Chaucer for Children (Illustrated)
CHAUCER for Children may seem to some an impossible story-book, but it is one which I have been encouraged to put together by noticing how quickly my own little boy learned and understood fragments of early English poetry. I believe that if they had the chance, many other children would do the same.
I think that much of the construction and pronunciation of old English which seems stiff and obscure to grown up people, appears easy to children, whose crude language is in many ways its counterpart.
The narrative in early English poetry is almost always very simply and clearly expressed, with the same kind of repetition of facts and names which, as every mother knows, is what children most require in story-telling. The emphasis[1] which the final E gives to many words is another thing which helps to impress the sentences on the memory, the sense being often shorter than the sound.
It seems but natural that every English child should know something of one who left so deep an impression on his age, and on the English tongue, that he has been called by Occleve “the finder of our fair language.” For in his day there was actually no national language, no national literature, English consisting of so many dialects, each having its own literature intelligible to comparatively few; and the Court and educated classes still adhering greatly to Norman-French for both speaking and writing. Chaucer, who wrote for the people, chose the best form of English, which was that spoken at[Pg xii] Court, at a time when English was regaining supremacy over French; and the form he adopted laid the foundation of our present National Tongue.
Chaucer is, moreover, a thoroughly religious poet, all his merriest stories having a fair moral; even those which are too coarse for modern taste are rather naïve than injurious; and his pages breathe a genuine faith in God, and a passionate sense of the beauty and harmony of the divine work. The selections I have made are some of the most beautiful portions of Chaucer’s most beautiful tales.
I believe that some knowledge of, or at least interest in, the domestic life and manners of the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, would materially help young children in their reading of English history. The political life would often be interpreted by the domestic life, and much of that time which to a child’s mind forms the dryest portion of history, because so unknown, would then stand out as it really was, glorious and fascinating in its vigour and vivacity, its enthusiasm, and love of beauty and bravery. There is no clearer or safer exponent of the life of the 14th century, as far as he describes it, than Geoffrey Chaucer.
As to the difficulties of understanding Chaucer, they have been greatly overstated. An occasional reference to a glossary is all that is requisite; and, with a little attention to a very simple general rule, anybody with moderate intelligence and an ear for musical rhythm can enjoy the lines.
In the first place, it must be borne in mind that the E at the end of the old English words was usually a syllable, and must be sounded, as Aprillē, swootĕ, &c.
Note, then, that Chaucer is always rhythmical. Hardly ever is his rhythm a shade wrong, and therefore, roughly speaking, if you pronounce the words so as to preserve the rhythm all will be well. When the final e must be sounded in order to make the rhythm right, sound it, but where it is not needed leave it mute.[2]
Thus:—in the opening lines—
Whan that | April | le with | his schowr | es swootewhen, showers, sweet
The drought | of Marche | hath per | cèd to | the rootepierced, root
And bath | ud eve | ry veyne | in swich | licoursuch, liquor
Of whiche | vertue | engen | drèd is | the flour. (Prologue.)flower
You see that in those words which I have put in italics the final E must be sounded slightly, for the rhythm’s sake.
And sma | le fow | les ma | ken me | lodiesmall birds make
That sle | pen al | the night | with o | pen yhe. (Prologue.)sleep, all
[Pg xiii]Again, to quote at random—
The bu | sy lark | e mess | ager | of day,lark, messenger
Salu | eth in | hire song | the mor | we gray. (Knight’s Tale.)saluteth, her, morning
Ful long | e wern | his leg | gus, and | ful lene;legs, lean
Al like | a staff | ther was | no calf | y-sene. (Prologue—‘Reve.’)
or in Chaucer’s exquisite greeting of the daisy—
Knelyng | alwey | til it | unclo | sèd wasalways
Upon | the sma | le, sof | te, swo | te gras. (Legend of Good Women.)small, soft, sweet
How much of the beauty and natural swing of Chaucer’s poetry is lost by translation into modern English, is but too clear when that beauty is once perceived;
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I think that much of the construction and pronunciation of old English which seems stiff and obscure to grown up people, appears easy to children, whose crude language is in many ways its counterpart.
