The Canterbury Tales

By Geoffrey Chaucer

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Reading level

Level nine: Advanced adult literature
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Curriculum details

  • Aug 5, 2024 - Aug 30, 2024
  • 12 credit hours

About

The Canterbury Tales is a foundational work of literature in the English language, and is often studied in its original Middle English.

High school students do not need to read the entire work in Middle English, but you should spend some time listening to an oral reading of the original language alongside a modern English translation. The University of Saskatchewan's app, available at www.sd-editions.com/CantApp/GP, is freely accessible and includes a beautiful 45-minute oral rendition of the Prologue in Middle English.

We like The Canterbury Tales in Modern Verse by Hackett Classics translation because it modernizes the language while preserving much of the beauty of the original. This edition summarizes some of the tales, while presenting the most important ones unabridged.