For those of you who have read Chaucer, how did you read him?
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For those of you who have read Chaucer, how did you read him? Did you read a translation into modern English or did you read a version closer to the way he originally wrote?
I read the Oxford translation. No fucks given. I've read selections of him in the original and it's not that special. He's a storyteller, not a good poet.
>>7975492
I had to read all of the Canterbury tales for my senior year high school English class, it was closer to the original text.
>>7975492
I read the Penguin. I believe that for the most part only the gh and th symbols were transcribed? Plus linebreaks and punctuation I guess
>>7975492
The original, it takes about 2-3 days to get used to but is doable for anyone. There's probably 2-3 words every page that youd need to look up, a lot of editions have footnotes for those words.
I highly recommend the Norton compilation -- but in my opinion it doesn't really matter.
When reading Middle English works, the oral component surpasses anything else - just try to read any translation aloud and you'll surpass even the most diligent silent reader.