Which Version of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales Should You Read?

Chaucer can be daunting for anyone - how are you ever supposed to understand all that Middle English? Today I'm ranking 4 different translations and retellings of The Canterbury Tales to help you decide which version should you read and why!

0:00 What are The Canterbury Tales?
5:12 5 Reasons to read Chaucer
Which Version of The Canterbury Tales Should You Read?
9:09 Canterbury Tales (Usborne Classics Retold) - Sarah Courtauld, Dr Abigail Wheatley, and Susanna Davidson
14:04 Kyra break
15:03 A Retelling by Peter Ackroyd
18:27 Translated by Nevill Coghill
23:38 Original Chaucer edited by Jill Mann

-------------

Join this channel to get access to perks:

Support my channel by buying on of these recommended products through these affiliate links:

---------------------------
If you want to send me stuff, here's my PO Box:
Rachel Oates
Unit 16588
PO Box 6945
London
W1A 6US

--------------------------
Thank You To All My
Patreon Supporters This Month!

You guys are incredible!! ♥

Don't feel like you have to donate, but please know I'm super-grateful to anyone who does ♥

[jonnyrussell]

15 seconds in -- concise introduction, clearly enunciated, good lighting, passionately spoken; your love for literature comes through in your presentation, and you've earned yourself a new subscriber. I have a feeling I'm going to binge this channel.

[bunnycrofts]

For some reason I've found it helps to read Old English out loud.

[Orange-tfbf]

It's nice to see yo cover topics that give you joy :)

[kajielin]

OMG I was so looking forward to exactly this video! Thank you so much! :D

[shystudyspy]

Love this! Thanks for this video! So interesting and it’s great to fall asleep too because there’s no sudden loud noises, just you talking and explaining something interesting.

[lynseybowe]

I am a high school English teacher and love the Nevill Coghill version. It's easy enough for my students to understand the language but still has a lot of the beautiful language of the original Middle English.

[Lolzadoodle]

On Kyra loving Chopin: my dog loves opera and classical western voice. Singing is one of my hobbies, and she has started to pick it up with me, down to attempting to match pitch 🤣 She's started to get into pop, too - only Whitney Houston has interested her enough to sing along.

[queenofdarkness]

I wish I`d seen this video before heading to the library earlier. Will definitely have a look for Chaucer`s Canterbury Tales next time. Loved the video

[chloe.]

What a wonderful video! Thank you so much for the recommendations! :)

[laurajarrell]

Rachel Oates, I can't believe you'd try to do the middle English! I'm glad you're going to show the versions!👍🥰💖✌

[trapadvisor]

I’ve never heard of this. But you’re talking about it so I’m interested. Keep up the great work

[tuhtea]

This was a wonderful video!! Thank you for taking the time to make it. I really enjoyed it. :))

[TheDolphace]

I went to secondary school in South London, one of my favourite memories is listening to typical South London rude girls reading Chaucer.
Not even being mean or laughing, it was really fun to hear how they decided to pronounce words.
We read a couple of different versions which was cool

[SilentCanScream]

This video helps me a lot. I want to read Chaucer for my studies.

[carpenoctumpoetry]

I know these aren’t always your most viewed videos, but I am soooo here for you classic lit videos 🥰

[ArthurChappell]

A question of reading it or studying ot - best to read first in modern English translation and then go back to read it it in the Middle English - some characters really existed, including the landlord of the Tabard Pub who suggests the reading competition to the travellers. The pub sadly burnt down a few years after the Great Fire Of London (which it survived)

[philtheo]

1. Of course, the Coghill translation has been the gold standard for like 75 years. That's definitely the translation to get. 😊

2. However, perhaps surprisingly, Chaucer's Middle English isn't super difficult to learn. Any contemporary English speaker with a desire to do so can learn Middle English in a few weeks. Then one can read Chaucer in the original.

3. Penguin Classics publishes both the Coghill version as well as the Middle English text of The Canterbury Tales. And it's also available online to read for free.

[Diana-mupc]

Love that you made this video Rachel. Comparative Chaucer is my shit. One of my hobbies lately is buying antique versions of the Canterbury Tales presented for children on Etsy and secondhand book websites. I would love to know if you'd ever do a video like this on Beowulf, given the just as many (if not more) versions of that text! Especially with all the buzz that came out in 2020 with Maria Dahvana Headley's version. Stay well and take care of Kyra. :-)

[khylle]

This was not a video I was expecting to see today but I'm delighted to hear people talking about their interests and I might just give Canterbury tales a look

[alacrity]

Thanks! I'll keep a look out for the Coghill version! I'm not a native English speaker, so Middle English intimidates me too much, but Penguin Classics is a sign of quality and I do want "the full experience" XD