The Canterbury Tales

"5 big beautiful stars!! This should be required reading.<br/><br/>I have not read all of the Canterbury Tales because the book is almost 800 pages, but I will write small reviews on each tale I read below: (rated highest to lowest)<br/><br/>The Second Nun’s Tale ★★★★★<br/>- Hands down, Cecelia is Chaucer’s most powerful female character. He gives a loud, outspoken voice to a martyred virgin- and TO THIS DAY, Chaucer’s account of St. Cecelia’s life is one of the only ones we have. Also- she is the patron saint of musicians BECAUSE of Chaucer’s beautiful opening to this tale where she is singing in her head. She literally laughed in the face of evil, and wouldn’t stay quiet even as her head was halfway cut off… RIP to a baddie. <br/><br/>The Man of Law's Tale ★★★★★<br/>- My favorite tale that we read this year (2024) in my Chaucer class. I loved Constance as a main character and seeing her faith through her life struggles. The MoL's tale is super fast-paced and kept me super entertained. Constance honestly ate and there was so much drama. I also like the questions that this tale brings up. <br/><br/>The Franklin's Tale ★★★★★<br/>- This is the first tale that we read in my Chaucer class. It is so Bridgerton coded/Period drama. This is a courtly romance, and super dramatic and kind of funny. I loved this for its entertainment value and the interesting questions it raises about feminism and consent in Medieval Europe. However, I have an intense rage for Dorigen and I hate Aurelius and Arveragus… justice for Dorigen I could write a six book series about how she was done dirty. <br/><br/>The Wife of Bath's Tale ★★★★.5<br/>- Iconic. The WoB's tale is kind of a hard read, because her prologue is sooo long, but she is super funny and confident in herself. Her actual story is pretty mid, but asks the question, "What thing is it that wommen moost desiren?" This obviously raised plenty of questions/conversations in my class. The real meat is in her prologue, because the Wife of Bath herself as a character is one of the most outspoken of all of the pilgrims.<br/><br/>The Miller's Tale ★★★★<br/>- This should be required reading for high school or college. I read the Miller's Tale for my History of English Lit class and I LOVE when professors put it in the syllabus to shock their students. I think people totally underestimate Middle English literature and this is the perfect example of how raunchy and funny it can be! Chaucer is hilarious. <br/><br/>The Clerk's Tale ★★★<br/>- This was the last tale that we read for my Chaucer class. I loved it and it was super entertaining, but I didn't really get that deep into it because of other exams that were taking my time, so it was kind of a skim. It is super dark and reminiscent of the Book of Job. I really want to reread this in depth in the future. <br/><br/>The Physician’s Tale ★★★<br/>- This tale ****** me off so bad. I enjoy how it connects to the Second Nun’s and Franklin’s Tales (some of my faves obv) but the ending felt like no justice was served to me. Virginia deserved better and I was screaming at my book because why didn’t they give it like 5 more minutes… then everything would be ok. However, love the link between Dorigen’s lament and Virginia’s fate. <br/><br/>Anyways, everyone should read the Canterbury Tales!!!"

"Not really a favorite, but I guess it wasn't that bad."

"All of my reasons for hating this book are superficial so don't take my opinion into account when deciding whether you want to read it or not."

"Funny, thought-provoking tales"

"Ivanhoe is good if you are looking for another story set in the middle ages. The Iliad is a great one if you are craving that old writing style. "