N° 2612
Chaucer's tale of his motley band of travellers on their
pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas a Becket have become legendary
and still represent, in John Dryden's words, "God's plenty."
The Canterbury Tales, compiled in the late fourteenth century, is
an incisive portrait, infused with Chaucer's wry wit and vibrant,
poetical languauge. He evokes a spectrum of colourful characters,
from the bawdy Wife of Bath to the gallant Knight, the fastidious
Prioress and the burly, drunken Miller. As they wend their way from
Southwark to Canterbury, tales are told to pass the time, and the
stories are as diverse as the narrators, encompassing themes such
as adultery, revenge, courtly love, lechery, avarice and penitence.
As humorous today as when it was written over six centuries ago,
The Canterbury Tales remains one of the most popular and enjoyable
of the classic works of literature.
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