Full Description
Stevick's classic work remains the only text of its kind aimed at fostering
the linguistic competence necessary to understand its poems in Middle
English. The wide range of lyric poems in the book are normalized to a
Chaucerian dialect. The introduction has been revised to take into account
the scholarship and criticism published since the first edition appeared
in 1964. It gives the background for the poetry, explains how and why
the texts are normalized, and reviews significant critical scholarly studies
of the works. Included is a section on morphology and grammar that introduces
students to the language of the lyrics, and a section on the evolving
meter of Middle English.
"A fine piece of work. . . . Learned, wide-ranging, and judicious."
-- John B. Friedman, author of The Monstrous Races in Medieval
Art and Thought
"An impressive collection. Stevick's decision to normalize the texts
makes it highly accessible."
-- Ralph Hanna III, University of California, Riverside
