Amazon.com
In Beowulf warriors must back up their mead-hall boasts with instant action, monsters abound, and fights are always to the death. The Anglo-Saxon epic, composed between the 7th and 10th centuries, has long been accorded its place in literature, though its hold on our imagination has been less secure. In the introduction to his translation, Seamus Heaney argues that Beowulf's role as a required text for many English students obscured its mysteries and "mythic potency." Now, thanks to the Irish poet's marvelous recreation (in both senses of the word) under Alfred David's watch, this dark, doom-ridden work gets its day in the sun.
There are endless pleasures in Heaney's analysis, but readers should head straight for the poem and then to the prose. (Some will also take advantage of the dual-language edition and do some linguistic teasing out of their own.) The epic's outlines seem simple, depicting Beowulf's three key battles with the scaliest brutes in all of art: Grendel, Grendel's mother (who's in a suitably monstrous snit after her son's dismemberment and death), and then, 50 years later, a gold-hoarding dragon "threatening the night sky / with streamers of fire." Along the way, however, we are treated to flashes back and forward and to a world view in which a thane's allegiance to his lord and to God is absolute. In the first fight, the man from Geatland must travel to Denmark to take on the "shadow-stalker" terrorizing Heorot Hall. Here Beowulf and company set sail:
Men climbed eagerly up the gangplank,
sand churned in the surf, warriors loaded
a cargo of weapons, shining war-gear
in the vessel's hold, then heaved out,
away with a will in their wood-wreathed ship.
Over the waves, with the wind behind her
and foam at her neck, she flew like a bird...
After a fearsome night victory over march-haunting and heath-marauding Grendel, our high-born hero is suitably strewn with gold and praise, the queen declaring: "Your sway is wide as the wind's home, / as the sea around cliffs." Few will disagree. And remember, Beowulf has two more trials to undergo.
Heaney claims that when he began his translation it all too often seemed "like trying to bring down a megalith with a toy hammer." The poem's challenges are many: its strong four-stress line, heavy alliteration, and profusion of kennings could have been daunting. (The sea is, among other things, "the whale-road," the sun is "the world's candle," and Beowulf's third opponent is a "vile sky-winger." When it came to over-the-top compound phrases, the temptations must have been endless, but for the most part, Heaney smiles, he "called a sword a sword.") Yet there are few signs of effort in the poet's Englishing. Heaney varies his lines with ease, offering up stirring dialogue, action, and description while not stinting on the epic's mix of fate and fear. After Grendel's misbegotten mother comes to call, the king's evocation of her haunted home may strike dread into the hearts of men and beasts, but it's a gift to the reader:
A few miles from here
a frost-stiffened wood waits and keeps watch
above a mere; the overhanging bank
is a maze of tree-roots mirrored in its surface.
At night there, something uncanny happens:
the water burns. And the mere bottom
has never been sounded by the sons of men.
On its bank, the heather-stepper halts:
the hart in flight from pursuing hounds
will turn to face them with firm-set horns
and die in the wood rather than dive
beneath its surface. That is no good place.
In Heaney's hands, the poem's apparent archaisms and Anglo-Saxon attitudes--its formality, blood-feuds, and insane courage--turn the art of an ancient island nation into world literature. --Kerry Fried
Book Description
Composed toward the end of the first millennium, Beowulf is the classic Northern epic of a hero's triumphs as a young warrior and his fated death as a defender of his people. The poem is about encountering the monstrous, defeating it, and then having to live on, physically and psychically exposed in the exhausted aftermath. It is not hard to draw parallels in this story to the historical curve of consciousness in the twentieth century, but the poem also transcends such considerations, telling us psychological and spiritual truths that are permanent and liberating. In his new translation, Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney has produced a work that is both true, line by line, to the original poem and a fundamental expression of his own creative gift. A New York Times bestseller, winner of the Whitbread Award.
Customer Reviews:
Masterful revitalization of an ancient text.......2007-10-08
It has been said by previous reviewers in so many words: Heaney's erudition, mastery of language and love of literature bring to life this ancient classic and make its sheer emotional force palpable and accessible to modern readers. Heaney's introduction on the universal cultural relevance of Beowulf, despite the seemingly unbridgeable cultural gaps posited by differences in historical context, heritage or language, is a masterpiece in itself.
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney.......2007-09-19
Earlier this year a new version of Beowulf was published, translated by the Irish Nobel Prize Winner (for 1995) Seamus Heaney. Heaney has spent many years trying to get this translation just right, and I believe he hit the nail on the head in this case. This book presents a different insight into reading Beowulf, adopting a more archaic viewpoint in both language and imagery. Henry does not bother much with fancy words to make the poem seem more fantastic, but sticks to the original terms, translating them as closely as he possibly can. The book is set up so that on the left is the poem in its original Anglo-Saxon or Old English text and on the right is Heaney's translation.
For this translation, Heaney had to return to his long misused Irish tongue of Gaelic. He had learned the language when he was a boy, but has since spent more time using English. His main source was his grandmother, who is still fluent in the archaic language. In talking to her, he would hear strange words and terms that simply do not exist in modern English. Heaney would then turn to the original text of Beowulf. There he would notice similarities between these strange expressions uttered by his grandmother and the poem. In one case he found an exact match with the word "Þolian" which means to suffer and his grandmother's expression, "They'll just have to learn to thole"; here the thorn symbol Þ is pronounced with a "th" sound. Heaney considered these unique insights "loopholes" through which he was able to translate this magnificent piece of literature.
It remains unknown as to when Beowulf was written and by whom. Quite likely a monk wrote it, since monks were really the only people of the time who were able to write; also the poem was written by a Christian, since there are numerous points throughout the codex where the "Almighty" and "God" are thanked and respected.
The poem was composed first orally some time during the middle of the seventh century, and then written down in the eleventh century. It is a tale about a great hero of the Geats know as Beowulf, who travels to Denmark, where the king, Hrothgar, is being attacked by a monster in the night known as Grendel. Beowulf fights with the beat and rips off its arm, whereupon the creature flees into the darkness from whence it came. The next night, Grendel's mother comes to avenger her son; she takes a life and flees back to her lair beneath the mere (a lake). Beowulf pursues, tracks her down and with a magic sword decapitates her.
After being greatly rewarded by Hrothgar, Beowulf and his army return to their homeland in the south of Sweden. There, after years of attacks by enemies, he inherits the throne and rules for fifty years. In his fiftieth year, a dragon is disturbed from its lair, where it has been guarding a mound of ancient treasure, left by a long-dead warrior. Beowulf confronts the dragon but is gravely injured. Wiglaf, one of his soldiers, comes to his rescue and stabs the dragon in the stomach, killing its ability to make fire. Beowulf draws his dagger and stabs the dragon a lethal blow. But Beowulf has been poisoned by the dragon's bite and dies shortly after.
A great funeral pyre is built and set ablaze, while his many followers watch. His cremated remains are added to a special mound that is created on a hilltop overlooking the sea, where any ship passing will see the mound and know that Beowulf lies beneath. Thus, the poem ends with the forever-lasting memory of a great hero.
Heaney's new twist on this translation of Beowulf is through using the most exact word possible; the result are terms like "ring-hoard," "lake-birth," "shield-clash," and "sky-roamer." What makes this so magical is how the words fit so well, and flow like the soft voice that once spoke them. These specific terms help to create an image in the reader's mind of just what the original composer was intending: a story of gallantry, gold, fighting, Christianity, and the triumph of good over evil. As one begins reading, one can not help but be caught up in the thrashing current that pulls you along with the weight of the past, taking you step-by-step along Beowulf's paths, his wins, and his eventual loss. And at the poem's climax and conclusion one is left with a deep-set feeling of remorse for this might warrior, Beowulf, who most likely never existed, or at least has not existed for over a thousand years.
For more book reviews, and other writings, go to www.alexctelander.com
Deep insight into the soul of the Dark Ages........2007-09-02
Literature can be a form of social anthropology. Just as the Illiad can take you into the warlike mindset of the ancient Greeks; Beowulf takes you into the warlike mindset of the Anglo-Saxon invaders of Britain back in the days of Sutton Hoo. Not only is Beowulf a great piece of epic poetry - complete with super hero, fabulous monsters, and a killer dragon; it's also a superb piece of cultural history - complete with great halls ringing with toasts of mead in horn cups and men who sleep fully armored and armed. The big problem with Beowulf in old English is that just as the culture is so remote and alien to be fascinating, the English language at the time is also utterly alien and incomprehensible. This was a quarter millenium before the Norman Conquest - the great fusion of germanic and romance that would produce our language as we know it.
