Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, 11-16-25, 2nd of 6 Sessions

Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (late 14th century) is both a vivid portrait of medieval life and a timeless study of human nature. Written in Middle English—the living language of Chaucer’s England—it gathers a diverse group of pilgrims journeying to Canterbury, each telling stories that reveal wit, faith, desire, hypocrisy, and laughter. The work’s brilliance lies in its variety: bawdy fabliaux, courtly romances, moral sermons, and fables all mingle in a single tapestry of voices. Reading it in the original language is demanding but deeply rewarding: you’ll hear the rhythm and humor as Chaucer’s first audience did, and glimpse the roots of modern English. A glossed edition (with notes or a facing-page translation) will ease the way, allowing the vitality of Chaucer’s verse—its sharp observation, compassion, and playfulness—to shine through as freshly now as six centuries ago.

Editions [available from your local library or online]:
The Canterbury Tales: Seventeen Tales and the General Prologue. A Norton Critical Edition, Third Edition, Edited by V.A. Kolve and Glending Olsen. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. 2018. ISBN: 9781324000563 Used: $13+

The Selected Canterbury Tales. A New Verse Translation by Sheila Fisher. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. 2012. ISBN: 9780393341782 Used: $7+ [Mid/Mod English on facing pgs]

The Riverside Chaucer. Third Edition. Edited by F.N. Robinson. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2008. ISBN: 9780199552092 Used $25+

Online via Zoom
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Schedule of Readings [P&T=Prologue and Tale]:
Nov 2, 2025 -Front matter, General Prologue, Knight's Tale
Nov 16th - Miller's P&T, Reeve's P&T
Nov 30th - Wife of Bath's P&T, Friar's P&T, Summoner's P&T
Dec 14th - Clerk's P&T, Merchant's P&T
Dec 28th - Franklin's P&T, Pardoner'P&T, Prioress's P&T
Jan 11, 2026 - Nun's priest's P&T, Second Nun's P&T, Manciple's P&T, Chaucer's Retraction

For 2026 [subject to change]:
Chaucer: Troilus and Cressida
Virgil: Georgics/Aeneid
Ovid: Metamorphosis /Erotic Poems
Homer: Iliad/Odyssey