This week we have to read the first seventeen lines
from The Canterbury Tales, and I’ll
be honest, I think this is going to be a hard read for me. I find that while
the read for Monday’s class is so short, it takes three times as long to read
because I have to refer to the translations on the right side of the page every
time. Even so, while I think it is going to be hard, the Middle English
language is quite beautiful. It sounds so musical when I read it in my head. When
I went to listen to the audio files I was pleasantly surprised that it sounded
exactly how I imagined it would in my head. It was definitely still hard to
understand but it sounds so amazing that that hardly mattered to me. Let me
know if you guys agree, but it seems to me that how people read aloud today,
lacks a lot of the passion that I heard on the audio files for The Canterbury Tales. It is a lost art I
think, to speak and emphasize the way this reading does.
In addition, since our reading was so short for
Monday I thought I’d share my favorite line with you guys, and see if anyone
else had the same one! “Inspired hath in every holt and heath”. (Line 6) I am
not sure why but that line was fun to read aloud to myself in the way that Dr.
Mitchell-Buck demonstrated to us in class.
Amazing how reading aloud was just considered the norm a long while ago, and reading silently was considered abnormal. I don't think that there's a lack of good read-alouds these days though. After all, audio books are still more popular than ever, and there's many of those who have readers who put a ton of care and attention into how they enunciate just one line.
ReplyDeleteBut that's all modern English, a language that sounds a lot harsher and 'snapping' than Chaucer's middle English, which is far more smooth and dedicated to just the sound of something. For me, it's almost a shame that our language has evolved in some of the ways that it has.
I actually have to agree with you, Jacky! I was just thinking in class today how I wish our modern English sounded as beautiful as middle English does. I feel as though today's version of English does not flow in the same way the older ones did.
DeleteAs I was reading your post, Christen, I couldn't help but smile as I felt the exact same way you described coming from my first read. Though stumbling along through the meaning, I was fascinated by the sound of it and even how beautiful the words look on paper. It was what drove me to keep coming back - and the text has only resonated with me more after today's class.
ReplyDeleteReading your post now that we have read more Middle English, it is interesting to see how far we have come already as a class. I do not know about you, but I find myself not having to look at the right side of the page as much, the more we read. However, it still takes me three times longer to read.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would have to agree with Jacky and Adelae that I like the softer sounds of Middle English better than that of the harsh sounds we use in modern English. I find it fascinating how much the language of English has changed and continues to change as time goes on.