March Books 28) The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer

[nwhyte]

This is the Penguin edition of the Canterbury Tales, translated rather bravely into modern English verse, and omitting the bulk of Chaucer's own Tale of Melibee and also the Parson's Tale (which is admittedly very boring). I have a number of general observations:

1. It is striking how many of the Tales are unfinished, either interrupted by other characters or simply not completed by Chaucer - the Shipman's Tale being the most egregious example, ending in mid-sentence.
2. Chaucer is happier writing about sex than high politics. The Monk's Tale with its list of virtuous rulers is a yawn a minute. The Knight's Tale is far too long and should have concentrated on the love story rather than the courtly jousting. By contrast the Miller's Tale and the Reeve's Tale are vivid sketches.
3. There are a lot of unfaithful wives in Chaucer, yet I sense his sympathy is more with them than with the virtuous (who often end up dying painfully spiritual deaths). I don't think there is direct evidence that the Wife of Bath ever cheated on any of her five husbands but one senses that she would not have let an opportunity slip past her and that Chaucer approves.
4. The astrology really is a big deal. The late great J.D. North wrote several books addressing Chaucer's astrology which I absorbed with great interest while doing my MPhil twenty (gulp!) years ago, but basically the point is that Chaucer knew what he was talking about and his astrology is carefully calculated. (Unlike Shakespeare, who is cheerfully hazy on the details of cosmology.)
5. By contrast, Chaucer's geography is rather weak once you get past Flanders and northern France. In the Man of Law's Tale, poor Constance's boat is washed from Syria to Britain without coming in sight of her native Italy or of any other land mass.
6. It is a shame that the rather dull and over-long Knight's Tale tends to be placed first in the collection. I am sure it puts off many potential modern readers, and most of the rest of the stories are great fun.

Anyway, strongly recommended, apart from the points noted above.