I'm reading canterbury tales, and while some of the tales I enjoy immensely, others just go right over my head and I have to rely on the commentaries for most of my understanding of them. (note: I'm reading it in middle english not adapted etc)
I guess my question is, what is /lit/'s opinion on reading books not at your level? Does it make you a pseud, or is it worth it anyways just for how good some of the books are?
bump
You're not gonna get every single detail in a single reading. Don't worry, you can always reread later.
>>8259585
Which tales did you like?
>>8259585
Absolutely read things above your level. While you not get It consciencely your sub conciousness will work out a lot of it for you. Things at the time that you don't get will become clear to you when you re read or ruminate on it later. Also you should be able to infer meaning from things you don't quite get just from the context
we covered the millers tale in a lecture, and I don't think I would have missed anything valuable if I just read it on my own, can't speak for the rest though
>>8259585
Is summoners tale the one where the guy has to divide a fart into like twelve equal pieces by farting through the spokes of a wagon wheel well some other dudes sniff it? Chaucer was into some sick shit.
>>8260063
My favorites were the clerk's tale, the knight's tale, and The wife of bath's. The story's themselves are uncomplicated and easy to follow while the meaning of them is more profound, so it makes it enjoyable for me with my low understanding of middle english.
The 'fabliou' stories i.e the miller's the reeve's and the shipman's, were the opposite. I had a very hard time understanding just where the plot was going, and I only got the very basic ideas of the stories, and the characterizations.
Overall I'm glad I'm reading it since it's my first experience with medieval literature but I don't want to think that I'm missing out on so much reading it with little skill in deciphering middle english prose.
>>8260309
Nah, that was the miller's tale.
Basically, the guy who farted did it to insult the guy who was trying to court the girl he just fucked, and he was doing a terrible job at courting her.
And the wagon wheel came down as a result of a whole other plotline where the guy who fucked the girl made the girl's husband fall asleep in a wagon cart for very complicated reasons (convinced him there was going to be a biblical flood) and then he awoke screaming 'water' and yeah.
and this is all in middle english too so I'm just wondering what the fuck is going on.
