Books with title The Canterbury Tales: Play

A selection of eight stories from Chaucer's time-tested collection of talesThe narrator of Chaucer's tale, a traveler, finds himself welcomed into a fellow group of travelers, all of whom are on their way to receive the blessings of St. Thomas à Becket in Canterbury. To ensure a pleasant journey, a storytelling contest is suggested, with the winner promised a sumptuous dinner from the party's other members. Thus begins The Canterbury Tales. Eight of these tales are showcased in this charming collection, including words from the Host as well as words from Chaucer. The stories include: "The Miller's Tale""The Franklin's Tale""The Nun's Priest's Tale""The Wife of Bath's Tale""The Friar's Tale"

A group of English men and women from all walks of life gather at the Tabard Inn atSouthwark and proceed on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Before they leave, their host proposes a contest: whichever of them can tell the best story during the ride to Canterbury will be given a free dinner at the Tabard upon the group's return to London. And as courtlyromances are answered by filthy fabliaux, and proto-feminist exempla lead to heated debates about marriage, the pilgrims provide modern readers with an alternately touching and riotous look at life in medieval England. Highlights include: "The Miller's Tale": a bawdytale of a romantic quadrangle between a poor scholar, a parish clerk, a carpenter, and the carpenter's beautiful wife. "The Reeve's Tale": After being cuckolded by a thieving miller, the students John and Aleyn concoct a delicious revenge in this freewheeling sex farce. "The Wife of Bath's Tale": Prefaced by the Wife's lengthy autobiography, this is the story of a knight convicted of rape - who must, as penance, discover what it is that women most desire. "The Summoner's Tale": A delightful if indelicate tale about the unusual donation a parishioner makes to his local monastery. "The Pardoner's Tale": The story of three rioters who go on a drunken quest to find Death - and succeed. "Sir Thopas": Chaucer's hilarious self-parody, in which he represents an absurd piece of fake minstrel-verse as "the best rhyme I know." "The Nun's Priest's Tale": An amusing fable about a rooster, his favorite wife, and the fox who wanted to eat them.

The Canterbury is a collection of over 20 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century, during the time of the Hundred Years' War. The tales (mostly written in verse, although some are in prose) are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The prize for this contest is a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return. After a long list of works written earlier in his career, The Canterbury Tales was Chaucer's magnum opus. He uses the tales and the descriptions of its characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time, and particularly of the Church.

GEOFFREY CHAUCER (1343-1400), was the son of John Chaucer, a London vintner. In 1357 he served with Lionel, duke of Clarence. In 1359 he was in France with Edward III´s invading army, was taken prisoner, and ransomed. He married Philippa, the daughter of Sir Paon Roet of Hainault and the sister of John of Gaunt´s thirt wife, Katherine Swynford. Chaucer enjoyed Gaunt´s patronage throughout his life. He held a number of positions at court and in the king´s service, and he travelled abroad on numerous occasions on diplomatic missions to France, Genoa and Florence. He was appointed controller of customs in the port of London, and was knight of the shire for Kent. His last official position was deputy forester in the King´s Forest at Petherton in Somerset. “The Canterbury Tales” (1386-1400), Chaucer´s most celebrated work, extending to 17.000 lines in prose and verse of various metres. The General Prologue describes the meeting of 29 pilgrims in the Tabard Inn in Southwark. The host proposes that the pilgrims should shorten the road by telling four stories each, two on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back.

Geoffrey Chaucer is widely considered to be the father of English literature. Having achieved fame in the Middle Ages as a writer of both prose and poetry, as well as through his scientific and philosophical knowledge, Chaucer became the first poet to be buried in Poets’ Corner at Westminster Abbey. Some of his most renowned works include The House of Fame, The Book of the Duchess and The Legend of Good Women.What Chaucer is known for the most today, however, is his authorship of The Canterbury Tales. This is a series of 24 delightful and insightful stories, written both in verse and in prose, that were presented initially as part of a storytelling contest by pilgrims traveling together to Canterbury.The stories are written in Middle English, and are included inside the frame tale of the pilgrims’ journey, as they seek to reach the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket found at the Canterbury Cathedral. Their themes vary greatly, from love and romance to tales of wisdom about avarice and greed. The characters and the narratives themselves hold remarkable cultural and historic value, while still remaining some of the most intriguing and well-presented works of fiction even more than six centuries after they were first published.The Canterbury Tales are oftentimes lively and sometimes even surprisingly humorous. An undisputed work of genius written by a man well ahead of his time, they will enchant you through the vivid portrayal of situations, places and characters that have inspired many other writers of prose and poetry throughout the centuries to come.Whether you have an interest for medieval society and its cultural values, are more drawn to the beauty and enchanting quality of the folklore and understanding of those times, or you just want to enjoy a few vibrant, fast-paced tales in Middle English, The Canterbury Tales will bring you what you seek.