Warming up

Have you ever heard of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer?

Why has his name come down into the world history?

Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1340 in London. His father who had connections with the court hoped for a courtier's career for his son, and at 17 Geoffrey was page to a lady at the court of Edward III. From an old account book we learn that Geoffrey Chaucer received several articles of clothing "of his Lady's gift".

At 20, Chaucer was in France serving as an esquire (armsbearer to a knight) and was then taken prisoner by the French. All his friends helped to ransom him. (To be ransomed means to be set at liberty as soon as money is paid for the prisoner.) Even Edward III contributed 16 pounds towards his ransom.

On his return to England, Chaucer passed into attendance on John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the fourth son of the king. Though Chaucer had not been to a university, his education was none the worse for that. At court he met travellers and men of law who came to England from other countries, and the realities of life had taught him more about the world than did all the absurdities taught by churchmen at universities of the Middle Ages when the printing of books had not yet been invented.

Chaucer's earliest poems were written in imitation of the French romances. He translated from the French a famous allegorical poem of the 13th century, "The Romance of the Rose".

During 1373 and the next few years, Chaucer travelled much and lived a busy life. He went to France on a mission connected with a peace-treaty. He made three trips to Italy. This period of Chaucer's writings was that of the Italian influence. To this period belong the following poems: "The House of Fame", a didactic (instructive) poem; "The Parliament of Birds", an allegorical poem satirizing Parliament; "Throilus and Cressida", supposed to be the first psychological novel in English, although it characters are those of ancient Greece, and "The Legend of Good Women", a dream-poem in which nine famous women of twenty are described. The poem is written in couplets and forms a bridge between the poems of the Italian period and the next, English, period.

Chaucer was well read in the old Roman authors. Italian literature taught him the meaning of national literature. Chaucer is justly called the last writer of the Middle Ages and the first of the Renaissance.

In 1384 Chaucer wrote his masterpiece, the "Canterbury Tales".-

The "CANTERBURY TALES" arc a series of stories written in verse. The framework which serves to connect them is a pilgrimage lo Canterbury. The pilgrims agree to tell stories a tiresome four-days’ trip. Pilgrimages of every kind were extremely common in Chaucer's time. Such journeys were no doubt very valuable as a means to break up the monotony of life in days when their were no newspapers and no printed books nor any theatres. Many people looked forward to them as to pleasant holiday excursions.

 

The pilgrimage was a "democratic institution", which means that rich and poor, noble and villain rode side by side and stopped at the same inns. Instead of a preface Chaucer opens his work with a prologue.

In the general prologue 30 men and women from all ranks of society pass before our eyes. Chaucer makes a rapid portrait of each traveller thus showing his character.

There was a brave knight who loved truth, honour and generosity. He had been in armed expeditions in the Mediterranean, had travelled in the North and had even been to Russia. His thick coat was all marked with his breastplates for he had just recently come back. His son was a young squire with curled hair. His clothes were "as gay as a meadow with white and red flowers" and he ha long white sleeves. He had been on cavalry raids in France and had fought well "in hope to win his Lady's grace". Their servant was a yeoman dressed in the clothes of a forester.

They were followed by two nuns and three priests. One of the nuns was the head of the nunnery, the prioress. She had a long face and a small mouth and wept easily — "a mouse in the trap would make her cry". She could sing all that was sung in churches and spoke French as it was spoken in England for "French in the Paris style she did not know". She had very good manners at table. She never let a crumb fall from her lips and never dipped her fingers deep in the sauce. "And she was dressed with graceful charm", a bracelet on her wrist showing her romantic disposition. The words engraved in it in Latin read: "Love conquers all".

There was a fat monk who loved hunting and a good dinner better than prayers and others.

