The Canterbury Tales in Modern Verse

Description

This daring new translation of 21 of the tales, most of them rendered in iambic tetrameter, conveys the content, tone, and narrative style of the original in a line as expressive as it is economical. An Introduction treats Chaucer's works, influences, life, learning, and the world of 14th-century London. Includes a glossary.

Geoffrey Chaucer; Translated by Joe Glaser

This version of The Canterbury Tales is indeed 'fast-paced and entertaining'. It includes translations of most of the tales (certainly all of the most popular ones) and abridgments and summaries of a few others. Glaser's main innovation in this translation is a rather striking decision to render Chaucer's standard iambic pentameter line in iambic tetrameter. . . . Those who read his translation of The Canterbury Tales will likely be motivated to tackle a linguistically more challenging, yet more rewarding Middle English edition. Those who lack the time for such a task will still be able to appreciate the humor and variety of one of Chaucer's greatest works and will, through the basic and clear Introduction, get a sense of the historical and literary background of Chaucer, his times, and his works. The near conversational tone of the Introduction, furthermore, makes for an unintimidating encounter with a period of literature that, for many, is foreign and remote. As a kind of gateway text, therefore, Glaser's new translation of The Canterbury Tales will be much appreciated and valued by a non-specialist audience. --Jennifer A. Smith, Comitatus