Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Canterbury Tales
    Canterbury Tales
    Canterbury Tales
    Audiobook9 hours

    Canterbury Tales

    Written by Geoffrey Chaucer

    Narrated by David Butler

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    A selection of eight stories with some words from the host and from Chaucer: The Miller's Tale, The Reeve's Tale, The Franklin's Tale, The Words of the Host, The Pardoner's Tale, The Nun's Priest's Tale, The Wife of Bath's Tale,The Friar's Tale, The Clerk's Tale, Chaucer's Farewell.


    Thought to have been born in London, England c. 1342/43, Geoffrey Chaucer is considered "the first finder of our language" even before the time of Shakespeare. His The Canterbury Tales ranks as one of the greatest poetic works in the English language. Perhaps the chief characteristics of Chaucer's works are their variety in subject matter, genre, tone, style, and in the complexities presented concerning man's pursuit of a sensible existence. Yet his writings also consistently reflect an all-pervasive humor, combined with serious and tolerant consideration of important philosophical questions. From his writings Chaucer emerges as a poet of love, both earthly and divine. His stories lead the listener to speculate about man's relationship both to other people and to his Maker, while simultaneously providing entertaining views of the frailties and follies, as well as the nobility, of mankind.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSpotify Audiobooks
    Release dateJan 1, 2003
    ISBN9781467610698
    Author

    Geoffrey Chaucer

    Often referred to as the father of English poetry, Geoffrey Chaucer was a fourteenth-century philosopher, alchemist, astrologer, bureaucrat, diplomat, and author of many significant poems. Chaucer’s writing was influential in English literary tradition, as it introduced new rhyming schemes and helped develop the vernacular tradition—the use of everyday English—rather than the literary French and Latin, which were common in written works of the time. Chaucer’s best-known—and most imitated—works include The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde, The Book of the Duchess, and The House of Fame.

    Related to Canterbury Tales

    Related audiobooks

    Children's Short Stories For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The best-ever ROMANCES

      Jan 7, 2021

      The best-ever ROMANCES
      2 min read

    • Article

      A Twitch Upon The Thread

      Oct 17, 2019

      A Twitch Upon The Thread
      6 min read

    • Article

      Three Poems

      Nov 1, 2019

      Like Frida, who had a bellyful of NihilistsI had a bellyful too,only it was hellfire ecstaticsriding, as they did, on white horseswith swords sticking out of their mouths. I lived in Alabama P.A.I loved the cheap real estatebut I hated that they dran

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Island (catullus 64)

      Mar 1, 2022

      Back then the evergreens tumbled downriverfrom the glaze-white runoff to the boot-stirred puddlesof amber young men who fulfilled our destiny,who clambered into ships, on horses, and in wagonspainting the newfound landscapes ours.Our calling was nobl

      9 min read

    • Article

      Bard In The Woods

      Nov 30, 2020

      Bard In The Woods
      4 min read

    • Article

      THE BLACK SPIDER Part Two

      Oct 30, 2019

      THE BLACK SPIDER Part Two
      25 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      May 1, 2019

      “My arm is so brown and so beautiful,” is a thought I haveas I’m about to turn off the lamp and go to sleep.I look at it a moment in the soft glow, and see it, briefly,as though it belonged to someone else. A reddishkind of brown, like a toasted almo

      7 min read

    • Article

      Tessa Castro

      Oct 20, 2021

      IN COMPETITION No 272, you were invited to write a poem called The Umbrella. The subject brought out such weird imaginings in many competitors that ordinary death seemed mundane. Katie Mallett warned against ‘Hemlocks, brollies to close down / All hu

      2 min read

    • Article

      In Memory Of Derek Alton Walcott

      Mar 15, 2018

      1 Island traffic slows to a haltas screeching gulls reluctantto lift heavenwardcongregate like mourners in saltcrustedkelp, as the repellentnews spreads to colder shores: Sir Derek is no more.Bandwidths, clogged by streamingtributes, carry the pitcho

