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Fisher's work is a vivid, lively, and readable translation of the most famous work of England's premier medieval poet. Preserving Chaucer's rhyme and meter and faithfully articulating his poetic voice, Fisher makes Chaucer's tales accessible to a contemporary ear.
Six-hundred-year-old tales with modern relevance. This stunning full-colour edition from the bestselling Cambridge School Chaucer series explores the complete text of The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale through a wide range of classroom-tested activities and illustrated information, including a map of the Canterbury pilgrimage, a running synopsis of the action, an explanation of unfamiliar words and suggestions for study. Cambridge School Chaucer makes medieval life and language more accessible, helping students appreciate Chaucer's brilliant characters, his wit, sense of irony and love of controversy.
The classic respected series in a stunning new design. This edition of The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale from the highly-respected Selected Tales series includes the full, complete text in the original Middle English, along with an in-depth introduction by James Winny, detailed notes and a comprehensive glossary.
The Wyves Tale of Bathe and prologue are among the best-known of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. They give insight into the role of women in the Late Middle Ages and are probably of interest to Chaucer himself, for the character is one of his most developed ones, with her prologue twice as long as her tale.
When an eclectic group of pilgrims take turns telling tales while on the road to Canterbury Cathedral, the Wife of Bath, an older woman who has been married and widowed five times, tells her tale . . . eventually. But first she shares her opinions on marriage and the role of women with her fellow pilgrims. One of the strongest and most memorable voices in The Canterbury Tales, the Wife of Bath is as amusing as she is enlightening. This special edition of “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” includes the “The General Prologue,” “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue,” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” in original Middle English and modern translated versions. HarperCollins brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperCollins short-stories collection to build your digital library.
The Canterbury Tales recounts the stories told by pilgrims to one another as they make their way from London to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury. This volume contains the Wife of Bath's Tale - a story which despite its bawdy reputation, tells a profoundly tragic tale of how women were treated in thirteenth century England. Indeed, many consider that Alison speaks with a voice that is still shockingly relevant to the lives of some modern-day women. This edition is particularly suited for High School and College/ University students. Here, the odd-numbered pages contain Chaucer's original text written in Middle English. Alongside, there is plenty of room in the wide outer margins for students to make translation notes of The Wife of Bath's Tale, or perhaps, to define unfamiliar key words. The even-numbered pages contain a new translation into modern English which differs slightly from those found elsewhere. Here, the key difference is that each line is translated separately, and thereby avoids the problem seen in some translations that words are borrowed from adjacent lines to help maintain Chaucer's rhyming structure. Accordingly, this translation adheres very closely to Chaucer's own words; although, in doing so, it may occasionally become slightly more descriptive than is usual in other translations, and that there are some sections where Chaucer's original couplets no longer rhyme. Nevertheless, this 'word for word' approach has been employed with the express purpose of assisting those readers who new to Chaucer's middle English. In some circumstances, a direct translation into modern English may not always improve a reader's understanding of the storyline. In these cases, a word or phrase will have been added to the original text - but any such additions are always clearly marked in square brackets [ ].Readers will be pleased that the present translation of the Wife of Bath's Tale has substituted any offensive references to female genitalia with much more acceptable descriptions. This volume contains the complete and unabridged text (with line numbers), an accurate translation and a personal study notebook - which means it offers excellent value for money.
Written between 1387 and 1400, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is set on a journey made by thirty-one pilgrims (including Chaucer and the host, Harry Bailey) as they travel from Southwark in London to Thomas Becket's shrine at Canterbury. There, in return for the prize of a free dinner, the pilgrims each agreed to participate in a story-telling contest to help make their long journey more enjoyable. This volume contains three of Chaucer's most popular tales; the General Prologue, the Pardoner's Tale and the Wife of Bath's Tale. All of these are complete and unabridged with numbered lines. The side-by-side modern English translation contained in this book is based upon a literal, word-for-word approach. Here, readers will find each translated line is placed directly opposite to its counterpart in Chaucer's original text. As a result, the meaning of unfamiliar words can be checked immediately - thereby making the present version particularly useful for those who are new to Middle English. Unfortunately, there are instances when this word-for-word approach might not provide the reader with a clear understanding. In these situations, an explanatory word or phrase has been added to the original text. However, these additions are clearly separated from the original text inside square brackets [ ]. Furthermore, in the interests of propriety, any offensive references to female genitalia have not been translated directly. Instead, they have been translated into much more acceptable, indirect terms. Many translations of the Canterbury Tales make great efforts to retain its iambic pentameter and rhyming couplet structure. That is a highly laudable endeavour. Unfortunately, there are instances when Chaucer's poetic framework has been preserved only by inserting a new, substitute word which alters his meaning entirely. Instead, the word-for-word translation contained in this work expressly avoids those difficulties; but does so at the risk of being criticised for lacking a consistent structure. Clearly, some lines rhyme, whilst others do not. That said, the creation of a non-rhyming version of the Canterbury Tales might not be quite so seditious as first appears. The reader is reminded that Chaucer wrote his Canterbury Tales before the Great Vowel Shift of 1400 to 1600. As a result, that evolution of English pronunciation suggests the Canterbury Tales may already have begun to lose it poetic resonance soon after it was written. The translator was educated at St Chad's College Durham, Warwick, Exeter and De Montfort Universities. Lately, he was both a Hardwicke and Sir Thomas More scholar of Lincoln's Inn, London. His publications include works on English law and literature.