The narrative in early English poetry is almost always very simply and clearly expressed, with the same kind of repetition of facts and names which, as every mother knows, is what children most require in story-telling. The emphasis[1] which the final E gives to many words is another thing which helps to impress the sentences on the memory, the sense being often shorter than the sound.
It seems but natural that every English child should know something of one who left so deep an impression on his age, and on the English tongue, that he has been called by Occleve “the finder of our fair language.” For in his day there was actually no national language, no national literature, English consisting of so many dialects, each having its own literature intelligible to comparatively few; and the Court and educated classes still adhering greatly to Norman-French for both speaking and writing. Chaucer, who wrote for the people, chose the best form of English, which was that spoken at[Pg xii] Court, at a time when English was regaining supremacy over French; and the form he adopted laid the foundation of our present National Tongue.
Chaucer is, moreover, a thoroughly religious poet, all his merriest stories having a fair moral; even those which are too coarse for modern taste are rather naïve than injurious; and his pages breathe a genuine faith in God, and a passionate sense of the beauty and harmony of the divine work. The selections I have made are some of the most beautiful portions of Chaucer’s most beautiful tales.
I believe that some knowledge of, or at least interest in, the domestic life and manners of the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, would materially help young children in their reading of English history. The political life would often be interpreted by the domestic life, and much of that time which to a child’s mind forms the dryest portion of history, because so unknown, would then stand out as it really was, glorious and fascinating in its vigour and vivacity, its enthusiasm, and love of beauty and bravery. There is no clearer or safer exponent of the life of the 14th century, as far as he describes it, than Geoffrey Chaucer.
As to the difficulties of understanding Chaucer, they have been greatly overstated. An occasional reference to a glossary is all that is requisite; and, with a little attention to a very simple general rule, anybody with moderate intelligence and an ear for musical rhythm can enjoy the lines.
In the first place, it must be borne in mind that the E at the end of the old English words was usually a syllable, and must be sounded, as Aprillē, swootĕ, &c.
Note, then, that Chaucer is always rhythmical. Hardly ever is his rhythm a shade wrong, and therefore, roughly speaking, if you pronounce the words so as to preserve the rhythm all will be well. When the final e must be sounded in order to make the rhythm right, sound it, but where it is not needed leave it mute.[2]
Thus:—in the opening lines—
Whan that | April | le with | his schowr | es swootewhen, showers, sweet
The drought | of Marche | hath per | cèd to | the rootepierced, root
And bath | ud eve | ry veyne | in swich | licoursuch, liquor
Of whiche | vertue | engen | drèd is | the flour. (Prologue.)flower
You see that in those words which I have put in italics the final E must be sounded slightly, for the rhythm’s sake.
And sma | le fow | les ma | ken me | lodiesmall birds make
That sle | pen al | the night | with o | pen yhe. (Prologue.)sleep, all
[Pg xiii]Again, to quote at random—
The bu | sy lark | e mess | ager | of day,lark, messenger
Salu | eth in | hire song | the mor | we gray. (Knight’s Tale.)saluteth, her, morning
Ful long | e wern | his leg | gus, and | ful lene;legs, lean
Al like | a staff | ther was | no calf | y-sene. (Prologue—‘Reve.’)
or in Chaucer’s exquisite greeting of the daisy—
Knelyng | alwey | til it | unclo | sèd wasalways
Upon | the sma | le, sof | te, swo | te gras. (Legend of Good Women.)small, soft, sweet
How much of the beauty and natural swing of Chaucer’s poetry is lost by translation into modern English, is but too clear when that beauty is once perceived;
Chaucer for Children (Illustrated)
CHAUCER for Children may seem to some an impossible story-book, but it is one which I have been encouraged to put together by noticing how quickly my own little boy learned and understood fragments of early English poetry. I believe that if they had the chance, many other children would do the same.
