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