      2 min read

    • Article

      It Had To Be Stew

      May 22, 2022

      It Had To Be Stew
      4 min read

    • Article

      Ursula K. Le Guin

      Jun 15, 2018

      He was thinking of Lookfar, abandoned long ago, beached on the sands of Selidor. Little of her would be left by now, a plank or two down in the sand maybe, a bit of driftwood on the western sea. As he drifted near sleep he began to remember sailing t

      15 min read

    • Article

      The Lightning Thread

      Sep 1, 2021

      The Lodge was a Victorian shooting box of minimal architectural distinction, belonging perhaps to the psychiatric baronial school. Its heavy, irregular exterior was set off by monkey puzzle trees, a mossy lawn and an embattled garden. The household w

      5 min read

    • Article

      Cul-de-Sac

      Dec 1, 2021

      That old rage for order: how my father drove a square mouthed mower over-and-back, over-and-back, each row of neatly trimmed grass cut just like he told his barber: boy’s short, regular. O pioneer, taming this joke bit of prairie, no bindweed or dog

      5 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      Jan 1, 2022

      The painting is of a door, its wood so warpedwith moisture it cannot close. It stays ajar leaving a sliver of light—enough to suggestsomething sweet and almost unreachable behind the door—and you sit in yourroom working on the bills or those comforti

      4 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      Feb 28, 2023

      For Sudeep Sen I know how grateful you were for myconfession. I, too, had been trusted, I, too,desired, and felt the other mess of need,the clumsy psychology of powerand uselessness. I, too, had betrayed,had confessed, had faced her wailrushing down

      3 min read

    • Article

      At Home in England

      Aug 1, 2023

      At Home in England
      5 min read

    • Article

      Two Poems

      Nov 1, 2018

      Our house in the 100-year flood plainflooded. They say thatfor another 800 years a hurricanelike this will not come. My internetis down and my smart phone hurts my thumbsarthritic. I’m running out of data.All my books are in boxes. Please referto my

      3 min read

    • Article

      Carningli

      Mar 22, 2024

      Carningli
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Nightingale

      May 1, 2019

      The Nightingale
      10 min read

    • Article

      Your Zest Friend

      Feb 8, 2023

      Your Zest Friend
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Women Of The Palace

      Sep 19, 2022

      At Georgia’s ragged edge stands a causeway made of earth piled by hand atop bricks and tires, long grown over with grass and sandspur and sea oxeye. It is a tenuous ribbon of stability cutting through mud and salt and spartina, connecting land and ri

      11 min read

    • Article

      The Call Of The Wild

      Nov 30, 2020

      The Call Of The Wild
      2 min read

    • Article

      This Is the Fruit I’ll Never Die For: Featured Poetry by Paisley Rekdal

      May 7, 2019

      By turns sensual and sweet, Rekdal’s narrator captures the many facets of hunger. The post This Is the Fruit I’ll Never Die For: Featured Poetry by Paisley Rekdal appeared first on The Millions.