Previous translations - like the one I suffered through in High School, are stilted and arcane. They sacrifice narrative flow for a false kind of fidelity to the text. Seamus Heaney's translation dances and sings. The language is lyrical and feels like epic poetry - but the narrative flow is easy and intuitive. With the difficulty of comprehension out of the way the story comes to the fore and what a story it is. This is the real root of Fantasy literature - a misty world of barbaric knights, monsters, magic, blood kinship and blood feud. The tale is familiar to most - the great Geat hero comes to the aid of a distant king whose country is beset by a horrible monster; one immune to weapons... Ok, no spoilers.
If you are interested in the roots of English literature, or in the culture of the dark ages Anglo Saxon, this book will illuminate like nothing else.
A Must-Read.......2007-08-14
I was required to read this in high school, and decided to re-read it recently. Anyone who wants to understand the modern fantasy genre, especially the variety involving knights and monsters, needs to read this book. Period. Heaney's translation makes the work accessible, and it can be read straight-through in an hour or two. Highly recommended.
Epic For The Everyman / / Heaven Help Hollywood.......2007-08-06
Beautiful rendition. The first where I felt the presence of the unknown Christian poet by my side. I felt like reading this aloud beside my campfire.Highly recommended.I'm a self tutored lover of poetry and literature and this is by far the best version of Beowulf I have read.
I read somewhere that Angelina Jolie was playing Grendel's mother in the upcoming Robert Zemeckis film , due for release in November. This is not a promising portend.
Average customer rating:
- Human Destiny and Reputation
- Awesome adventure story
- An epic, legendary tale, rendered beautifuly and poetically...and intelligibly
- The oldest English poem
- Quick Service
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Beowulf (Signet Classics)
Anonymous
Manufacturer: Signet Classics
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ASIN: 0451527402 |
Book Description
The epic poem of war and adventure.
Beowulf is the earliest extant poem in a modern European language. It was composed in England four centuries before the Norman Conquest. But no one knows exactly when it was composed, or by whom, or why. As a social document this great epic reflects a feudal, newly Christian world of heroes and monsters, blood and victory and death.
* Burton Raffel's modern language translation from the original Old English remains the most celebrated introduction of the poem to students and the general reader alike
* Includes a glossary of terms
Customer Reviews:
Human Destiny and Reputation.......2006-12-08
About a month ago an acquaintance of mine noticed at work that I was reading Beowulf on my break. He said that he hated Beowulf, and that it was ridiculously archaic and boring, and that the hero was far too strong for his own good. I remarked that "yes, of course it's archaic, and that's precisely why it's great."
Now Beowulf, it should be acknowledged, isn't simply a story about a herculean man who bests great beasts and fire breathing dragons. Dig deeper and deeper and you'll find, perhaps, that Beowulf speaks across the generations about a culture that was vastly different than the one we know now. Their society was one based on honor and reputation, which was gained in large part by one's ancestors. When we are first introduced to Beowulf, he does not boast of his own name, but of his father, Edgetho's. We learn that the culture emphasizes wealth, not necessarily as a means to gain material possessions--indeed, the wealth itself is material--but to cement one's position in society as a reputable citizen. Beowulf himself represents that actual ideal; he was the fictitious warrior told about in campfire situations as a means of passing along the time, or perhaps even to raise spirits before a great battle.
The title of this review speaks also of human destiny. In several parts Beowulf addresses this concern about human destiny. While delivering a great speech to Hrothgar, king of the Danes, about his intention to destroy Grendel, Beowulf explains, "my hands / Alone shall fight for me, struggle for life / Against the monster," (37). Further, he says "God must decide / Who will be given to death's cold grip" (37). Beowulf here strongly emphasizes the need to destroy the monster with his bare hands. We later figure out why, for when the battle occurs, his fellow Geats find their sharp swords suddenly dulled away by the monster Grendel's tough skin. They were unallowed to fight the monster; that was Beowulf's job.
Why might this be important? As I said before, Beowulf reaches beyond the bounds of mere storytelling; it reinforced the culture of the time. In telling these great stories of ideal heroes with brute strength, who could best the greatest and toughest of monsters, everybody was--as might be familiar in our culture today, what with many manipulative ads in the media--reminded of the ideal, and thus strove to achieve that ideal.
In reading Beowulf, one should understand that one does not have to agree with the manly ideal, or with the unending thirst for the acquisition of wealth and reputation. I also don't propose that Beowulf is important merely because it is historical--indeed, some history is frivolous balderdash! I propose that this is important history because in some sense we can relate much of this tale, in a grander sense, to today, and can realize that we still regard our good reputations and our positions in society as necessary rather than optional. Perchance to look at the idea of human destiny is simply for fun. Then again, it gives one the knowledge that spirituality was then an important human construct.
Read Beowulf and enjoy. It is one of the most important works around. It's influential. It's epic. It's just fun.
Awesome adventure story.......2006-03-02
Excellent literary adventure complete with chivalry, dragons and knights. Required reading for any literature enthusiast. Unfortunately it is too short, there is no sequel or companion and the author is unknown.
An epic, legendary tale, rendered beautifuly and poetically...and intelligibly.......2006-02-03
How many times have you sat down to a poem, some epic of ages past, wanting desperately to read it and experience the grand tale...only to be daunted by out-dated terminology (sometimes without helpful footnotes) and words that seem to make no sense, even when you know what they mean?
Okay, okay...you're saying, "No kidding, Sherlock. That's part of reading literature--you get the whole cultural experience." Alright, I accept your arguement. But what if you could get the "whole cultural experience," the whole story itself, without struggling? What if this "modern" translation did not lose any flavor of the original, but in fact ENHANCED the original in sone indiscribable way? Would you go for it?
Of course you would. And such is the case with Raffel's rendition of "Beowulf," one of the greatest epic poems of all time. The reading is easy, beautiful, and genuinely suspenseful (something often lacking in epic poetry, I have noticed). This is modern diction and syntax that still manages to capture the rhythms and scenery of the original Old English. In his introduction, Raffel briefly dissects the poem and how he translated it (in his afterward, Robert Creed dissects Raffel's translation, and provides a brief history of the poem and Old English poetry in general; at the end of the book, a list/description of characters, and a geneology tree for some of the main characters, help with any clarification difficulties you might have). This version of "Beowulf" has become one of my favorite books I have ever read...a prestigious title that, until now, no translation has acheived. Raffel's version is brisk, it is beautiful, and it clearly represents the glory, the tragedy, and the majesty that we associate with "Beowulf." This is the must-have version of one of the best legends ever told.
The oldest English poem.......2005-10-02
I once made the joke that Grendel was the first beo-degradable monster in history...
GROAN!
When I gave this joke to an English professor, he used it in class, and promptly returned it to me.
Okay. I'll accept that. But, Beowulf deserves the kind of serious attention that would prompt people to want to make bad jokes about it (unimportant things are ignored; only important things are held up in jest).
Beowulf is an old poem--often considered the first in English. This is technically not true, for linguistic and other reasons (where the demarcations of English beginnings fall are debatable; also there is the fact that there are older poems, just not epic poems). An epic is a long, narrative poem, a literary form undervalued today, but which was probably the equivalent of a Cecil B. DeMille production in more ancient times. The Illiad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid, Gilgamesh--all these are epic poems. Generally, they recount heroic deeds, and most often were composed and intended as oral history. Beowulf consists of 3182 existing lines.
Scholars also disagree on the 'British heritage' of the poem, many believing it more likely to be an import from Anglo-Saxon European homelands than a composition original to the Britain. The tale does portray two leaders, Hrothgar, leader of the Danes, and Beowulf, leader of the Geats, a Swedish tribe. These are interconnected through generations of family intermarriages, and Beowulf because of this loyalty takes his men to help defend Hrothgar's home against the monster Grendel.
The tale of Beowulf involves heroism, sacrifice, loyalty, warfare, conflict and resolution--all the elements that go into a good action feature. It also has moral overtones (so it was meant to educate and inspire as well as entertain). It carries the strong message that a fighting man's allegiance to the overlord and to God should be absolute (something that is often instilled in soldiers of today). It is almost decidedly Klingon in the glorification of battle (in fact, I've often wondered if the Star Trek universe took a leaf out of this epic to create the Klingon idea)--Beowulf fights three battles (a holy trinity of battles, almost), dying gloriously in the final battle with a great dragon, after having lived an honourable and courageous life.
