I have heard of
the Canterbury Tales long before I read them. I had thought them mysterious and
higher reading that I couldn’t possibly understand with my meager knowledge of
literature. I found it daunting at first but soon after I realized that beyond
the old Middle English language, the tales are stories that hold true to the
present day. What surprised me the most from studying the Canterbury tales was
the fact that each character was so uniquely described and the details painted
a very vivid picture in my head as I was reading. Chaucer must have
experienced/or befriended many people in order to get so accurate a description
for each of them. During the course of reading the tales, I began to find
connections between the characters and real life people that I knew. The oxford
cleric with his books, the knight with his steadfastness and courage and even
the not-so-pious religious figure of the Friar. No longer do I find the
Canterbury Tales so intimidating. When it all boils down, it is an interesting portrayal
of the different people in society only in a completely different time period.
Upon first reading, it seemed hard to believe that the tales were indeed
written over 800 years ago when the personal conflicts, problems in society are
so similar to today’s. I had wanted to create a modernized version of his tales
and present it so that the teenagers of today’s day would be able to understand
and relate to it. But because my partners are camera shy, that would have to
wait for another day. Overall, I never thought that I’d enjoy literature in
this form but reading the Canterbury Tales has opened my eyes to the parallels of
today’s life to life over 800 years ago and taught me that human behaviours
never truly change.