      2 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Canterbury Tales

    4/5

    84 ratings47 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      Zeer ongelijkmatig; sommige verhalen zitten met haken en ogen in elkaar, andere zijn pareltjes.Steken er bovenuit: ridder,vrouw uit Bath, klerk, grondbezitter, aflaatkramer, nonnenpriester.Wel mooie psychologische tekening.
    • 2/5
      Well, I finally read the complete Canterbury Tales. A few of the best known tales were enjoyable enough. But most I found dull and plodding. I had barely recovered from the interminable Tale of Melibee, when I got to the 60 page long sermon that is the Parson's Tale (not a tale at all), and which closes the book. Most literary classics I've read, I have thoroughly enjoyed. This was not among them.
    • 4/5
      The first time I had to read this book for school I hated it. Later, as an adult I came to love the book. Some stories are more captivating than others but they're all entertaining. Each story carries different characteristics, and range in purposes from providing moral dilemmas to being just plain hilarious. Everything from love, jealousy, hate, revenge, sex, and stupidity is covered! If you read this book for school, and hated it, give it another chance! It deserves that much at least!
    • 5/5
      You wouldn't think a collection of medieval stories would be so entertaining. Some of these are hilarious. The copy I had also contained the original Chaucerian English in a facing-page translation which was really neat.
    • 5/5
      I suppose this is my own Ulysses. Canterbury Tales is certainly one of those books, like Ulysses or Proust or Golden Bowl, that no one's actually read or if they have they hated it or if they didn't they're lying because they think it'll impress you. But I took a whole class on this in college and I had this terrific professor, and she showed me how awesome this is. Really, it's a heap of fun. Are you impressed?
    • 5/5
      I received this book as part of the Early Reviewers program, and have slowly been slogging through it. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Canterbury tales - as you can see, I've given it 4.5 stars. No matter what translation, I find the Tales always to be a long, hard read - but this translation is beautiful. It makes the long, hard read much less of a slog and much more enjoyable!
    • 5/5
      My Chaucer professor at the University of Miami, Dr. Eugene Clasby, used to say that Chaucer was a greater writer than Shakespeare (and he taught Shakespeare, too). I'm going to leave it at that, except to say that The Wife of Bath's Tale is a brilliant moral lesson about embracing your life.
    • 5/5
      Written in the late 1380's through the early 1390's, Chaucer combines the elements of a diverse cast of travelers, age-old human themes, some borrowed stories from others (cleverly giving credit much of the time), and his own talent for tying everything together through a host that serves as both MC and judge. Some stories are baudy. Most of those that deal with religion have a tonque-in-cheek attitude, though there are a few that truly deal with love and virtue. This is a must-read classic.
    • 5/5
      The readers voice was really excellent! I said he does in college but I think I may not have read it all the way through. I know this is an abbreviated version. It’s been a pleasure.
    • 4/5
      A wonderful introduction to the tales. I suggest reading this before tackling them in the original, as it really helps to have an idea of what's happening as you translate. And when you read the original, try reading it aloud. Sometimes just hearing how the words sound will help you translate the meaning.
    • 4/5
      What a beautiful book the new unabridged translation of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales by Burton Raffel is. The book jacket is lovely, the uneven torn edges of the pages are perfect and typeset is easy on the eyes.John Miles Foley's Introduction begins..."Welcome to the world of characters you won't soon forget, of speeches and ideas and events that will stay with you long after you come to the end of the (supposedly) unfinished Canterbury Tales." Even before coming to the end, the stories stay with you.I am getting through this book slower than I would like, but remember, it is almost 600 pages long. Not the easiest to read but well worth it. It just amazes me that this was written in the 14th Century. The translation from Middle English is done very well. I am truly enjoying my first reading of The Canterbury Tales.
    • 4/5
      Mark Twain said something like: "Classics are books you think you ought to read, but never do." Well, I am glad I put in the hours to listen to this book, but I cannot say I enjoyed much of it. Partially, it was the narration--some of the accents used were simply impossible--and partially it was boredom that set in when discussing theology that is so far from my own. Still, it is part of the "canon" and as such, it is good to be a bit more literate today than I was yesterday....
    • 5/5
      The Canterbury Tales are at the same time a historical and literary reading. Through the characters you can see a whole frame of representations from Middle Ages. From the women of Bath to merchant, prayers, prioesses, friars... religious, economical, burguois and low society. This book is an incredible source for scholars, students and readers.
    • 4/5
      Maybe one day I'll read ALL of the tales. Not today.
    • 3/5
      One of my English teachers had a penchant for making his students memorize passages from certain books. Thanks to him, I will forever have the first few lines of the prologue memorized. It randomly pops into my head in lilting Middle English, and I find myself repeating, "Whan that aprill with his shoures soote, the droghte of march hath perced to the roote, and bathed every veyne in switch licour..."
    • 5/5
      Always entertaining. I loved reading this the first time and I always enjoy going back over a tale or two for a chuckle.
    • 4/5
      The whole idea of the Canterbury Tales is very cool, and I certainly enjoy reading the different stories and poetry, but I find that I don't actually -like- most of the stories. They all follow a distinct pattern and are either crude and tragic or just plain tragic.
    • 3/5
      The Canterbury Tales is one of those classics that was on my TBR list. I chose to listen to this on audio and was very glad I did. Narrators are a reader's best friend when it comes to more difficult reads, allowing the listener to just sit back and absorb the work. And in between the actual traveler's tales, there would be a brief summary of what exactly was going on. I appreciated this very much because, at times, I wondered if I was listening to the same writer--one story would be fluid and coherent and easy to understand--and then we came to tales that were confusing and tortured in their language. Audio recommended. Overall, interesting.
    • 3/5
      Having not read The Canterbury Tales since high school, I really have no basis of comparison to say how this translation stands up to prior editions, but I can say that it was a very accessible book. I won't go into the details of the story, as I would be just rehashing everything that has been said before, but I did find the book enjoyable. It still takes awhile to get into the flow of the text, but once there, the reading was quite easy.
    • 2/5
      I read The Prologue, The Cook's Prologue & Tale, The Prioress's Prologue & Tale, Words of the Host to the Monk, The Monk's Tale, The Nun's Priest's Tale, the Pardoner's Prologue & Tale, The Wife of Bath's Prologue & Tale