This story contains elements of both early Christianity and late paganism, however in some cases the Christian aspects may be later additions by monks who transcribed the manuscripts (monks were noted for doing that in many circumstances, including Biblical texts). The oldest existing manuscript dates from about the tenth century and is preserved in the British Museum.
This particular translation is by Burton Raffel, poet and scholar. This edition is perhaps the most commonly used one for students - it has an introduction that discusses both the poem and the context for old English literature. There is a glossary of names (very handy for modern English readers, because the names are not readily remembered by many), as well as small genealogical tree of the major families in the poem. In the afterword by Robert Creed, he states that 'in Burton Raffel's clear song, both the freshness and the melancholy of this great poem can speak directly to us in our time.'
A great poem, and good translation in verse form, bridging the past and the present together.
Quick Service.......2005-09-26
We needed the books shortly after I ordered them, and we received them just in time...and in excellent condition! Thank you.
Average customer rating:
- verily, i loved it
- A brilliant accomplishment for Crichton!
- Very well done if you understand Crichton's purpose
- Best served with a side of wine and cheese
- Eaters of the Dead: a version of Beowulf
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Eaters of the Dead
Michael Crichton
Manufacturer: Avon
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Release Date: 2006-08-29 |
Amazon.com
Michael Crichton takes the listener on a one-thousand-year-old journey in his adventure novel Eaters Of The Dead. This remarkable true story originated from actual journal entries of an Arab man who traveled with a group of Vikings throughout northern Europe. In 922 A.D, Ibn Fadlan, a devout Muslim, left his home in Baghdad on a mission to the King of Saqaliba. During his journey, he meets various groups of "barbarians" who have poor hygiene and gorge themselves on food, alcohol and sex. For Fadlan, his new traveling companions are a far stretch from society in the sophisticated "City of Peace." The conservative and slightly critical man describes the Vikings as "tall as palm trees with florid and ruddy complexions." Fadlan is astonished by their lustful aggression and their apathy towards death. He witnesses everything from group orgies to violent funeral ceremonies. Despite the language and cultural barriers, Ibn Fadlan is welcomed into the clan. The leader of the group, Buliwyf (who can communicate in Latin) takes Fadlan under his wing.
Without warning, the chieftain is ordered to haul his warriors back to Scandinavia to save his people from the "monsters of the mist." Ibn Fadlan follows the clan and must rise to the occasion in the battle of his life. The unabridged story is read by actor Victor Garber (Titanic; The First Wives Club), who brings life and a personality to the plot--convincingly portraying each character with appropriate accents. Crichton also sets the stage in the beginning and chimes in every so often to clarify historical places and events. If you love historical action thrillers, but are short on time, this audio book packs an epic journey into a three hour adventure. --Gina Kaysen (Running time: 3 Hours; 2 cassettes)
Book Description
The year is A.D. 922. A refined Arab courtier, representative of the powerful Caliph of Bagdad, encounters a party of Viking warriors who are journeying to the barbaric North. He is appalled by their Viking customs -- the wanton sexuality of their pale, angular women, their disregard for cleanliness . . .
their cold-blooded human sacrifices. But it is not until they reach the depths of the Northland that the courtier learns the horrifying and inescapable truth: He has been enlisted by these savage, inscrutable warriors to help combat a terror that plagues them -- a monstrosity that emerges under cover of night to slaughter the Vikings and devour their flesh . . .
Customer Reviews:
verily, i loved it.......2007-10-06
great book. i was skeptical of reading this one and only got to it while i was home sick this week for lack of anything else to read. the story is definitely worth 5 stars.
A brilliant accomplishment for Crichton!.......2007-08-31
EATERS OF THE DEAD is, essentially, a re-telling of the epic poem "Beowulf" -- which most of us have read but few of us have enjoyed (unless you're one of the fortunate ones who read Seamus Heaney's Beowulf: A New Verse Translation, which is a brilliant and lyrical version I highly recommend). Crichton, who is much better known for his more mainstream fiction (JURASSIC PARK and CONGO are notable examples), has executed a new version of that old tale, this one from the first-person perspective of Arab courtier Ibn Fadlan. Ibn Fadlan begins his journey in Baghdad, on a mission from the caliph to the barbaric North. Along the way, he encounters the Viking warrior Buliwyf and his people. Buliwyf has been summoned even further north by another band of Vikings, whose lands are being terrorized by monsters, the "wendol," who attack under cover of the mist. Before he knows it, Ibn Fadlan has been asked to join the party of warriors...
The first three chapters of the novel are taken from the real Ibn Fadlan's 10th-century writings. From there, though, the story is purely Crichton's imagination. It's remarkable how completely he's able to match his tone to that of Ibn Fadlan's long-ago voice, yet he still makes the story accessible to modern readers. He provides keen insights into the behavior of the Viking people with meticulous research and detailed descriptions. His prose, under the guise of Ibn Fadlan's narrative voice, sets just the right amount of suspense and provides a real sense of atmosphere. I was entertained, and I still felt like I was learning something. Mostly, though, I was amused and awed by Crichton's ability to take a story everyone knows (and few like) and turn it into something completely different, yet still recognizable. What an accomplishment. I haven't seen THE THIRTEENTH WARRIOR, but after reading EATERS OF THE DEAD, you can bet that it's high on my viewing list.
Very well done if you understand Crichton's purpose.......2007-07-22
I think that the confusion with this book arises from the fact that people don't understand what Crichton accomplished. This is a retelling of Beowulf, in a first person, narrative, entertaining form.
The narrator, Ibn Fadlan, is an actual Muslim writer from the 10th century. The first 3 chapters of this book are actually from his original narrative. Crichton then moves from there in to the fictional portion, using Fadlan as a first hand observer of the events surrounding the Beowulf story.
Considering how dreadful Beowulf was (admittedly mainly due to barriers of time, language and perception of what is entertaining), Crichton has accomplished a very difficult task. He has rewritten a very long, very boring epic and made it concise, easy to digest and entertaining.
I hated Beowulf; I found it to be dreadful, boring and longwinded.
This is a wonderful retelling of the story. I highly recommend that any lover of historical fiction read this book.
If you are a fan of Crichton's more mainstream work (i.e. Jurassic Park, Andromeda Strain, etc.) you may want to read a few more reviews and see if you can find a snippet of this story online as it is completely different from his other works. The closest novel of Crichton's that I could compare this to would be Timeline and even that is a stretch because Timeline involved Sci-Fi type elements where this is strictly a narrative from the 10th century.
I heartily enjoyed this and was only put off by the ending which just ended. Seriously, be prepared because there is no ending. The book just stops and moves on with an appendix, a historical note and a bibliography. That was a bit annoying. I don't remember if Beowulf did the same.
Still, very well done, very entertaining and very good historical fiction.
Best served with a side of wine and cheese.......2007-07-22
Michael Crichton has penned an excellent rapid-paced adventure. Based on the actual diary of an Arab man traveling with the Vikings, it is sometimes difficult to believe this is a true account and not just pure fiction. Eaters of the Dead is the epic journey of one man who strives to find himself and his place in his world. The main character is richly described. His emotions and internal conflicts are laid before the reader as he witnesses the horrible habits and rituals of his foreign companions. The settings are depicted so finely, you can almost taste the darkness and smell the smoke. What is most compelling about Eaters of the Dead is how the author shows every defining moment with such clarity. All in all, a great, solid story that needs to be slowly savored! A must read!
Eaters of the Dead: a version of Beowulf.......2007-06-23
I read this novel a long time ago (it was first published in 1976) and reread it after watching 'The Thirteenth Warrior' in 2003.
Michael Crichton says he wrote it on a bet that he could make an entertaining story out of 'Beowulf'. From my perspective, he has certainly written a book that will be more accessible to most modern readers than 'Beowulf'. The assessment of entertainment value is best left to the individual reader: I am one who enjoyed it immensely.
The book is set in A.D. 922. A refined Arab courtier, representative of the powerful Caliph of Bagdad, encounters a party of Viking warriors who are journeying to the barbaric North. He is asked to travel with them ...
This is probably not a novel for the faint of heart or for those rendered queasy by bloodthirsty description. On the other hand, it's a good read and different in many ways from some of Dr Crichton's later work.
Recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Average customer rating:
- As dreadful as Grendel himself
- Fun. But wildly dissimilar.
