The General Prologue

Onward to the Canterbury Tales!

The video lecture below provides an explication the opening lines of the General Prologue, the most famous—and the most difficult—lines of The Canterbury Tales. Before watching the video, read and translate these lines to the best of your ability. Paraphrase the passage. Note portions that cause you the most difficulty. This is going to be hard. I’m not giving you any hints or glosses or notes. Just see what you can make of the lines on your own! Mindful reading is what I’m after.

The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales

Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote

The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,

And bathed every veyne in swich licour

Of which vertu engendred is the flour;

Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth

Inspired hath in every holt and heeth

The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne

Hath in the ram his halve cours yronne,

And smale foweles maken melodye,

That slepen al the nyght with open ye

(so priketh hem nature in hir corages);

Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,

And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,

To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;

And specially from every shires ende

Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,

The hooly blisful martir for to seke,

That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.

Mastery Check:

  • What are signs of spring are described first eighteen lines of the Canterbury Tales?
  • When spring comes, what do people want to do?

 

License

British Literature to 1800 Copyright © 2020 by Karen Winstead. All Rights Reserved.

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