Bath,
he was much younger than she and prone to reading misogynist religious
texts that offended his wife. When he hurt her out of anger, he realized
his error and submitted to her authority, after which he and his wife
had a perfectly happy marriage. |
| The Knight: After raping a young woman, the
knight is sentenced to death, but spared by the queen, who decides
that the knight will receive mercy if he can answer the question "what
do women want?" |
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The Old Woman: This elderly woman tells the
Knight what women really desire on the condition that he will marry
her. When he grants her the authority in marriage, the old woman
transforms into a beautiful young woman. http://www.classicnote.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/canterbury/,
10/24/00.
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The site also contains the translation of each tale told by the various
characters of Chaucer's work. However, I was unable to find the Middle
English text of The Canterbury Tales anywhere on the site. If you
are reviewing for an exam, this site can definitely serve as a substitute
for any "Cliff Notes" ever published on The Canterbury Tales.
It is difficult to say which of the above-mentioned
sites are the best. My answer to you is "the one that most suits your
Chaucer needs." If you are looking for a Middle English text with modern
English translation on the side, then site number one is your choice.
However, if you are in the mood for some critical analysis, drop by site
number two and three to get an idea about what's really going on behind
Chaucer's recounting of the innocent pilgrimage to Canterbury.
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