- Classic story as conspiracy theory
- Understanding The Making of a Legendary Figure
- Sorry, but I just can't swallow it
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Beowulf: A New Telling
Robert Nye
Manufacturer: Laurel Leaf
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ASIN: 0440905605
Release Date: 1982-03-15 |
Book Description
He comes out of the darkness, moving in on his victims in deadly silence. When he leaves, a trail of blood is all that remains. He is a monster, Grendel, and all who know of him live in fear.
Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, knows something must be done to stop Grendel. But who will guard the great hall he has built, where so many men have lost their lives to the monster while keeping watch?
Only one man dares to stand up to Grendel's fury --Beowulf.
Customer Reviews:
As dreadful as Grendel himself.......2007-08-09
Rather than offering my own opinion of this book, I will give you a few brief quotations describing the major characters and allow you to decide for yourself if this book is worth reading. Author Robert Nye describes the character of Beowulf as "weak and sickly" in his youth and "below average size" as an adult. He also describes Beowulf as "short sighted." He claims that Beowulf "admits to his weaknesses" and is "not given to boasting." This begs the question: what Beowulf is Nye talking about? The real Beowulf, the one that we know from the epic 7th century poem, was none of these things. We are told that he was neither small nor weak, but rather he possessed the strength of 30 men ("thirty men's might in the grip of his hand").This is how he was able to overpower his adversary, the demon Grendel, when no other man could challenge Grendel. The original Beowulf boasted quite often. Apparently, Robert Nye has his own idea of how a "hero" should behave. Instead of arrogance in Beowulf we see humility when he says, "He was a better swimmer than I" in reference to his dramatic swimming race against Breca. The problem here is that Beowulf did not lose this race with Breca. He won! But Nye's Beowulf cannot be all-powerful and still be humble, meek and peace-loving. We know from the original story that Beowulf cut off Grendel's head after he was dead, so he could offer it to the Danes as a trophy. This action was apparently too harsh for Nye. Instead, he tells us that Beowulf cut off Grendel's head in self-defense after Grendel momentarily came back from the dead!
The character of Unferth has also been dramatically altered. He is portrayed as both pathetic and evil, a drunkard full of contempt for Beowulf and his people. As such, his words carry no weight and he really serves no purpose in the story. The real Unferth was an insecure man, who was desperately afraid of Beowulf gaining more glory than him. But there is no evidence in the poem that he was evil or that he hated his own people.
The depiction of Grendel's mother in this book is downright laughable. Nye tells us that she has "red lips" and "hanging breasts." Furthermore, "she had eyes in her breasts." We are never told why she needs eyes in her breasts, but I guess the author just liked this visual.
Grendel's mother is also described as the "wife of Cain." According to Nye, Cain had sex with Grendel's mother (an evil serpent) and the resulting offspring was the hideous creature Grendel. To someone unfamiliar with the poem, this might seem logical. But this is where Robert Nye really misses the point (or chooses to ignore the point). Grendel is a descendant of Cain - this much is true. But Grendel's evil nature did not arise because of a sinful union between Cain and his mother. Cain was already sinful after killing his brother and then being cast out by God. As a result, his offspring were evil and - over thousands of years - slowly became monstrous. This happened because Cain and his offspring were separated from God.
It shouldn't be surprising, however, that Nye fails to address this point. As previous reviewers have already stated, Nye chooses to ignore the Christian basis of the poem. His Beowulf has no relationship with God. In the poem, we know that Beowulf draws strength and inspiration from God, and he thanks God for his successes in battle ("the deadly struggle at the start would have ended, if God had not watched over me") Instead, Nye tells us that "Beowulf's best weapon was himself. He put all his faith in that." Beowulf believed in himself fully and therefore had no need for God - according to Mr. Nye. Let's not forget that this story is really about the battle between good and evil, Beowulf (God) versus Grendel (Satan). The poem tells us that Grendel came from Hell, and that he was an "enemy of God," who "waged war against God." Regarding Beowulf, the poem tells us that "Holy God has sent him to help our people."
If you choose to read this book you will notice that Mr. Nye wisely includes a disclaimer: "This is an interpretation, not a translation." Perhaps this is how he justifies changing the original story to such an extent that the characters are unrecognizable. His book, therefore, is not an interpretation of the original story but an alteration of it. Instead of bringing honor to the poem, he dishonors it.
There's nothing wrong with Mr. Nye writing a story about a humble, unimpressive man who manages to overcome his weaknesses. He just shouldn't have named him Beowulf.
Fun. But wildly dissimilar........2006-03-23
In many ways, this Beowulf is a lot of fun for kids. The writing is direct and clear (although there are plenty of vocabulary stretchers). The action is fun. Beowulf's heroism is unquestionable.
But, I don't understand why one would publish a Beowulf retelling and stay just close enough to the original to be confusing (as opposed to John Gardner's wonderful Grendel, which told the story from the monster's perspective). The most disturbing divergence was making Unferth a petty bad guy in enamored of evil. In doing so, Nye sacrifices much of the nobility of the original.
I don't know if there are other kid-friendly tellings of this story. But, I would look for one of those, first.
Classic story as conspiracy theory.......2006-02-08
Reading this book opened up an entire new set of ideas for me. Here's the deal. On the surface Beowolf sounds like an outrageous story where the hero does things that obviously no real man could do. For example he dives under water and comes back up 8 hours later. It is easy to dismiss this as a fairy tale.
Robert Nye, however, tweaks the story some and in the process gives some interesting hints about what is really going on. What if this story told what was made to appear to happen? What if there was a conspiracy to make things appear to happen when in fact what was really going on was a scam, a sting, a rip-off? A kind of ancient version of the various "great robbery" movies?
Look at it this way. When you go to see a magic show you know that you are being tricked and you try to figure out how the tricks are done. If you wrote down what you saw on stage, you might write, "then he sawed the lady in half, moved her head and feet around away from each other, and then put her back together and she was unharmed!"
One can look at Beowolf the same way and it makes sense! Just suppose certain people are in on it with Beowolf. Only his men, plus Unferth, are present when he "fights Grendel". Unferth's aggressive behavior with Beowolf "forces" Beowolf to tell an outrageous story about swimming for 5 days and makes sure that no one would think that Beowolf and Unferth could be in on anything together. No one sees him fight Grendel's mother and, again only his men see him emerge from the water. And only his men see him fight the Dragon, which they then throw in the ocean so no one could see the body. Could you imagine trophy hunters in Africa throwing the body away before anyone had sen it? NO!! They would want everyone to see the huge thing they killed.
In this sense the story of Beowolf is like a big insiders joke. Like, "Look at the way we fooled these yokels!" "Look at how much can be accomplished by tricking people!"
Interestingly he always has 12 men and one man always dies when a "monster" is killed. Is this some kind of secret society human sacrifice stuff?
The payoff? The King gives Beowolf a huge treasure, "all" of which Beowolf then gives to his own king. (Or does he?) Later Beowolf gets to be king and no other tribe will attack the land governed by this "mighty warrior".
I love this book. Robert Nye deserves a lot of credit for writing a young person's book with depth that challenges adults. Fairy tales will never be the same for you after this. Maybe the daily "news" won't be the same either...
Understanding The Making of a Legendary Figure.......2006-01-31
The story of Troy, Alexander the Great, or the Illiad has nothing on the story of Beowulf. It has been retold by Robert Nye so that children can grasp it. This story held my class captive as we experienced the adventures of Beowulf.The children gained recognition of the differences between fact and fiction, which becomes entangled in the minds of men as their love and admiration for a hero grows and thus a legend is born.
Sorry, but I just can't swallow it.......2005-09-08
Beowulf, by Robert Nye is one of those books that really didn't appeal to me. In my opinion, it is a very exciting story that has been poorly written. For example, throughout the entire story, I didn't feel like the author put any effort into truly defining the characters. The way I interpreted it, the characters were either good or evil, and were never conflicted about what to do. That makes for very shallow reading. Beowulf was simply good. His character was too classically heroic for my taste. His characterization made the story seem like a fairy tale. In any form of storytelling, the teller usually adds some uncertainty in the characters to give the entire tale real meaning. For instance, I knew nothing about Beowulf, so the fact that he died just meant that I didn't have to read anymore. That generally isn't the sign of a book that has been greatly enjoyed. At the beginning of the book, the author has giving the readers a sort of genealogy rundown. That is not characterization! It doesn't really matter whom someone's mother or father is if they have no effect on the story! In my honest opinion, the piece of genealogical information gave better characterization than the whole tale put together. Unfortunately, those characters were not used, so the readers were not given something even slightly resembling character depth. Another gripe I have about this story is the gore. Normally I am not bothered by gory stories, but I find it very hard to read pointlessly bloody tales. The only thing the blood did for me was distract me from the lack of decent characters. Actually, if the blood had had some point, I would have probably loved the truly vivid imagery. This particular author seems to be very good at creating a scene, but lacks the ability to bring characters to life. I also thought that Grendel was a pointless addition to this story. All Grendel ever did was slaughter humans (there we get truly glorious, horrific imagery for the first time). And although it was a preamble to the rest of the story, I happen to think that that was the part I could actually consider somewhat akin to decent storytelling. The Grendel had no real motivation, true. But its profile was the closest thing to characterization anywhere in this story. But I continually found myself wondering why Grendel wasn't kept around longer, and why the author simply moved on to another piece of the story. Even if Grendel had to die at one point, I think that if the author had highlighted its part in the story more, the overall reading would be more pleasant. My ideal version of this book would have a more lengthy version of the battle with Grendel, and less of the creature's mother and the dragon. It isn't that the other two aren't major aspects in the story; it's just that, as I've said before, without characterization, their parts seemed pointless.
