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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