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Canterbury Tales
By Various
Title: Canterbury Tales
Author: Geoffrey Chaucer
Format: Audio Cassette, No. Tapes: 2
Publisher: Listen For Pleasure, ISBN: , Year: 1982
Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales is one of the great literary achievements of the Middle Ages. Begun about 1387/8, it is a collection of diverse tales told by a group of travellers on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas a Becket at Canterbury.
The Miller's tale and The Reeve's tale are ribald and earthy; the Nun's Priest tells his charming fable of a cock, a hen and a fox; the Pardoner's tale is a parable warning of the dangers of avarice. Dominating the cavalcade is the glorious Wife of Bath, who entertains the Company with a boisterous account of her five husbands. Whether bawdy or romantic, all the tales are written simply for our delight.
This recording presents in abridged form five of Chaucer's 'Tales' linked together with parts of the Prologue and the lively episodes between the tales. The source is Nevill Coghill's modern English translation of The Canterbury Tales and Professor Coghill's text has been abridged and adapted for this recording by Martin Starkie, often using Professor Coghill's own notes and alternative translations where necessary. The 'Tales' are read by Martin Starkie and Prunella Scales, and are an entertaining presentation of one of the great masterpieces of English poetry.