During one part of this story, I was actually able to feel the full effect of decent storytelling. It was near the end, when Beowulf is combating the dragon. I liked how his own bees not only killed the dragon, but himself as well. For some reason, it seemed like a fitting end: a hero defeats one last opponent, but in the process is defeated by his own friends when they assist him. If all of the book held quality such as that, I think I would have truly enjoyed this tale. But alas, that is not the case, and I am left feeling indifferent to the entire story. Overall, I found it a slightly weak story to begin with; weakness that is only magnified with this particular author's style of writing. I am not aware if this `new telling' corresponds with the original tale that was published a millennium ago, so I cannot truly judge the quality of the actual story. All I can judge is the telling of it, which I found quite unsatisfying.
Book Description
With adoptions at over 1,300 colleges and universities in its first semester; the Seventh Edition of The Norton Anthology of English Literature continues to be the indispensable anthology. Like its predecessors, the Seventh Edition offers the best in English literature from the classic to the contemporary in a readable, teachable format. More selections by women and twentieth-century writers, a richer offering of contextual writings and apparatus fully revised to reflect today's scholarship make the Seventh Edition the choice for breadth, depth, and quality.
For the first time ever, the acclaimed Norton Anthology of English Literature is available in six separate volumes, each of which cover a specific period of English lit and focus on the wide range of writers and literature, with full annotation and commentary. Adapted unabridged from the full Norton Anthology, this volume is ideal for focused study or specific coursework in the period.
Customer Reviews:
A limited anthology........2006-08-20
Volume 1A: The Middle Ages contains a lot of great selections. A good Beowulf translation, selections from The Canterbury Tales, an enjoyable translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Dream of the Rood, and selections from Morte D'Arthur, Julian of Norwich, and Margery Kempe among them. But the anthology lacks depth and a real representation of the period it deals with. This first volume covers the period from around A.D. 700 to about 1450, by far the longest time frame in any of the six volumes of the Norton Anthology of English Literature, yet this also happens to be the shortest volume in the series. There is a very large corpus of Old English religous poetry and prose, almost all of which is ignored. There are no selections from Alfred, Aelfric, Alcuin, Cynewulf, Wulfstan, only the smallest amount of Bede; no idea is given of the amount of religous poetry, whether of saint's lives or alliterative poetic accounts of Biblical events. OE Religous poetry is represented solely by The Dream of the Rood, which is such a masterpiece it is impossible to ignore it. The same prejudice holds true for the Middle Ages, with religous lit being seen mostly in Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe. These are very good selections, but it seems they were chosen because the writers were women, and not because they represented the literary milieu. In other words, this anthology is heavily biased against religous literature, even though religous literature was dominant throughout this time period. Thus I consider this a very limited anthology, since it by no means accurately represents the literature of the time. Regardless of modern prejudices against religous lit, the Middle Ages were a religous period and any anthology of this period should reflect how the people then thought and felt, not what people now feel.
Norton Knows How to Do It.......2005-10-09
This was great! And a lot cheaper then having to buy the giant version with everything in it. I have many different editions of the Norton Anthologies and this one is on par with all the rest. Definitely recommended! 5 Stars!! Great explanations and citations!
Book Description
Use of Beowulf clusters (collections of off-the-shelf commodity computers programmed to act in concert, resulting in supercomputer performance at a fraction of the cost) has spread far and wide in the computational science community. Many application groups are assembling and operating their own "private supercomputers" rather than relying on centralized computing centers. Such clusters are used in climate modeling, computational biology, astrophysics, and materials science, as well as non-traditional areas such as financial modeling and entertainment. Much of this new popularity can be attributed to the growth of the open-source movement.
The second edition of Beowulf Cluster Computing with Linux has been completely updated; all three stand-alone sections have important new material. The introductory material in the first part now includes a new chapter giving an overview of the book and background on cluster-specific issues, including why and how to choose a cluster, as well as new chapters on cluster initialization systems (including ROCKS and OSCAR) and on network setup and tuning. The information on parallel programming in the second part now includes chapters on basic parallel programming and available libraries and programs for clusters. The third and largest part of the book, which describes software infrastructure and tools for managing cluster resources, has new material on cluster management and on the Scyld system.
Customer Reviews:
useful tips.......2005-10-29
This second edition covers a large range of cluster topics. Firstly, in terms of why you might need a Beowulf. Then, how to assemble the hardware. And how to install linux on the nodes. The book is valuable not least because it encapsulates decades of knowledge about running clusters, not just of the Beowulf type. The chapters' authors hail from places like Argonne and Oak Ridge National Labs, where there have been research groups using many different types of clusters for years.
Aside from linux, the book describes the special purpose parallel language called MPI. It can be accessed from a C, C++ or Fortran program. Note this choice of languages. Typically the cluster is meant for intensive computational use, with UI issues a low priority. So the book focuses on those languages, and not how to hook Java or C# to MPI.
Of course, with each chapter written by a different author, there is somewhat of a discontinuity between chapters. Think of the book as more akin to a conference proceedings writeup.
readable and informative beowulf resource.......2002-04-23
I've read this book cover to cover, and then gone back to various parts throughout the course of building a large beowulf. It's the best resource I've found so far. I've recommended it other folks who have also had the same experience--it *explains* beowulfs in very clear and readable language. Excellent primer.
Buyer beware.......2002-03-23
My supervising professor bought this book for me to use in my senior project and I'm glad it wasn't my purchase. My major complaint is that the code examples in the PVM section are trash. I'm not sure if Al Geist (one of the co-authors of PVM) was rushed or thought that it would be good for students to find and correct errors in the code. Perhaps the best part of the book is Chapter 18 which details the experience at Argonne National Lab of setting up their (massive) cluster, Chiba City. There are many better books out there. Try Parallel Programming by Berry Wilkinson and Michael Allen, Parallel Programming with MPI by Peter Pacheco, or anything by William Gropp.
Disappointing. . ........2002-02-21
I seldom review books, but this one is so disappointing that I felt obligated too. The key thing to note about this book is that Thomas Sterling is not the author, but the "Editor" of the book. Sterling assembled a number of short, loosely related articles and tries to pass them off as a comprehensive book on beowulf clusters running on linux. This book offers no real guidance on building a beowulf cluster or working with an existing one. At best, this book only offers a very general overview of cluster computing.
Customer Reviews:
Ian Myles Slater on: Editing the Master.......2004-12-29
This volume is well designed to convey a huge amount of information in as painless a form as possible. It is a meticulous edition, with commentary, of two manuscripts by J.R.R. Tolkien, representing stages of his thought in the years before his British Academy lecture, "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" (1936; published 1937). That short work has been described as being, although not the beginning of "Beowulf" criticism, the beginning of all *modern* "Beowulf" criticism. It was a revised and condensed version of a longer work, which had already gone through two drafts, presented here as edited by Michael Drout, as the "A" and "B" Texts (designations apparently beloved by medievalists).
The 1936 lecture is the title piece in the 1984 collection of some of Tolkien's essays, with which this book should NOT be confused, and is found in several anthologies of "Beowulf" criticism. It is beautifully expressed, and vigorously argued, but, with its compressed references to old disputes, at times a little hard to follow in detail. I found that careful readings of R.W. Chambers' magisterial "Beowulf: An Introduction to the Study of the Poem" (1921; third edition, 1953) and use of Fr. Klaeber's great edition (1922, 1928, 1936), both referred to by Tolkien, were very helpful, and worth the time (if not essential!) for any student of the poem anyway. But the critical (or uncritical) consensus Tolkien was attacking long ago faded from the scholarly mind. (It persists in third-hand opinions, often repeated by people who should know better.)
