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?