Recitation/Oral
Reading
To appreciate fully Chaucer's
greatness, one must hear his works in the original Middle
English.Without that benefit of aural stimuli, the full artistry
of his
achievement is lost. Just as a translated text is robbed of its richness
of meaning
(to say nothing of a loss in accuracy), a modernized version
ormispronounced original-language text is robbed of poet’s
employment of sound.
So that you can hear the works we read in the way they were
composed,you need the ability at least to approximate the Middle
English
pronunciation. Therefore, I am requiring that each of you perform
two tasks: first, you must memorize and recite the first eighteen lines
of
the General Prologue, and second, you must spontaneously read aloud
a passage of my choosing in the original Middle English. Both
exercises should display reasonably correct Middle
English pronunciation and
inflection.
I suggest that you consult Language and Versification in the
introduction to your textbook (xxix-xliv) as well as the following
Web sites. The second link will have five recordings
of your recitation lines (give or take some lines), so you can listen to
those samples along with the one I posted to Moodle. If you try
to simply memorize
a
series of sounds, you may not do very well; rather, understand
the lines before/as you try to learn the sounds. This exercise will help
you learn the pronunciation and help you understand the language,
which is probably why every student traditionally has been required to
perform the task. Do not hesitate to come to me for help
with pronunciation or if you have questions.
Teach
Yourself to Read Chaucer's Middle English
VMI
Audio Files
Chaucer's
Pronunciation, Grammar and Vocabulary
The
Great Vowel Shift
ME
Pronunciation
The Chaucer Studio
Recordings
Please feel free to ask me questions on this subject, either during
class or my office hours.
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Last modified: January 28, 2016