This presentation of the work-in-progress which produced "The Monsters and Critics" unfolds the reasoning process and critical disputes behind its crisp rhetoric, and reveals beyond any doubt that Tolkien's disclaimer of detailed knowledge of the secondary literature was the typical medieval-style "modesty trope" some of us suspected anyway. (More than suspected, really, since the 1983 publication of other Tolkien material on "Beowulf," edited by Alan Bliss as "Finn and Hengest.")
Among other issues, the resemblance of Tolkien's reading strategies for "Beowulf" to the then-emerging "New Criticism" is explored, and shown to be coincidental -- beyond sharing in the "spirit of the age," if one cares to take that approach. (I have actually seen a "history of criticism" which dismissed "Monsters and the Critics" as merely applying New Criticism to medieval literature, and offering nothing original -- which suggested, just as a matter of chronology, a lack of qualifications to write such a history.)
There is information, too, on the probable dates and present conditions of the manuscripts, on the emendations and original readings in the sometimes difficult-to-read handwritten pages, and similar matters. And this is tucked away where those who need the information can find it, and those who aren't interested can ignore it. (It might even serve as a student's introduction to physical descriptions of manuscripts, given that Tolkien's text is, mainly, in modern English, and the issues more immediately clear, than in, say, the case of the "Beowulf" manuscript itself, or of the two texts of Malory -- or the A, B, and C versions of "Piers Plowman.")
Annotations on the two versions supply identifications, translate quotations in a large number of languages, and generally clarify Tolkien's statements for non-professionals on the one hand, and for scholars seventy or eighty years removed from the intended readership on the other.
There are interesting sidelights. Some appear as Drout traces the origin of Tolkien's metaphors and allegories in the published lecture. The published version has a now-famous image of the poem as a Tower, made of more ancient stones which have attracted attention away from the view of the Sea at the top. The resemblance to passages in "Lord of the Rings" seemed to suggest he was borrowing an evocative image from his own developing mythology. Michael Drout shows that the passage started as a fable about a rock garden, and provides references to show that it was then the latest fashion in England. Who would have guessed it? Tolkien as landscape gardener, not Tolkien as secondary world-creator! And this doesn't stand alone, although it is the easiest example to describe.
Drout's editing, in my opinion, manages to meet the needs and expectations of two sets of readers -- scholars and students, and curious Tolkien fans -- quite well. A second reading has left me as convinced as the first time through. And I feel qualified to say this, although I am not the ideal reviewer for this book.
That ideal reviewer would be a professional scholar of Old English (Anglo-Saxon) language and literature, who is also fully at home in the history of "Beowulf" criticism, and at the same time a well-informed fan of J.R.R. Tolkien. In other words, someone very much like the actual editor. There are such people; I am hoping to hear from some of them in the academic journals, whether Medievalist, Germanist, or Tolkienian (!).
I am at best a rough approximation of this ideal reviewer. I had courses in Old English, including a "Beowulf" seminar, during which I translated a lot of the major poems (and have the notebooks to prove it), and read through much of the major (and some minor) English-language Beowulf studies through the 1970s. As a Tolkien fan, active mainly in the 1970s, I can point to a set of listings in the 1981 Revised Edition of Richard West's "Tolkien Criticism: An Annotated Checklist." In a fanzine I then edited, I sometimes managed to wear both hats simultaneously, as with a review of "Beowulf: A Dual-Language Edition," by Howell D. Chickering, Jr. Although I haven't kept really current, I have worked my way through Michael Alexander's text edition, with facing-page glosses, for Penguin Classics (1995), and the bi-lingual version (2000) of Seamus Heaney's celebrated translation.
So, for me, getting to see Tolkien's thoughts on the poem in the process of formation was very exciting. And learning precisely which critic or critics he was responding to, was a well-guided tour through unexpected corners of old familiar places. The editor's observations on how Tolkien's thoughts on the work of the Beowulf-poet sometimes reflect his own experiences writing stories and poems that would not appear before the public for years appealed to the fan side. At least the sort of fan who enjoyed the successive volumes of "The History of Middle Earth," even while despairing of mastering the mass of new material.
An incisive analysis of the nature of the poem Beowulf.......2004-01-09
JRR Tolkien's 1936 "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" is generally accorded to be a seminal study of the great Old English poem "Beowulf", focusing attention upon the work itself as a consciously crafted piece of literary creation rather than as merely something of historical or quaint antiquitarian interest. "Beowulf and the Critics" presents two extended lectures from the mid-1930's that were successive steps towards Tolkien's final essay. The greater length of these lectures, perhaps especially "Version B", may provide an easier path to appreciating Tolkien's views of the poems than the more dense "The Monsters and the Critics". Editor Michael Drout provides voluminous explanatory notes about every possibly obscure reference in Tolkien's lectures. In addition, lengthy textual notes are provided so that the interested scholar may trace the process of revision used by Tolkien in writing his lectures.
In his preface Drout mentions the likelihood that there are two natual audiences for this book: Those who read it because the name "Tolkien" is on the cover; and those who read it because "Beowulf" on the cover. (And Drout writes that "the most valued audience of all [is] those who read the book because it says both 'Tolkien' and 'Beowulf' on the cover" -- I'm pleased to count myself in that group.) To be candid, those Tolkien enthusiasts who pick up the volume expecting to find discussions of elves and hobbits will be disappointed. There are few direct references to Tolkien's better-know fictional works (although there is an interesting extended footnote discussing the relationship of Shakespeare's "King Lear" to certain aspects of "The Lord of the Rings.") However, if they press on to fathom Tolkien's concept of what Beowulf's poet was truly saying, then they will be rewarded, I believe, with a deepening of their own appreciation of the world later created by Tolkien. And, of course, they may come to appreciate "Beowulf" in itself.
Students of "Beowulf" will undoubtedly be more directly rewarded by this book that presents insights into the poem (and earlier criticism of that work) not so accessibly set forth in the later, more famous essay. If nothing else, this work presents an opportunity to once again consider the artistic intent of the Beowulf poet, speaking to us over a gulf of over a thousand years, yet illuminating a tradition of thought and conduct that still influences our modern world.
A New Look at Tolkien's Thought.......2003-01-22
This book is a much longer, easier to read version of Tolkien's famous 1936
lecture of Beowulf, called "The Monsters and the Critics." I've read
"Monsters and the Critics," and liked it, but Beowulf and the Critics is
much better, not only because it is easier to follow, but because Tolkien
puts in a lot more interesting material, including two very good poems
about dragons. According to the editor, Tolkien started writing this book
for his students at Oxford, and it shows.
Tolkien argues that Beowulf is a great poem and that the monsters in it (a
troll named Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a dragon) are essential to the
poem's theme. I think he makes his case. He also provides a summary of
the study of Beowulf, from the discovery of the manuscript until he wrote
this book in the 1930's, which is actually much more interesting than it
sounds.
The editor has written a good, clear introduction that explains how all
this scholarly material relates to Tolkien's other work in Old English and
to his Middle-earth books. The notes are unbelievably extensive, and while
I didn't read straight through them all, the things I did look up were
explained very clearly.
While there aren't any Hobbits, dwarves or elves, I still strongly
recommend this book to anyone who really wants to know how Tolkien's mind
works.
Customer Reviews:
Rafael Juan Pascual Hernández on Michael Alexander's edition of "Beowulf".......2007-06-06
Being English today's 'lingua franca', it is necessary, or at least highly convenient and profitable, to know its history. Of course, it implies the study of the language at its earliest and more interesting stage: the Old English period - the English spoken by the Anglo-Saxons. And being literature a very appropriate way to approach a language, I do recommend the reading of the epic and elegiac poem "Beowulf".
This edition, by Michael Alexander (Penguin Classics, first published 1995), presents the text in the original, with a very complete glossary in every page which offers a translation of the most difficult words. Moreover, there is a very attractive introduction, an editorial preface and some notes on the metre: everything to get an accurate and full vision of the whole poem.
If you get "Beowulf: A Verse Translation", by the same author, along with this volume, you can consider yourself a lucky reader.
