The Canterbury Tales (No Fear)

I’m no dummy, but the original Canterbury Tales might as well have been in Klingon. This No Fear version saved me. The side-by-side translation makes the story understandable, funny, and actually enjoyable. Now I can finally follow along without pretending I “get” Middle English. A lifesaver for students, casual readers, or anyone who wants to read Chaucer without a headache.

Super helpful to my high school student.

This is a fantastic version of a book I would otherwise have never picked up. The translation is in a very readable, informal prose which is more like a detailed summary than a line-by-line translation, which I was fine with but this book would not be for someone looking for a line-by-line translation.

Cover was damaged when it arrived.

I have two foreign exchange students in my British Literature class who were really struggling with beginning British language and the archaic words that they could not translate. I ordered the no fear version to help them with translation. It rocked! They loved being able to look at both version and have a better understanding of the storyline. I loved seeing them excel and succeed. I went along with my lesson plans great.

Canterbury Tales with built in cheat notes?! Yes, please. Perfect for building confidence in kids that are learning more difficult material!

modern translation is quite entertaining

The translation is very readable. However, it’s interpretation of the original is often off the mark of the original meaning. It would be nice to have notes on Middle English words, too, since the Translation is more of a paraphrase.

The printing and quality of the book is nice. I do not like however the way the easy to read version is prose and not line by line. There is reordering of ideas so if you want to read the original and cannot understand an old word - it’s very difficult to find the exact matching part of the modern translation. I’d far prefer exact line by line matching and an approximate word for word translation to enjoy the old language but get help when things are unclear.

If you need some help with your Middle English, then this goes a significant way to providing it. The translation may occasionally be too American for some tastes, but my opinion is that it's best to get past that and use this as an easy way of getting to know Chaucer's characters. The format is great, as it shows the translations of paragraphs opposite the original text, and it brings the stories alive in a way that other translations have perhaps failed to. Read both versions a few times and find yourself understanding and appreciating Chaucer's humanity, subtlety and humour anew, then re-appreciate the excellence of the original poetry.

For undergraduates or school students, If you want to Read middle English language you need a translation by side. This book provides it. It has the original text at the left page and the modern translation at the right.

An excellent book with modern English transliteration of each chapter. That makes reading easy.

Wonderfully informative