坎特伯雷故事集(The Canterbury Tales)简介：

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. In a long list of works, including "Troilus and Criseyde", "House of Fame", "Parliament of Fowls", the Canterbury Tales is Chaucer's magnum opus, and a towering achievement of Western culture. By casting a bumbling, credulous version of himself as tour guide, Chaucer created literature's first unreliable narrator. Structurally, the poem bears the influence of The Decameron, which Chaucer is said to have come across during his first diplomatic mission to Italy in 1372. However, Chaucer peoples his tales with 'sondry folk' rather than Boccaccio's fleeing nobles.

　　《坎特伯雷故事集》的大部分是以韵诗形式写成的。全书收有一篇总引和23篇故事，其中散文两篇，其余都是诗体。描写约30名前往坎特伯雷朝圣的骑士、乡绅、教士、学者、商人和自耕农在旅途轮流讲述的故事，表现了不同阶层、行为香客们的不同特点。刻画不同阶层的人物，以幽默的笔调讽刺封建社会的丑恶，揭露教会的腐朽，反对禁欲主义，宣扬世俗享乐。其间以短小的戏剧场面相串连，故事的内容和文体各异并符合每一个讲述者的身份。《坎特伯雷故事集》生动地描绘了14世纪英国的社会生活，体现了反封建倾向人文主义思想。