Beowulf: A Verse Translation (Penguin Classics)
Rafael Juan Pascual Hernández.
rjph@correo.ugr.es
Ian Myles Slater on: The Text Edition, Not the Audio.......2004-12-29
Amazon has linked, as equivalent editions, and for reviews, two entirely distinct products. One is a recording of David Rintoul reading a translation of "Beowulf" into modern English -- presumably Michael Alexander's "Beowulf: A Verse Translation" in the Penguin Classics series. It has been linked to a separate volume in the Penguin Classics series, Michael Alexander's *edition* of the Old English (Anglo-Saxon) *text* of the early medieval poem. (I won't be more specific; pick a date after about 750 and before about 1020, you'll find a backer.)
Since Old English is a language about as different from Modern English as the latter is from, say, German, you are going to have to be careful to figure out exactly which item the reviewers are talking about -- if they get that specific. Detailed appreciations of "Beowulf" do not constitute, to my mind, a review of any particular edition, translation, or recorded reading. (Even when I agree with them; a great poem.)
Michael Alexander's text edition offers something unusual, in both the Penguin Classics series and among "Beowulf editions." It is conservatively edited -- that is, it uses consensus readings from recent critical and student editions, with no original departures in the way of conjectural emendations, etc. But instead of either a dictionary-style glossary OR a facing translation, he offers word by word glosses to each line on the page facing the Old English text. The words there are not given in the inflected or conjugated forms in which they appear in the text, but as a dictionary-style head-words. For example, in line 1590, the word "becearf" is identified by the infinitive, "beceorfan," meaning "cut off."
This is actually quite convenient for a student working with a basic textbook, more so than a conventional glossary or dictionary; instead of remembering sound-laws to find the base form, *before* looking it up, you can check your recollection against a grammatical table, or, for the some of the odder "strong" verbs, look it up to identify the type, and then work out the details. (If you haven't studied Old English, or German, trust me; that would mean a lot to you.) Additionally, for fairly long stretches, it is possible to make out a good deal of sense with just the raw vocabulary -- although hardly enough to get a real sense of the poem.
For some passages, Alexander offers footnoted translations of sentences; usually giving his solution to recognized difficulties, where the syntax is exceptionally tangled, or the train of thought depends on ideas obscure to modern readers. Although the main text does not offer information on how Alexander arrived at his readings, or suggest alternatives, there is an eleven-page list of "Manuscript Readings' indicating where unintelligible, broken, or missing words have been emended or supplemented.
This is not a substitute for a fuller introductory edition, like George Jack's "Beowulf: A Student Edition" (1994; one of Alexander's sources, with similar glosses, in this case supplementing a formal glossary). And it certainly doesn't compare to Robinson and Mitchell's more comprehensive "Beowulf: An Edition With Relevant Shorter Texts" (1998), the successive revisions of Wrenn's text by Michael Bolton (fifth edition, 1997 ) or Friedrich Klaeber's venerable but invaluable "Beowulf: and The Fight at Finnsburg" (third edition, 1936; with supplements 1941, 1950). But it is not intended to be.
In conjunction with a good textbook on the language, it would make a fine entry into the poem, in place of the very limited excerpts from the 3182-line poem usually given in a "Grammar and Reader."
And for those who have studied the poem in the original, it is a pleasant, and easily-handled refresher, without the constant presence of an "authoritative" voice, as in the bilingual editions of Seamus Heaney's celebrated recent translation (itself rather too literary for this purpose, actually), or Chickering's older "Beowulf: A Dual Language Edition."
The Real Deal!.......2004-11-05
Beowulf is the longest and oldest Germanic Epic that has survived. Our vision of the Ancient Germanic world is coloured by the Icelandic prose writers of the 13th and 14th Centuries: at a time when Old Germanic culture was dissolving into the Feudal Era. With a composition date of around 800 A.D. this national poem of the Saxons takes us back much further than the sagas do; other than a few stuck-on references to God, the whole thing is entirely pagan Germanic. It is a real miracle that this epic has survived for us! We too can enter the word-world of the old Saxon warriors. The best way to do this is of course to read the real thing: i.e. the epic poem in Anglo-Saxon. This heavily glossed edition allows you to do just that! You will need to know a few other things though, such as declensions and conjugations, but they are easily learnt: '-a' is genitive plural, and '-um' is dative plural; '-on' is the past plural ending (so, 'writ-on' means 'they wrote'). The rest of the grammar is more or less like that of Shakespeare. About 67% of the words in the epic are still used in modern English, so you'll be able to de-modernize your language very quickly! Pick up your 'bill ond byrnum' and go to battle standing beside your ancient ancestors!
One of teh greatest English poem of all times.......2004-01-22
Beowulf is a masterpiece of English literature, the mastermind of all the authors, playwrights, and many other artists coming after it. The language is rather difficult because it is Anglosaxon. But the book gives systematic notes about the words, and only the words, of the poems. Some of these notes are vague if not faultive. One example : page 51, the word « eorl » is given as meaning « man » on line 761 et « warrior » on line 769, without any more ado. We do regret that these lexical notes are not collected into a lexicon, which would save many repetitions and make it easier to find the word one is looking for. We also regret that there are no notes about the « grammar », « morphology » or « syntax » of Anglosaxon. We thus miss a lot, for example the feminine, masculine and neuter genders, and this is absolutely essential. One example : « Beowulf » is the association of the feminine « beo » meaning « bee » and the masculine « wulf » meaning « wolf ». Yet one can, if one has a good lexicon or dictionary and a good « grammar » of Anglosaxon, get into these subtleties. And then the poem is remarkably beautiful. I am not going to insist on the mirror it is for the christianizing of the old scandinavian, germanic and probably celtic mythology. This is not commonly studied, but I would like to insist on another element : the structure of the poem. The very first part is absolutely typical of the old culture : Beowulf goes out against some monsters who have survived from a very old period, a very old race (the giants who have been locked up in some mountain by the Gods of this religion), and he conquers glory and fame. There is no « fate » in this section, or very little. Beowulf is a young « adventurer » who blazes his trail through the world and history. Then there is a long transition from this glorious age to old age and death and there a new discourse appears and builds itself in the poem : man has to assume some fate that comes from God. Man has to stand up in front of his fate, no matter what it may bring, because it is his divine dimension that demands it. This is both Christian and germanic. So Beowulf is courageous and tries to bring good living conditions to his people because that is his responsibility in front of God, be he the Christian God or Odin, or the « weird sisters » of Shakespeare, the three Norns, Urd, Vervandi and Skuld. But the last part goes beyond this rather non-defined transition. Beowulf has to fight again against a monster, this time a dragon. This fight is Christian in many ways because the dragon is a reference to the « Book of Revelations », or Daniel's dragon Bel. It is Christian because Beowulf will give the order to bury forever the hoard of this dragon for two reasons : men are not supposed to be greedy any more, and this hoard comes from very old periods of human history and represents the culture of these old centuries. Greed is a capital sin and these old centuries have to be rejected, along with their culture and religion. But, yet, Beowulf is a man who carries the culture of past ages and his burial is typically that of a hero of the past : the pyre, the cremation, though not with a woman, wife or servant or slave, or any other human being who would sacrifice him/herself or be sacrificed to the dead man ; the twelve children going around the tomb represent the twelve rune, Eoh or Eihwaz, the yew tree, a symbol of death in germanic culture, a symbol of Odin's final battle, the Ragnarok, the end of the world, brought down by a general war among all human races and gods alike, with maybe the promise of a regeneration. This death is a tremendous mixing of Christian and Germanic beliefs, though this death is christianized in its perspective : to bring peace to the world, to reject greed, to look for a regeneration of the soul, to believe that man can improve. And yet it is the negation of the « Thing » political system of this culture : the king, who should be elected by the people, is here designated if not appointed by the dying king, Beowulf, in the face of death and God. This is in a way a justification of God-anointed kingship, hence the shift from the old germanic « Thing » democracy to a feudal God-appointed kingship. That poem is definitely one of the most powerful and important poems of English culture. It should be studied in depth by all students or scholars who want to understand anything about the English mind ; even today and probably tomorrow.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
A study of the language.......2001-12-02
This is an excellent book for those who wish to study the original language, and Anglo-Saxon verse. The editor does not include a lot of distracting material, nor are there deep discussions of the theological, allegorical, sociological, etc etc, implications of the poem.
Instead, what you have is a book which has the original text on the left pages, and glosses on right pages. Not 100% of the words are glossed, such as "and". The glosses are all standardized as nom. singular nouns and inf. verbs. This means that the reader should know, or perhaps will learn from reading, the grammar of the language.
A lot of people seem to know about Beowulf, but have no clue what it is. A lot people also consider Old English to be some quaint "high mode" of english, spoken by Knights in Shining Armor.
