The Canterbury Tales

Lynch (English, Rutgers University) collects contemporary and a few classic essays offering critical perspectives on Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The essays have been selected for their accessibility to students and other readers who are not professional medievalists. Essays on critical contexts address topics such as the popular and critical reception of The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer's reworking of material from Dante and Boccaccio, and feminist perspectives on The Canterbury Tales. The next section presents critical close readings from a number of schools of thought, in areas such as Chaucer's poetic persona, the narrative voice of The Canterbury Tales, interpretations of individual tales, and religious meanings and contexts of The Canterbury Tales. The book includes a biography of Chaucer, a chronology of his life, and a complete list of works. Annotation 穢2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)