I think that much of the construction and pronunciation of old English which seems stiff and obscure to grown up people, appears easy to children, whose crude language is in many ways its counterpart.
The narrative in early English poetry is almost always very simply and clearly expressed, with the same kind of repetition of facts and names which, as every mother knows, is what children most require in story-telling. The emphasis[1] which the final E gives to many words is another thing which helps to impress the sentences on the memory, the sense being often shorter than the sound.
It seems but natural that every English child should know something of one who left so deep an impression on his age, and on the English tongue, that he has been called by Occleve “the finder of our fair language.” For in his day there was actually no national language, no national literature, English consisting of so many dialects, each having its own literature intelligible to comparatively few; and the Court and educated classes still adhering greatly to Norman-French for both speaking and writing. Chaucer, who wrote for the people, chose the best form of English, which was that spoken at[Pg xii] Court, at a time when English was regaining supremacy over French; and the form he adopted laid the foundation of our present National Tongue.
Chaucer is, moreover, a thoroughly religious poet, all his merriest stories having a fair moral; even those which are too coarse for modern taste are rather naïve than injurious; and his pages breathe a genuine faith in God, and a passionate sense of the beauty and harmony of the divine work. The selections I have made are some of the most beautiful portions of Chaucer’s most beautiful tales.
I believe that some knowledge of, or at least interest in, the domestic life and manners of the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, would materially help young children in their reading of English history. The political life would often be interpreted by the domestic life, and much of that time which to a child’s mind forms the dryest portion of history, because so unknown, would then stand out as it really was, glorious and fascinating in its vigour and vivacity, its enthusiasm, and love of beauty and bravery. There is no clearer or safer exponent of the life of the 14th century, as far as he describes it, than Geoffrey Chaucer.
As to the difficulties of understanding Chaucer, they have been greatly overstated. An occasional reference to a glossary is all that is requisite; and, with a little attention to a very simple general rule, anybody with moderate intelligence and an ear for musical rhythm can enjoy the lines.
In the first place, it must be borne in mind that the E at the end of the old English words was usually a syllable, and must be sounded, as Aprillē, swootĕ, &c.
Note, then, that Chaucer is always rhythmical. Hardly ever is his rhythm a shade wrong, and therefore, roughly speaking, if you pronounce the words so as to preserve the rhythm all will be well. When the final e must be sounded in order to make the rhythm right, sound it, but where it is not needed leave it mute.[2]
Thus:—in the opening lines—
Whan that | April | le with | his schowr | es swootewhen, showers, sweet
The drought | of Marche | hath per | cèd to | the rootepierced, root
And bath | ud eve | ry veyne | in swich | licoursuch, liquor
Of whiche | vertue | engen | drèd is | the flour. (Prologue.)flower
You see that in those words which I have put in italics the final E must be sounded slightly, for the rhythm’s sake.
And sma | le fow | les ma | ken me | lodiesmall birds make
That sle | pen al | the night | with o | pen yhe. (Prologue.)sleep, all
[Pg xiii]Again, to quote at random—
The bu | sy lark | e mess | ager | of day,lark, messenger
Salu | eth in | hire song | the mor | we gray. (Knight’s Tale.)saluteth, her, morning
Ful long | e wern | his leg | gus, and | ful lene;legs, lean
Al like | a staff | ther was | no calf | y-sene. (Prologue—‘Reve.’)
or in Chaucer’s exquisite greeting of the daisy—
Knelyng | alwey | til it | unclo | sèd wasalways
Upon | the sma | le, sof | te, swo | te gras. (Legend of Good Women.)small, soft, sweet
How much of the beauty and natural swing of Chaucer’s poetry is lost by translation into modern English, is but too clear when that beauty is once perceived;
I think that much of the construction and pronunciation of old English which seems stiff and obscure to grown up people, appears easy to children, whose crude language is in many ways its counterpart.
