Troilus and Criseyde - Hardcover

Chaucer, Geoffrey

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0460119923 ISBN 13: 9780460119924

Publisher: Dutton Adult, 1975

Synopsis

Excerpt: ...me, that coude leest deserve Of hem that nombred been un-to thy grace, Hast holpen, ther I lykly was to sterve, 1270 And me bistowed in so heygh a place That thilke boundes may no blisse pace, I can no more, but laude and reverence Be to thy bounte and thyn excellence!' And therwith-al Criseyde anoon he kiste, 1275 Of which, certeyn, she felte no disese, And thus seyde he, Now wolde god I wiste, Myn herte swete, how I yow mighte plese! What man,' quod he, was ever thus at ese As I, on whiche the faireste and the beste 1280 That ever I say, deyneth hir herte reste. Here may men seen that mercy passeth right; The experience of that is felt in me, That am unworthy to so swete a wight. But herte myn, of your benignitee, 1285 So thenketh, though that I unworthy be, Yet mot I nede amenden in som wyse, Right thourgh the vertu of your heyghe servyse. And for the love of god, my lady dere, Sin god hath wrought me for I shal yow serve, 1290 As thus I mene, that ye wol be my stere, To do me live, if that yow liste, or sterve, So techeth me how that I may deserve Your thank, so that I, thurgh myn ignoraunce, Ne do no-thing that yow be displesaunce. 1295 For certes, fresshe wommanliche wyf, This dar I seye, that trouthe and diligence, That shal ye finden in me al my lyf, Ne wol not, certeyn, breken your defence; And if I do, present or in absence, 1300 For love of god, lat slee me with the dede, If that it lyke un-to your womanhede.' Y-wis,' quod she, myn owne hertes list, My ground of ese, and al myn herte dere, Graunt mercy, for on that is al my trist; 1305 But late us falle awey fro this matere; For it suffyseth, this that seyd is here. And at o word, with-outen repentaunce, Wel-come, my knight, my pees, my suffisaunce!' Of hir delyt, or Ioyes oon the leste 1310 Were impossible to my wit to seye; But iuggeth, ye that han ben at the feste, Of swich gladnesse, if that hem liste pleye! I can no more, but thus thise ilke tweye That night, be-twixen dreed and...

About this title

From the Back Cover:

During the great siege of Troy, Troilus, the son of Priam, sees Criseyde and falls in love with her. Later, with the help Pandarus- one of the first great character studies in our literature-Troilus wins her love, only to be betrayed.

About the Author:

Chaucer was probably born some time during the 1340s. He was well educated and worked as a page for the Earl of Ulster, where he would have learned French. Around age 25, be became a squire in the court of King Edward III, and he spent the rest of his life as a public servant. He was twice sent on diplomatic trips to Italy in the 1370s; he was also a customs officer and a justice of the peace. He died in 1400.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dutton Adult
• Publication date: 1975
• ISBN 10: 0460119923
• ISBN 13: 9780460119924
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 337