Chaucer's Prologue with Pronunciation

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First 18 lines of the General Prologue

Whan that Aprille with his shoores soote
Wan thot A'prill with his sure-es so-tuh

The drought of March hath perced to the roote
The drewgt of March hath pear-said to the row-tuh

And bathed every vein in swich liquor
And ba-thed every vane in sweech lee-coor

Of which vertu engendred is the flour
of wheech ver-too en-jen-dred is the flu-er

When Zephyrus eek with his sweete breeth
When Zeph-er-us ache with his sway-tuh breath

Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
In-spear-ed hath in every holt and heth

The tendre croppes and the yonge sun
The tawn-dray crop-pays and the young-gay soan

Hath in the ram his halve cours yronne
Hath in the rahm his hall-vey coors e-rown

And smale fowles maken melodye
And smal-ay foe-lays mock-en mel-oh-dee-uh

That slepen all the night with open eye
That slep-en all the neekdt with open ee-ah

So priketh hem nature in hir courages
So prick-eth him nah-tour in hear core-ahj-ez

Thanne longen folke to goon pilgrimages
Thah-nay lon-gen folk to goen-on pilgrim-ahj-ez

And palmeres for to seeken stronge straundes
And palm-ers for to sake-en stroan-jay stroan-days

To ferne halwes couth in sondry londes
To fair-nay hallways kouth in soan-dray loan-days

And specially from every shires ende
And specially from every shear-ez end-uh

Of Engelond to Canterbury they wende
Of Eng-gal-ond to Khan-ter-bury they wend-uh

The hooly blissful martyr for to seeke
The holy blissful martyr for to sake-uh

That hem hath holpen whan that they were sike
That hem hath holp-en whan that they were seek-uh