The Canterbury Tales (Modern Library)

About this book

It would be impossible to overstate the influence of Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales. A work with one metaphorical foot planted in the Florentine Renaissance literary tradition of Boccaccios Decameron and the other in works ranging from John Bunyan Voltaire and Mark Twain to the popular entertainments of our own time The Canterbury Tales stands astride the cultures of Great Britain and America and much of Europe like a benign colossus. Beyond its importance as a cultural touchstone and literary work of unvarnished genius Chaucers unfinished epic poem is also one of the most beloved works in the English languageand for good reason: It is lively absorbing perceptive and outrageously funnyan undisputed classic that has held a special appeal for generations of readers. Chaucer has gathered twenty-nine of literatures most indelible archetypesfrom the exalted Knight to the bawdy Wife to the besotted Miller to the humble Plowmanin a vivid group portrait that captures the full spectrum of late-medieval English society and both informs and expands our discourse on the human condition. Presented in these pages in a new unabridged translation by the esteemed poet translator and scholar Burton Raffelwhose translation of Beowulf has sold more than a million copiesthis Modern Library edition also features an Introduction by the well-known and widely influential medievalist and author John Miles Foley that discusses Chaucers work as well as to his life and times. Despite the brilliance of Geoffrey Chaucers work the continual evolution of our language has rendered his words unfamiliar to many of us. Burton Raffels magnificent new translation brings Chaucers poetry back to life ensuring that none of the originals wit wisdom or humanity is lost to the modern reader.