Chaucer (c. 1343-1400) writes in Middle English. It's not that difficult to translate, but it's always a good idea to read a bit of it to get a feel around it. No need to read the entire Canterbury tales (unless you took a class on it); but there are several tales you should know. The framework of the story is Chaucer the narrator goes on a pilgrimage with a bunch of other people and they each take turns telling a story because the prize for best story is a free dinner.
The Knight's Tale
Do NOT watch the movie with Heath Ledger and think it's the same thing.
Characters: Cousins Arcite and Palamon, Theseus (king of Athens who also conquers Thebes), Hippolyta (wife of Theseus), Emelye (sister of Hippolyta)
Arcite and Palamon are cousins from Thebes who are Theseus' prisoners-of-war. While locked up in a tower in Athens, they both fall in love with Emelye, the queen's sister. They both manage to escape and organize this battle to see who should win Emelye. Arcite prays to Mars for help and Palamon prays to Venus (Emelye prays to Diane to preserve her virginity, go figure). Arcite wins the battle but an earthquake by Saturn startles Arcite's horse and he falls to the ground, mortally wounded. Palamon and Emelye grieve for like ever until Theseus says quit it and they both get married and live happily ever after.
The Miller's Tale
Characters: Nicholas (student), Alisoun (carpenter's wife), John (carpenter), Absalom (suitor)
Nicholas has the hots for Alisoun and they tell the carpenter John that he should spend the night on the roof sleeping in a tub because a flood like Noah's flood is coming. While Nicholas and Alison are getting it on, Absalom, another of Alisoun's suitors, comes around and Alisoun shoves him her butt to kiss. Absalom is pissed and fetches a hot poker. The second time around, Nicholas sticks his butt out, but Absalom sticks the hot poker into Nicholas' butt. Nicholas screams "Water! Water!" and the carpenter, thinking it's the flood, cuts himself and his tub down from the roof. He falls to the ground and everyone thinks he's mad.
The Prioress's Tale
Told in rhyme royal.
A little boy singing a hymn is murdered while walking through a Jewish neighborhood. His throat is slit and he's thrown into a poop ditch. His mother looks high and low for him and finds him only because he's still singing even though his throat is slit. The boy reveals that the Virgin Mary placed a seed in his mouth which enables him to sing even though obviously he shouldn't be able to. The Jews are hung and the boy goes to Heaven.
Nasty stuff.
The Nun's Priest's Tale
Characters: Chaunticleer (rooster), Pertelote (Chaunticleer's favorite hen), Sir Russell (fox)
Chaunticleer dreams he'll be eaten by a fox. Pertelote tells him he's crazy. The fox comes along and tricks Chaunticleer into singing with his eyes closed. The fox then snatches him away, but before he can gobble him up, the fox opens his mouth with the intention of gloating about how clever he was. Chaunticleer quickly flaps away and doesn't fall for the fox's tricks again.
The tale is a beast fable written in the mock-heroic style.
The Merchant's Tale
Characters: January (old knight), May (January's young wife), Damian (May's suitor)
January marries May but goes literally blind and crazy with jealousy. He tries to keep May close to him like, all the time. May and Damian plan to meet in January's garden, and while she's doing it with Damian in a tree the god Pluto suddenly restores January's sight. May manages to convince January that she committed adultery in order to cure him.
The Pardoner's Tale
Three drunkards are told to look for Death under a particular tree, but instead they find some treasure there. They murder each other over who should get the treasure.
The Wife of Bath's Tale
One of King Arthur's knights rapes a maiden, but he escapes the death sentence because the queen puts him on a mission to find out what is it that women most want. The knight finds this ugly hag who will tell him the answer on the condition that the knight marry her. The knight agrees and gets the answer - sovereignty. The hag turns into a beautiful maiden once the knight marries her.
The Franklin's Tale
Characters - Aurelius, Dorigen, Arveragus. Arveragus and Dorigen are married happily, but Arveragus leaves on a trip somewhere, leaving Dorigen sad and alone. Aurelius, a young squire in love with Dorigen, meets her and confesses his love, but Dorigen says she'll only return it if Aurelius manages to remove all the rocks from the coast. Aurelius looks for a magician who does it for him, for the price of Aurelius' entire fortune. Dorigen is so shocked and she confesses everything to Arveragus. Arveragus says Dorigen must honor her word, so she goes to Aurelius, but Aurelius' conscience plays on him, and he lets Dorigen go. He returns to the magician to give him his fortune, but the magician doesn't take it because it didn't work out for Aurelius anyway. The tale ends with the Franklin asking, "Which was the mooste fre, as thynketh yow?" (who was the most generous?)
The Reeve's Tale
Simkin (greedy miller), has his wife and daughter enjoyed by a pair of clerks (John and Alan) whom he swindled. Response to miller's tale of a foolish carpenter - the reeve was once a carpenter.
The Clerk's Tale
Griselda - patient woman who endures the trials of her husband, the Marquis Walter.
The Physician's Tale
A knight, Virginius, kills his daughter Virginia to avoid having her fall into the hands of an evil judge, Apius who covets her.
Troilus and Criseyde
- Another of Chaucer's works.
- Written in rhyme royal.
- Shakespeare also composed a version of Troilus.
- Story taken from Boccaccio's Il Filostrato.
- Influences from Dante - final prayer translated from Dante's Divine Comedy. Set in Troy during the Trojan war.
Troilus and Criseyde are brought together by Troilus' friend, Pandare. Criseyde leaves Troy to join the Greeks. Troilus finds out Criseyde has been unfaithful to him because he sees her brooch on Diomede's cloak - Diomede is a Greek warrior. He wants but fails to kill Diomede.
The poem begins:
The double sorwe of Troilus to tellen,
That was the king Priamus sone of Troye,
In lovinge, how his aventures fellen
Fro woe to wele, and after out of joie,
My purpos is, er that I parte fro ye
Thesiphone, thou help me for t'endite
These woful vers, that wepen as I write.
To thee clepe I, thou goddess of torment,
Thou cruel Furie, sorwing ever in peyne,
Help me, that am the sorwful instrument,
That helpeth loveres, as I can, to pleyne.
For wel sit it, the sothe for the seyne,
A woful wight to han a drery feere,
And to a sorwful tale, a sory chere.
Thesiphone is the guardian of the gates to the Underworld.
The poem ends:
Go, little book, go, little myn tragedye,
Ther God thy makere yet, er that he dye,
So sende might to make in some comedye!
But little book, no making thou n'envie,But subgit be to alle poesye;
And kiss the steppes, wheras thou seest paceVirgile, Ovide, Omer, Lucan, Stace...
It ends with an invitation to John Gower to correct the work if necessary.
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