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A new original-spelling edition of a landmark work of English literature

One of the greatest and most ambitious works in English literature, The Canterbury Tales depicts a storytelling competition between pilgrims drawn from all ranks of society.

The tales are as various as the pilgrims themselves, encompassing comedy, pathos, tragedy, and cynicism. The Miller and the Reeve express their mutual antagonism in a pair of comic stories combining sex and trickery; in “The Shipman’s Tale,” a wife sells her favors to a monk. Others draw on courtly romance and fantasy: the Knight tells of rivals competing for the love of the same woman, and the Squire describes a princess who can speak to birds. In these twenty-four tales, Chaucer displays a dazzling range of literary styles and conjures up a wonderfully vivid picture of medieval life.

* Freshly established Middle English text with standardized spelling and punctuation and on-page glossing
* Features an introduction, a chronology of Chaucer's life and works, detailed explanatory notes, suggestions for further reading, a full glossary, and a bibliography
* Companion to the Penguin Classics original-spelling edition of Troilus and Criseyde

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction: Chaucer's Life - Chaucer's Works
Group A
The Prologue 3
The Knight's Tale 26
The Miller's Tale 88
The Reeve's Tale 108
The Cook's Tale 120
Group B
Introduction to the Man of Law's Tale 122
The Man of Law's Prologue 125
The Man of Law's Tale 126
The Shipman's Tale 157
The Prioress's Tale 170
Chaucer's Tale of Sir Topaz 177
Chaucer's Tale of Melibee (in synopsis) 185
The Monks Tale 189
The Nun's Priest's Tale 214
Group C
The Physician's Tale 232
The Pardoner's Tale 244
Group D
The Wife of Bath's Prologue 258
The Wife of Bath's Tale 281
The Friar's Tale 293
The Summoner's Tale 305
Group E
The Clerk's Prologue 320
The Clerk's Tale 322
The Merchant's Tale 357
Group F
The Squire's Prologue 389
The Squire's Tale 389
The Franklin's Tale 409
Group G
The Second Nun's Prologue 433
The Second Nun's Tale 437
The Canon's Yeoman's Tale 454
Group H
The Manciple's Prologue 475
The Manciple's Tale 478
Group I
The Parson's Prologue 485
The Parson's Tale (in synopsis) 487
Notes 490

A group of pilgrims bound for Canterbury Cathedral agrees to pass the weary miles by taking turns at storytelling. The result is English literature's greatest collection of chivalric romances, bawdy tales, fables, legends, and other stories. The pilgrims -- noble, coarse, jolly, and pious -- offer a vibrant portrait of fourteenth-century English life. The Canterbury Tales reflects a society in transition, as a middle class began to emerge from England's feudal system. Craftsmen and laborers ride side by side with the gentry on the road to the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket, and their discussions and arguments about ethical issues mirror their changing world. The pilgrims' conversation and narratives also reveal their individual characters, and Chaucer's vivid, accurate portraits of human nature assured the Tales their enduring success. Each tale appears as a separate work that can be read and appreciated in its own right. Rich in metaphors drawn from the Bible and mythology and influenced by the great medieval masters Dante and Boccaccio, this immortal work appears here in a lucid translation into modern English verse.

--FROM THE PUBLISHER