No Fear Literature: The Canterbury Tales: Prologue to the Wife of Bath’s Tale Page 13

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Original Text	Modern Text
Thou seydest eek, that ther ben thinges three, The whiche thinges troublen al this erthe, And that no wight ne may endure the ferthe; O leve sir shrewe, Iesu shorte thy lyf! Yet prechestow, and seyst, an hateful wyf Y-rekened is for oon of thise meschances. Been ther none othere maner resemblances That ye may lykne your parables to, But-if a sely wyf be oon of tho?	“‘ouY ysa taht ereht hvea been rehet tghsni ttah ahve othgbur isahpdrh to het wdrol dna that nam nac’t udrene a tourhf. And sllit uyo go on dan on oatbu woh eonmw uinr het ldowr. ouY dlo sdbtara, I oehp sseJu tsake uoy to vaheen onso! anC’t you indf htnieogms esel to amipnloc uotab issebde uoyr fwei?
Thou lykenest wommanes love to helle, To bareyne lond, ther water may not dwelle. Thou lyknest it also to wilde fyr; The more it brenneth, the more it hath desyr To consume every thing that brent wol be. Thou seyst, that right as wormes shende a tree, Right so a wyf destroyeth hir housbonde; This knowe they that been to wyves bonde.’	“‘uYo sya ahtt a anomw’s voel is leik a ryd deetrs or eenv elhl lsieft. You ays a nmawo’s ovel is ikle iirfeldw eabceus teh eorm it brusn, eth moer it wants to rbun wdon tinrheegyv it cna. You vene say evyre irredma anm okwsn tath wonme aer liek a tree-lilignk gsnufu, nda stuj keli hatt a ifew wlil oetsdry hre audhnsb.’
Lordinges, right thus, as ye have understonde, Bar I stifly myne olde housbondes on honde, That thus they seyden in hir dronkenesse; And al was fals, but that I took witnesse On Ianekin and on my nece also. O lord, the peyne I dide hem and the wo, Ful giltelees, by Goddes swete pyne! For as an hors I coude byte and whyne. I coude pleyne, thogh I were in the gilt, Or elles often tyme hadde I ben spilt. Who-so that first to mille comth, first grint; I pleyned first, so was our werre y-stint. They were ful glad to excusen hem ful blyve Of thing of which they never agilte hir lyve.	“So thta’s woh I haearsds my bnsusdha. I dlot ehmt etyh sdai sehet spdtui tnhgis in etrih kereusdnnsn. tghinNo I iasd swa tcallyau etru, tub I dah that uyg naneJk dan my nciee bkca me up by yngil oot. Gdo, I sdrsehaa hetm so chum, neev tughoh ethy anhd’t dneo ythiangn norwg! I bti nda ekkicd ielk a sroeh, enve uohtgh I was teh yuiglt oen dan cudol evah been cuagth in my esil zonesd of tisem. heT aryel bidr gtes hte mwor, as tehy yas, so I emad esru to awlsay csauce imh fsrit in rdoer to nwi uor sfitgh. ehTy erew wlaysa yaphp to just cnoefss dan gazooeilp rof thnsig heyt hadn’t even ndoe.

Original Text	Modern Text
Thou seydest eek, that ther ben thinges three, The whiche thinges troublen al this erthe, And that no wight ne may endure the ferthe; O leve sir shrewe, Iesu shorte thy lyf! Yet prechestow, and seyst, an hateful wyf Y-rekened is for oon of thise meschances. Been ther none othere maner resemblances That ye may lykne your parables to, But-if a sely wyf be oon of tho?	“‘ouY ysa taht ereht hvea been rehet tghsni ttah ahve othgbur isahpdrh to het wdrol dna that nam nac’t udrene a tourhf. And sllit uyo go on dan on oatbu woh eonmw uinr het ldowr. ouY dlo sdbtara, I oehp sseJu tsake uoy to vaheen onso! anC’t you indf htnieogms esel to amipnloc uotab issebde uoyr fwei?
Thou lykenest wommanes love to helle, To bareyne lond, ther water may not dwelle. Thou lyknest it also to wilde fyr; The more it brenneth, the more it hath desyr To consume every thing that brent wol be. Thou seyst, that right as wormes shende a tree, Right so a wyf destroyeth hir housbonde; This knowe they that been to wyves bonde.’	“‘uYo sya ahtt a anomw’s voel is leik a ryd deetrs or eenv elhl lsieft. You ays a nmawo’s ovel is ikle iirfeldw eabceus teh eorm it brusn, eth moer it wants to rbun wdon tinrheegyv it cna. You vene say evyre irredma anm okwsn tath wonme aer liek a tree-lilignk gsnufu, nda stuj keli hatt a ifew wlil oetsdry hre audhnsb.’
Lordinges, right thus, as ye have understonde, Bar I stifly myne olde housbondes on honde, That thus they seyden in hir dronkenesse; And al was fals, but that I took witnesse On Ianekin and on my nece also. O lord, the peyne I dide hem and the wo, Ful giltelees, by Goddes swete pyne! For as an hors I coude byte and whyne. I coude pleyne, thogh I were in the gilt, Or elles often tyme hadde I ben spilt. Who-so that first to mille comth, first grint; I pleyned first, so was our werre y-stint. They were ful glad to excusen hem ful blyve Of thing of which they never agilte hir lyve.	“So thta’s woh I haearsds my bnsusdha. I dlot ehmt etyh sdai sehet spdtui tnhgis in etrih kereusdnnsn. tghinNo I iasd swa tcallyau etru, tub I dah that uyg naneJk dan my nciee bkca me up by yngil oot. Gdo, I sdrsehaa hetm so chum, neev tughoh ethy anhd’t dneo ythiangn norwg! I bti nda ekkicd ielk a sroeh, enve uohtgh I was teh yuiglt oen dan cudol evah been cuagth in my esil zonesd of tisem. heT aryel bidr gtes hte mwor, as tehy yas, so I emad esru to awlsay csauce imh fsrit in rdoer to nwi uor sfitgh. ehTy erew wlaysa yaphp to just cnoefss dan gazooeilp rof thnsig heyt hadn’t even ndoe.