Peter Ackroyd, The Canterbury Tales: a Re-telling
Our HOST gave us all good cheer, and set down a tasty supper for us on the table. In the tavern itself there were cries of "Tapster fill the bowl!" and "One pot more!" He served us good fish and flesh; the wine was strong and potable. We all agreed, after our leather cups were filled, that the landlord was an attractive man. He could have acted as master of ceremonies at any public feast. He was a large fellow with bright eyes. You could not find a fairer citizen in the whole of Cheapside. He was forthright in speech, but he was also shrewd and apparently well educated. I did not find out what school he attended. Anyway, he possessed all the characteristics of a proper man. He was merry enough and, after supper, he began to amuse us with several stories. H trusted that we would enjoy ourselves on this journey and, after we had all paid our bills, he addressed us with these words...
From "A Note on the Text": "Translation can be a form of liberation, releasing an older work into the contemporary world and thereby infusing it with new life....I believed that my task was essentially to facilitate the experience of the poem--to remove the obstacles to the understanding and enjoyment of the tales, and by various means to intimate or express the true nature of the original."
David Wright, Oxford World Classics
Our host gave each and all a warm welcome,
and set us down to supper there and then.
The eatables he served were of the best;
Strong was the wine; we matched it with our thirst.
A handsome man, our host, handsome indeed,
And a fit master of ceremonies.
He was a big man with protruding eyes
--You'll find no better burgess in Cheapside--
Racy in talk, well-schooled and shrewd was he;
also a proper man in every way.
And moreover he was a right good sort,
and after supper we began to joke,
and when we had all paid our reckonings,
he spoke of pleasure, among other things...
He writes of setting aside "strict adherrnce to Chaucer's rhyme-schemes" in favor of "half-rhymes, quarter-rhymes, or assonance real or imaginary" (xx).
A. Kent Hieatt and Constance Hieatt, Bantam Classic
Our Host made each one of us welcome,
and he set us down to supper at once
and served us with the best of food.
The wine was strong, and we were glad to drink.
Our host was indeed a seemly enough man
to have been a master of ceremonies in a hall;
he was a large man, with prominent eyes;
there isn't a more imposing figure in all Cheapside:
he was bold in his speech, prudent, and well taught;
and he lacked no manly quality.
Besides that, he was indeed a merry man.
After supper he began to joke,
and spoke of amusements among other things--
when we had all paid our bills--
and said as follows...
"All the verse in this book is regularly iambic pentameter...."
Neville Coghill, Penguin
Our Host gave us great welcome; everyone
was given a place and supper was begun.
He served the finest victuals you could think,
the wine was strong and we were glad to drink.
A very striking man our Host withal,
and fit to be a marshal in a hall.
His eyes were bright, his girth a little wide;
there is no finer burgess in Cheapside.
Bold in his speech, yet wise and full of tact,
There was no manly attribute he lacked,
what's more he was a merry-hearted man.
After our meal he jokingly began
to talk of sport, and among other things
After we'd settled up our reckonings,
He said as follows...
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