The "Canterbury Tales" sum up all types of stories that existed in the Middle Ages: the Knight tells a romance, the Nun — a story of a saint, the Miller — a fabliau (a funny story), the Priest — a fable (a moral tale), etc. Some of these stories were known only in Norman-French before Chaucer. Chaucer also used the writings of his near contemporaries as well as works of the writers of ancient times and distant lands.Chaucer was in learning a man of the Middle Ages, but his attitude towards mankind was so universal that his work is timeless. Chaucer does not teach his readers what is good or bad by moralizing; he was not a preacher. He merely called attention to the people around him; he drew his characters from life: he saw man not only as "rich" or "poor" but as belonging to a certain rank of society. Chaucer described the individual features of his characters "according to profession and degree", so they instantly became typical of their class. When assembled, they form one people, the English people.

Chaucer's Language

Chaucer wrote in the East Midland dialect of English that was spo­ken in London. This dialect was limited in vocabulary, so Chaucer enriched :: with the flood of French borrowings, and gave it the elegance of con­temporary European literature. He made English dialect into a first-rate literary form, and established a new literary tradition in England.

The pronunciation of Chaucer poetry was different from today. E at the end of the words like shorte, erthe, throte was pronounced. These end­ings created the rhythm of Chaucer's verse. The plural verbs had an end­ing -en which present English doesn't have any longer: maken, slepen, longen. Chaucer used hem instead of them, and hir instead of their.

When great changes started to take place in English pronunciation, and the final e was no longer sounded, readers of Chaucer's verses could find no rhythm in his carefully written lines. In Shakespeare's time and the centuries after Chaucer's poems were regarded as crude and primitive. They were rewritten and polished. Today the significance of Chaucer's poetry is rightfully estimated. The fact that Chaucer was ahead of his time and opened the way to a new age of literature is unanimously appreciated. His humour, like that of Shakespeare, is kind and never cruel. He really understood people and their place in the world, and so he could bring the crowd of pilgrims together with complete success. He made a great service to the develop­ment of the English language, and earned the title of the Father of English literature.

 

 

PRACTICAL WORK:

 

ОРИГИНАЛ (СРЕДЕАНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК)   ДОСЛОВНЫЙ ПЕРЕВОД НА РУССКИЙ ЯЗЫК
   
1: Whan that aprill with his shoures soote 2: The droghte of march hath perced to the roote, 3: And bathed every veyne in swich licour 4: Of which vertu engendred is the flour; 5: Whan zephirus eek with his sweete breeth 6: Inspired hath in every holt and heeth 7: Tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne 8: Hath in the ram his halve cours yronne, 9: And smale foweles maken melodye, 10: That slepen al the nyght with open ye 11: (so priketh hem nature in hir corages); 12: Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages, 13: And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes, 14: To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes; 15: And specially from every shires ende 16: Of engelond to caunterbury they wende, 17: The hooly blisful martir for to seke, 18: That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke. Когда в апреле падают обильные дожди И до корня пронизают засуху марта, И каждая прожилка напоена такой влагой, Что вызывает рождение цветка; Когда зефир также нежным дыханием Влетает в каждую рощу и в вереск На тонких побегах, и юное солнце Половину пути в знаке Овна уже прошло, И маленькие птицы поют (делают мелодии), Что ночью спят с открытыми глазами (Так природа волнует их сердца); Тогда люди желают отправиться в паломничества, И паломники желают искать чужие берега Далеких святынь, известных в разных странах, И особенно, из уголков каждой области Англии в Кентербери они идут, Чтобы увидеть святого благословенного мученика, Который поможет им, когда они больны.

 

     
19: Bifil that in that seson on a day, 20: In southwerk at the tabard as I lay 21: Redy to wenden on my pilgrymage 22: To caunterbury with ful devout corage, 23: At nyght was come into that hostelrye 24: Wel nyne and twenty in a compaignye, 25: Of sondry folk, by aventure yfalle 26: In felaweshipe, and pilgrimes were they alle, 27: That toward caunterbury wolden ryde. 28: The chambres and the stables weren wyde, 29: And wel we weren esed atte beste. 30: And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste, 31: So hadde I spoken with hem everichon 32: That I was of hir felaweshipe anon, 33: And made forward erly for to ryse, 34: To take oure wey ther as I yow devyse. Случилось в то время, однажды, Что в Соуерке, в "Табарде" пока я был, Готовый отправиться в паломничество В Кентербери, полный набожности, Ночью пришли в ту гостиницу Около двацати девяти (людей) в компании, Разного народу, случайно ставшими Товарищами, и паломниками все были, Что к Кентербери собирались ехать. Комнаты и конюшни были обширны, Хорошо мы там отдохнули и развлеклись. И, короче, когда солнце ушло отдыхнать, Я поговорил с каждым их них, Так что вскоре стал одним из их товарищества, И я просил их встать рано, Чтобы отправиться в путь, как я вам сообщаю.
     
