--- product_id: 1415324 title: "The Canterbury Tales in Modern Verse (Hackett Classics)" price: "€ 46.56" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.be/products/1415324-the-canterbury-tales-in-modern-verse-hackett-classics store_origin: BE region: Belgium --- # The Canterbury Tales in Modern Verse (Hackett Classics) **Price:** € 46.56 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Canterbury Tales in Modern Verse (Hackett Classics) - **How much does it cost?** € 46.56 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.be](https://www.desertcart.be/products/1415324-the-canterbury-tales-in-modern-verse-hackett-classics) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Readers of this witty and fluent new translation of The Canterbury Tales should find themselves turning page after page: by recasting Chaucer's ten-syllable couplets into eight-syllable lines, Joseph Glaser achieves a lighter, more rapid cadence than other translators, a four-beat rhythm well-established in the English poetic tradition up to Chaucer's time. Glaser's shortened lines make compelling reading and mirror the elegance and variety of Chaucer's verse to a degree rarely met by translations that copy Chaucer beat for beat. Moreover, this translation's full, Chaucerian range of diction--from earthy to Latinate--conveys the great scope of Chaucer's interests and effects. The selection features complete translations of the majority of the stories, including all of the more familiar tales and narrative links along with abridgments or summaries of the others. To reflect Chaucer's interest in poetic technique, Glaser presents the tales written in non-couplet stanzas in their original forms. An Introduction, marginal glosses, bibliography, and notes are also included. Review: Finally, I appreciate Chaucer - I'm not an English major, or into great literature. I just like to read good books. As part of my search for a good read, I stumbled across this translation of Chaucer, and it caught my interest. I'm glad it did. I found this translation of Chaucer simply fantastic. This translation is different in that it doesn't constrain itself to using the same number of syllables per line as the original. So instead of forcing things, it used a more modern form that is really fun to read. English has changed, and we don't pronounce words the same any more, and this translation realizes that, and so produces something that is probably closer to the original intent. Sure, reading the original, or a totally "faithful" translation might seem to be more "pure" to hard core literary folks, but this translation in many ways is more pure to the original spirit of the work. I would imagine that the contemporaries of Chaucer could enjoy the original as much as I enjoyed this translation. And it didn't take lots of effort to read - it was just fun. So, if you were exposed to Chaucer in high school or college, and just never got it, or hated trying to make sense of the original or translations that tried to follow the original meter exactly, then I think you should re-visit Chaucer with this great translation. Congratulations to Joseph Glaser for this bold translation that makes Chaucer accessible to the modern reader. Review: If you like Ogden Nash, you will love this - I'm not one of the literati. Shakespeare always leaves me scratching my head, but I do enjoy Walter Scott. This book, on the other hand, is totally understandable, witty, and fun. I read parts of it several times, not because I didn't understand it the first time, because it is entertaining. I'm almost to the end now. I love it and will read parts of it again and again because it's fun. I will read parts of it to my grandchild some day. I will leave other parts for her to read when she is an adult. It's very racy and even crude in parts. I borrowed a more conventional translation from a friend, and I couldn't get through three pages of that. ## Features - Used Book in Good Condition ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #467,921 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #146 in Medieval Poetry #206 in English Literature #1,199 in European Poetry (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 118 Reviews | ## Images ![The Canterbury Tales in Modern Verse (Hackett Classics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61uP9QiSz8L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Finally, I appreciate Chaucer *by B***R on February 16, 2007* I'm not an English major, or into great literature. I just like to read good books. As part of my search for a good read, I stumbled across this translation of Chaucer, and it caught my interest. I'm glad it did. I found this translation of Chaucer simply fantastic. This translation is different in that it doesn't constrain itself to using the same number of syllables per line as the original. So instead of forcing things, it used a more modern form that is really fun to read. English has changed, and we don't pronounce words the same any more, and this translation realizes that, and so produces something that is probably closer to the original intent. Sure, reading the original, or a totally "faithful" translation might seem to be more "pure" to hard core literary folks, but this translation in many ways is more pure to the original spirit of the work. I would imagine that the contemporaries of Chaucer could enjoy the original as much as I enjoyed this translation. And it didn't take lots of effort to read - it was just fun. So, if you were exposed to Chaucer in high school or college, and just never got it, or hated trying to make sense of the original or translations that tried to follow the original meter exactly, then I think you should re-visit Chaucer with this great translation. Congratulations to Joseph Glaser for this bold translation that makes Chaucer accessible to the modern reader. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you like Ogden Nash, you will love this *by B***R on April 7, 2013* I'm not one of the literati. Shakespeare always leaves me scratching my head, but I do enjoy Walter Scott. This book, on the other hand, is totally understandable, witty, and fun. I read parts of it several times, not because I didn't understand it the first time, because it is entertaining. I'm almost to the end now. I love it and will read parts of it again and again because it's fun. I will read parts of it to my grandchild some day. I will leave other parts for her to read when she is an adult. It's very racy and even crude in parts. I borrowed a more conventional translation from a friend, and I couldn't get through three pages of that. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I like this translation *by G***E on August 21, 2015* It is very accessible and easy to understand. The meanings are clear and there is some explanation of cultural norms of the times. Mostly, you could get this book for the hilarity of the stories. Funny is funny, raunchy is raunchy, and it is good to know that being able to laugh at the human condition is important in whatever century one may find oneself in. The stories are the experiences of many very different folk, text they all fit together gently as a whole. If you are too delicate or young to read about special relationships, there is a great deal of value, worth, and interest in the purely spiritual anecdotes and learned information. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.be/products/1415324-the-canterbury-tales-in-modern-verse-hackett-classics](https://www.desertcart.be/products/1415324-the-canterbury-tales-in-modern-verse-hackett-classics) --- *Product available on Desertcart Belgium* *Store origin: BE* *Last updated: 2026-10-20*