The narrative in early English poetry is almost always very simply and clearly expressed, with the same kind of repetition of facts and names which, as every mother knows, is what children most require in story-telling. The emphasis[1] which the final E gives to many words is another thing which helps to impress the sentences on the memory, the sense being often shorter than the sound.
It seems but natural that every English child should know something of one who left so deep an impression on his age, and on the English tongue, that he has been called by Occleve “the finder of our fair language.” For in his day there was actually no national language, no national literature, English consisting of so many dialects, each having its own literature intelligible to comparatively few; and the Court and educated classes still adhering greatly to Norman-French for both speaking and writing. Chaucer, who wrote for the people, chose the best form of English, which was that spoken at[Pg xii] Court, at a time when English was regaining supremacy over French; and the form he adopted laid the foundation of our present National Tongue.
Chaucer is, moreover, a thoroughly religious poet, all his merriest stories having a fair moral; even those which are too coarse for modern taste are rather naïve than injurious; and his pages breathe a genuine faith in God, and a passionate sense of the beauty and harmony of the divine work. The selections I have made are some of the most beautiful portions of Chaucer’s most beautiful tales.
I believe that some knowledge of, or at least interest in, the domestic life and manners of the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, would materially help young children in their reading of English history. The political life would often be interpreted by the domestic life, and much of that time which to a child’s mind forms the dryest portion of history, because so unknown, would then stand out as it really was, glorious and fascinating in its vigour and vivacity, its enthusiasm, and love of beauty and bravery. There is no clearer or safer exponent of the life of the 14th century, as far as he describes it, than Geoffrey Chaucer.
As to the difficulties of understanding Chaucer, they have been greatly overstated. An occasional reference to a glossary is all that is requisite; and, with a little attention to a very simple general rule, anybody with moderate intelligence and an ear for musical rhythm can enjoy the lines.
In the first place, it must be borne in mind that the E at the end of the old English words was usually a syllable, and must be sounded, as Aprillē, swootĕ, &c.
Note, then, that Chaucer is always rhythmical. Hardly ever is his rhythm a shade wrong, and therefore, roughly speaking, if you pronounce the words so as to preserve the rhythm all will be well. When the final e must be sounded in order to make the rhythm right, sound it, but where it is not needed leave it mute.[2]
Thus:—in the opening lines—
Whan that | April | le with | his schowr | es swootewhen, showers, sweet
The drought | of Marche | hath per | cèd to | the rootepierced, root
And bath | ud eve | ry veyne | in swich | licoursuch, liquor
Of whiche | vertue | engen | drèd is | the flour. (Prologue.)flower
You see that in those words which I have put in italics the final E must be sounded slightly, for the rhythm’s sake.
And sma | le fow | les ma | ken me | lodiesmall birds make
That sle | pen al | the night | with o | pen yhe. (Prologue.)sleep, all
[Pg xiii]Again, to quote at random—
The bu | sy lark | e mess | ager | of day,lark, messenger
Salu | eth in | hire song | the mor | we gray. (Knight’s Tale.)saluteth, her, morning
Ful long | e wern | his leg | gus, and | ful lene;legs, lean
Al like | a staff | ther was | no calf | y-sene. (Prologue—‘Reve.’)
or in Chaucer’s exquisite greeting of the daisy—
Knelyng | alwey | til it | unclo | sèd wasalways
Upon | the sma | le, sof | te, swo | te gras. (Legend of Good Women.)small, soft, sweet
How much of the beauty and natural swing of Chaucer’s poetry is lost by translation into modern English, is but too clear when that beauty is once perceived;
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Chaucer for Children (Illustrated)
Chaucer for Children (Illustrated)
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940148786832 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Lost Leaf Publications |
| Publication date: | 10/22/2013 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 2 MB |
| Age Range: | 3 - 5 Years |
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