       
35: But nathelees, whil I have tyme and space, 36: Er that I ferther in this tale pace, 37: Me thynketh it acordaunt to resoun 38: To telle yow al the condicioun 39: Of ech of hem, so as it semed me, 40: And whiche they weren, and of what degree, 41: And eek in what array that they were inne; 42: And at a knyght than wol I first bigynne.   Тем не менее, пока у меня есть время и место, Прежде чем я продолжу рассказ, Мне кажется разумным Рассказать вам о положении Каждого их них, так как мне оно показалось, И какими они были, какого звания, И еще в каком виде они были; И с рыцаря я хочу начать.
 
ПЕРЕВОД НА СОВРЕМЕННЫЙ АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК When April with his showers sweet with fruit The drought of March has pierced unto the root And bathed each vein with liquor that has power To generate therein and sire the flower; When Zephyr also has, with his sweet breath, Quickened again, in every holt and heath, The tender shoots and buds, and the young sun Into the Ram one half his course has run, And many little birds make melody That sleep through all the night with open eye (So Nature pricks them on to ramp and rage)- Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage, And palmers to go seeking out strange strands, To distant shrines well known in sundry lands. And specially from every shire's end Of England they to Canterbury wend, The holy blessed martyr there to seek Who helped them when they lay so ill and weal Befell that, in that season, on a day In Southwark, at the Tabard, as I lay Ready to start upon my pilgrimage To Canterbury, full of devout homage, There came at nightfall to that hostelry Some nine and twenty in a company Of sundry persons who had chanced to fall In fellowship, and pilgrims were they all That toward Canterbury town would ride. The rooms and stables spacious were and wide, And well we there were eased, and of the best. And briefly, when the sun had gone to rest, So had I spoken with them, every one, That I was of their fellowship anon, And made agreement that we'd early rise To take the road, as you I will apprise. But none the less, whilst I have time and space, Before yet farther in this tale I pace, It seems to me accordant with reason To inform you of the state of every one Of all of these, as it appeared to me, And who they were, and what was their degree, And even how arrayed there at the inn; And with a knight thus will I first begin.

 

ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННЫЙ ПЕРЕВОД НА РУССКИЙ ЯЗЫК Когда Апрель обильными дождями Разрыхлил землю, взрытую ростками, И, мартовскую жажду утоля, От корня до зеленого стебля Набухли жилки той весенней силой, Что в каждой роще почки распустила, А солнце юное в своем пути Весь Овна знак успело обойти, И, ни на миг в ночи не засыпая, Без умолку звенели птичьи стаи, Так сердце им встревожил зов весны, Тогда со всех концов родной страны Паломников бессчетных вереницы Мощам заморским снова поклониться Стремились истово; но многих влек Фома Бекет, святой, что им помог В беде иль исцелил недуг старинный, Сам смерть прияв, как мученик безвинный. Случилось мне в ту пору завернуть В харчевню "Табард", в Соуерке, свой путь Свершая в Кентербери по обету; Здесь ненароком повстречал я эту Компанию. Их двадцать девять было. Цель общая в пути соединила Их дружбою; они - пример всем нам - Шли поклониться праведным мощам. Конюшен, комнат в "Табарде" немало, И никогда в нем тесно не бывало. Едва обильный ужин отошел, Как я уже со многими нашел Знакомых общих или подружился И путь их разделить уговорился. И вот, покуда скромный мой рассказ Еще не утомил ушей и глаз, Мне кажется, что было бы уместно Вам рассказать все то, что мне известно О спутниках моих: каков их вид, И звание, и чем кто знаменит Иль почему в забвенье пребывает; Мой перечень пусть Рыцарь открывает.