The Canterbury Tales and Other Poems


Generally considered to be the first book written in English (rather than Latin, French or Italian), Chaucer's magnum opus is a collection of stories as told by a group of pilgrims at Canterbury. It shows Chaucer's knowledge of a wide variety of story-telling styles, with oral storytelling being the norm at that time. It is widely believed by modern scholars that this work was unfinished at his death. This book also includes other poems, some of which are no longer attributed to him. David Laing Purves edited Chaucer's work to make it more accessible to more modern audiences, and has added many notes and explanations, which can be found in the text.(Summary by LynneT) (27 hr 32 min)

Chapters

Preface by D. Laing Purves 12:38
Life of Geoffrey Chaucer 52:07
The Prologue 45:07
The Knight's Tale 51:32
The Knight's Tale Continued 57:27
The Miller's Tale 41:29
The Reeve's Tale 37:03
The Cook's Tale 7:13
Prologue to The Man of Law's Tale 5:44
The Man of Law's Tale 59:12
Prologue toThe Wife of Bath's Tale 45:43
The Wife of Bath's Tale 26:03
The Friar's Tale 23:13
The Sompnour's Tale 35:31
The Clerk's Tale 34:13
The Clerk's Tale Continued 33:49
The Merchant's Tale 30:05
The Merchant's Tale Continued 31:16
The Squire's Tale 29:07
The Franklin's Tale 52:10
The Doctor's Tale 14:45
The Pardoner's Tale 37:33
The Shipman's Tale 25:47
The Prioress's Tale 11:47
Chaucer's Tale of Sir Thopas 10:12
Chaucer's Tale of Meliboeus 44:15
The Monk's Tale 53:14
The Nun's Priest's Tale 37:45
The Second Nun's Tale 30:47
Prologue to The Canon's Yeoman's Tale 9:47
The Canon's Yeoman's Tale 42:40
The Manciple's Tale 18:41
The Parson's Tale 41:51
The Parson's Tale Continued 34:04
Prayer of Chaucer 5:35
Introduction to The Court of Love 4:30
The Court of Love (no longer believed to have been written by Chaucer) 56:52
The Cuckoo and the Nightingale (no longer believed to have been written by Chau… 29:22
The Assembly of Fowls 44:42
The Flower and the Leaf (no longer believed to have been written by Chaucer) 31:40
The House of Fame 38:44
The House of Fame Continued 34:05
Troilus and Cressida 26:01
The Second Book 26:51
The Third Book 37:39
The Fourth Book 35:05
The Fifth Book 34:38
Chaucer's Dream (no longer believed to have been written by Chaucer) 44:05
The Prologue to The Legend of Good Women 37:08
Chaucer's A.B.C. 16:22
A Goodly Ballad of Chaucer (no longer believed to have been written by Chaucer) 5:55
A Ballad Sent to King Richard 2:48
L'Envoy of Chaucer to Bukton 2:17
A Ballad of Gentleness 1:40
A Complaint of Chaucer to His Purse 2:53
Good Counsel of Chaucer 1:54
The Proverbs of Chaucer (no longer believed to have been written by Chaucer) 1:46
Virelay (no longer believed to have been written by Chaucer) 2:35
Since I From Love (no longer believed to have been written by Chaucer) 1:14
Chaucer's Words to His Scrivener and Chaucer's Prophecy (no longer believed to … 2:39