Some are "forced" to study the poem, in school. And there are those who want to study the poem, for whateve reason.
This book should be useful to all who are interested, or need to be interested.
Book Description
The first major poem in English literature, Beowulf tells the story of the life and death of the legendary hero Beowulf in his three great battles with supernatural monsters. The ideal Anglo-Saxon warrior-aristocrat, Beowulf is an example of the heroic spirit at its finest.
Leading Beowulf scholar Howell D. Chickering, Jr.’s, fresh and lively translation, featuring the Old English on facing pages, allows the reader to encounter Beowulf as poetry. This edition incorporates recent scholarship and provides historical and literary context for the modern reader. It includes the following:
an introduction
a guide to reading aloud
a chart of royal genealogies
notes on the background of the poem
critical commentary
glosses on the eight most famous passages, for the student who wishes to translate from the original
an extensive bibliography
Customer Reviews:
I wish this version were the accepted standard. . . .......2007-04-19
This edition is widely accepted as closer to the original than Heaney's, even by people who prefer the Heaney edition.
I am not one of those people. I have read Beowulf in several translations as well as in the original Old English, and this is the version I would recommend. I find it to be faithful, clear, and elegant.
The Heaney Beowulf is a great book for fans of Heaney (I enjoyed it myself in that capacity). The Chickering Beowulf is a great book for fans of Old English literature.
The essential version.......2007-03-04
This is the essential version of Beowulf for anyone interested in really understanding the story and its setting. There are other dual-language translations but none that provide the same depth of background in introduction, commentary, and critical notes.
-- Christopher L. Webber, author of "Beyond Beowulf"
A Great Book.......2007-01-14
A professional and scholarly translation. Having the Old English on one side and the modern English translation on the other is great. The notes about the style of ancient Germanic poetry, as well as notes about Old English are fascinating. The book is clear enough for beginners, but the extensive commentary (after the poem, and nearly half of the book) means that it is also a great read for experts as well. Altogether, an excellent book.
The scholar's version.......2007-01-08
For someone like me who's fascinated by language, this is a great scholar's edition of Beowulf. The translation is easy to read and well synchronized with the original text. The preface and supplemental material are copious and thorough. This will be on my bookshelf for a long time.
Chickering's translation.......2007-01-03
For those who wish to experience a faithful modern translation that retains all the beauty and poetic quality of the Old English text, this is the one. This updated version of Chickering's translation of Beowulf is even better than the original, which still remains vastly superior to all the rest. Seamus Heaney and Burton Raffel's versions aren't even close.
Book Description
The mighty mead-hall of Hrothgar the Dane stands empty at night, for none of his warriors can face the hideous onslaught of the swamp-fiend Grendel. Now, there comes a man from the North -- a man who will face Grendel unarmed and unarmored, in a battle destined to become legend. He is the mightiest of all Viking heroes... Beowulf.
The Collected Beowulf brings together all three volumes of the critically-acclaimed Beowulf comic book miniseries under one cover, along with a new three-page introduction, and full-color reproductions of the black wash paintings of book 3.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting art but difficult reading.......2007-08-13
I am a print-oriented person trying to learn to appreciate graphic novels. I am quite familiar with the story of Beowulf and enjoy its poetry and unsual words. Therefore, although I enjoyed the art work in this edition, I was disappointed with the text. It was physically difficult to read: (1) the font was often too small, especially in the first section of the book, (2) the words were sometimes a bit blurry (especially in the first section of the book), and (3) the font style was too elaborate, with the h, m, and n, for example, curving below the line, causing me to see y and g and other incorrect letters. I also thought that too often there was either way too much text on a single page or else too many pages with no text at all. It is my impression that those who are new to Beowulf, although they might enjoy the pictures, would find it difficult to enjoy the written aspects of the story because of these difficulties.
Richly rendered, awesome comic book.......2007-07-08
This is an incredible, richly rendered comic book telling the story of Beowulf. As you might expect, the story isn't 100% true to the original saga, but who cares, as it is tremendously entertaining and you can't stop turning the pages. It is a beautiful copy that you are afraid to handle for fear of ruining the pages. Perhaps buy one to archive and one to read...
One Word - Perfection.......2005-11-06
At the time of this writing the comic book is now in the hands of one of the greatest teachers at Shelton High School (Mrs. Cornelius). A little background on how i got this is as followed, we just got done reading "Beowulf" in class and were assigned a little report type assignment. Many people chose their own creative ways to do the report and three students actually made a Video out of it (Which i do have to say was hilarious to watch... Try to imagine a plastic monster on a string jumping up and down in an aquarium being attacked by a hand with a pocket knife) My friend and I choose to do a few sketches for our report (Something Comic book like). So i searched the web for pictures of Grendel and stumbled upon the comic book collection by Gareth Hinds. I showed it to my teacher and she was absolutely amazed. After a couple of days i found out that the teacher was having a birthday and i decided to play a little trick on her, i came to amazon and ordered the comic and told the teacher that we would be doing our presentation on the comic book itself, she was thrilled. So we waited for the comic book to come and it finally arrived. When i first got it and read it at home it was ABSOLUTELY amazing. The quality of the art work was amazing and all the text was written in an Old-English kind of fashion. There was a kind of Dictonary at the very begining of the book too to show what certain words were used inside the comic and what they meant. The next day came and we did our presentation and the class was amazed at the quality of the book, i did see one thing that might of not made it "School Material" when you could actually see the mother of Grendel Breats (But i noticed when the class was reading through the comic that they didnt even notice it.) I was going to give my teacher the comic right after the presentation but had to deal with a few other things real quick and i couldnt do it the rest of the day so the next day i went to her before class started and said "I didnt buy this comic just for the report, Happy Birthday Mrs. Cornelius!" And she said "Are you kidding?!" and then led to say "Do you want me to pay you for this" in which i replied to her "No, its a birthday gift, the person that you give it to isnt suppose to pay for it". She absolutely loves it and i think anyone who buys this will too. The Artwork is amazing (And you can buy poster size copies of them off of Gareth Hinds website, in which you can also buy a Signed copy from the author himself), The text is amazing, the story has barely changed if at all, Its just one of the best investments/gifts i have ever bought for anyone. Dont hesitate, buy this comic.
An Interesting Adaptation.......2002-11-12
It's nice to see that Old English poetry has received so much attention as of late. Irish poet Seamus Heaney's recent verse translation revived interest in the poem, and about the same time an adaptation of Michael Crichton's "Eaters of the Dead" (the author's own version of the Beowulf story), called "The 13th Warrior," did well at the box office. Around the same time Gareth Hinds hit comic stores with his funnybook adaptation of the poem, now collected in this volume.
The story is timeless. Beowulf, a Dane, comes to Sweden to help the Geats fight Grendel, who has taken over the great mead-hall the Geats built to celebrate victory. After some feasting and storytelling, Beowulf tears Grendel's arm off, and the creature flees howling into the night. Then, Grendel's mother shows up and Beowulf has to take care of her, too. Cut to late in the warrior's life. Now, he must face a dragon when all but his loyal squire have left him.
In other words, the stuff legendary poems are made of.
Hinds' adaptation liberally borrows from what little Anglo-Saxon art remains (mostly sculpture). The characters are all drawn in that blocky style, almost as if they are made of stone. The exception is Grendel, who looks like some dripping fiend that crawled out of a swamp (which is basically how he is described). The art captures the chill and danger of a time long past, when Grendels still walked the earth and people were not safe, even in the largest mead-hall. The entire poem is not represented - the action sequences themselves are left to the comic form - and what is used, is used for narrative purposes.
Still, this Beowulf would make an excellent companion to a classroom study of the poem. It uses an older (1910) translation, so there are some antiquated words that don't appear in the Heaney version. There is enough to capture the meaning of the poem, even if it doesn't appear in its entirety. And Hinds' drawings (ink, woodcarvings, and pencils all) paint a compelling, if bleak, picture of life in Europe's dark age. This version makes a welcome addition to the study of Saxon poetry.
Final Grade: B+
Forever Rememberd.......2002-06-06
Beowulf is an amazing story of adventure & determination. As soon as the book starts you are sailing the seas to save a nation. Beowulf goes to a far off land and defends the people from the evil demon Grendel, who is killing and eating the people. Finding her son dead Grendels mother seeks revenge and kills once again. Beowulf is very angry with this and goes out to kill her. The story goes on as Beowulf kills the beast, gains fame and riches. In the end, his life is ended but his ledgend lives on. I would have to say that it is the best book I've ever read.
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