V. A. Kolve
Autor von The Canterbury Tales [Norton Critical Edition, 2nd ed.]
Über den Autor
V.A.Kolve has gained an international reputation as one of our most astute interpreters of the complex interchanges in the later 13th through early 16th centuries between verbal and visual artifacts. Chaucer and the Imagery of Narrative II has been long in coming, but even the earliest essays in it mehr anzeigen refresh and make green poetry one may have thought one knew only too well. And for beginning students, it will open the grand medieval treasure house once again." V.A. KOLVE is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at UCLA. One of America's for most Chaucer scholars, he is the co-editor of the Norton Critical Edition, of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1989; Second Edition, 2005) and the author of Chaucer and the Imagery of Narrative: The Five Canterbury Tales (Stanford, 1984), winner of the Modern Language Association's James Rit sell Lowell Prize. He has served as President of the Medieval Academy of America, as President Sciences. weniger anzeigen
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I was a little intimidated at first at the idea of reading in Middle English, but soon found that although it does take an effort, the poetic form of most of the tales naturally encouraged me to keep reading.
I found the Canterbury Tales a lot more engaging than the Decameron, mostly because the variety of characters were given strong and memorable personalities which occasionally would come into conflict. I could only imagine the knight's horror as his proud tale of honour and love is followed up by a slew of fart jokes and personal attacks.
On the other hand as a modern reader I found the Tales seemed a lot more hostile to women than the Decameron. It soon became tedious to read all the whinging about the terrible curse of marriage and the fickleness of wives. At least we women have the Wife of Bath in our corner!
The contextual material that followed was quite good, but the analysis...well it reminded me why I quit studying English literature despite being good enough to earn a scholarship: the tendency for literary analysis to be filled with insufferable pomposity that masks a distinct lack of substance.
On the one hand, one of the included essays did provide an interesting response to my biggest issue with the work, pitching the various stories involving marriage as a debate that concludes in support of marital harmony. And there were a few other useful tidbits I managed to pick up, like the contradictory character of the Prioress - her propriety perhaps hiding a hateful heart.
On the other, it took me about three times as long to read this section as it did the rest of the book combined. When it is easier to read actual non-Englishthan the modern English essays discussing it, I think there is an issue. Of course, this book is intended for university-level students of English literature so it could be a matter of me being the wrong audience, and I'd hate to be one of those "I don't understand it, therefore it's bad" cretins, but I can't help but feel the obfuscating language was covering for a lack of real substance.
An okay introduction, but in future I'll probably seek out a different version!… (mehr)