      I enjoyed reading it, but its not a book I'd just pick up and read for fun.
    • 4/5
      This particular translation proved to be an easier read than I had expected. A little of the flow feels like it has been sacrificed in favor of readability, but that didn't bother me- rather, I enjoyed the chance to read the stories without having to over-think the poetry. I always have my older editions for the times when the beauty of the language is more important to me than the stories!
    • 5/5
      This is a very approachable translation of The Canterbury Tales. Many of my students still struggle with reading Chaucer in translation (at least with the translation in our anthology); however, this translation seems more approachable for my college students.
    • 5/5
      Oh, the treasure of finding and holding a shopworn copy of Chaucer's tales in my hands is just too much for words. His tales are not just downright funny, but they can be applied even today to the people we work with, live with, and play with on a daily basis. In fact, I kept laughing every time I read another tale that was a ringer for someone I knew. The classics hold up well, don't they?


      Book Season = Sping ("when the sweet showers of April fall and shoot")
    • 4/5
      Touted as unabridged. It contains unabridged versions of the 12 more popular tales.
    • 5/5
      Loved the variety of stories available. It had something for everyone. It is now my travel book. As I can pick and choose what I feel like reading.
    • 3/5
      Wow! Almost readable in original English after 660 years. Irreverent & ebullient.Read Samoa Nov 2003
    • 3/5
      Canterbury Tales were ruined for me in school. If I'd read them out of school I would have loved them. Some of the stories are superb while some of them fall flat. If you don't mind shifting between the enthralling and mundane this book wouldn't be half-bad.
    • 4/5
      Canterbury Tales is basically required literature for every literate English speaker out there. It offers a plethora of different stories to choose from: some sad, some funny, some downright raucous and crude. You'll never run out of stories for all your varieties of moods.I would recommend trying reading this in the original Middle English; it's difficult but rewarding, especialy when you revert back to modern English afterwards and realize how easy and familiar it is!That being said, Burton Raffel's new translation of Canterbury Tales is approachable and friendly to readers of all ages, from the slightly-but-hopefully-not-too-apathetic high school student to the serious and wise scholar of English lit. More points for having a lovely book layout; I love the feel of a good, solid book in my hands.
    • 3/5
      While these are quite tiresome to translate into modern english, or something understandable at least, the stories themselves are quite interesting.
    • 5/5
      I read this in high school for AP English. Don't let the old english throw you, this book is awesome. It's full of hilarious stories and are certainly worth a read. Medieval people definately have fantastic senses of humor.