We've got your back. With the Tough-O-Meter, you'll know whether to bring extra layers or Swiss army knives as you summit the literary mountain. (10 = Toughest)
(10) Mount Everest
We won't lie, this one is pretty tough. Chaucer's use of the Rime Royal stanza, which has a more complicated end rhyme scheme than rhyming couplets, means that he sometimes has to twist his sentences around to find the rhymes he needs. It makes it more than a little difficult to figure out what he's talking about at times, especially if you're reading it in the original Middle English.
For more details on the "rime royal effect," see the "Writing Style" section of the "Clerk's Tale" portion of the website. And for an easier time, try reading a modern translation alongside the original.