The essays and extracts collected hre reflect the range and variety of criticism on the Canterbury Tales. This volume makes readily available a selection of influential and stimulating interpretations, and also facilitates appreciation of the evolving tradition of critical writing on Chaucer's elusive work. Some essays are included because they have proved exceptionally influential; others may well be unfamiliar and may perhaps now recieve the attention they deserve. Though the earliest piece, by William Blake, dates from 1809, and all major phases of modern criticism are represented, there is a deliberate emphasis on material published during the last 30 yers. Some of this relfects the growing importance of approaches and methologies such as women's studies and literary theory, and suggests the potential for future developments in critical writing on the Canterbury Tales. The collection as a whole bears witness not only to the apparently inexhaustible richness and subtlety of the text but also to the great diversity and vigour of interpretative reponse to it.