Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer
Written by Geoffrey Chaucer, Canterbury Tales is a collection of short stories written as tales. It is considered as Chaucer’s finest work and one of the most prolific literary collections in history.
The tales included themes of love and lust as well as ideals of religion and class. It was written as a combination of literary structure and poetics. The humor and lessons of the tales have allowed the stories to still hold weight after centuries.
Hackett publishing’s version is by far the best available currently. Joseph Glaser of Kentucky University is the translator for this piece and it is something of wonder. Not only is it easy to grasp but it also keeps Chaucer’s rhyming scheme and word choice relatively unaltered. In addition there is plenty of notation and summary about the significance of the work and what it means in modernity.