Beowulf: A New Translation
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Amazon.co.uk Review
What could be a more promising poetic project than the greatest of early English poems, Beowulf, newly translated by arguably the greatest of living poets writing in English, Seamus Heaney? The literary pedigree of this great fabular epic in the hands of Nobel Laureate Heaney matches Ted Hughes' award-winning rewrite of Ovid's Metamorphosis, Tales from Ovid. Heaney has chosen the plain, prosaic yet subtly cadenced vernacular of his Northern Irish roots as the poetic voice into which he renders this famous Anglo-Saxon fabular epic of a dragon-slaying Danish warrior. The result is an engaging evocation of the highly alliterative, densely metaphorical texture of Anglo-Saxon verse, which is famously hard to capture in modern English poetic forms.
"It's narrative elements may belong to a previous age but as a work of art it lives in the present," writes Heaney of this tale of monstrous, murderous Grendel, heroic, kingly Beowulf, blood-feuds, dragon-slaying and spiritual grace. The very plain-spokenness of Heaney's translation makes it admirably easy to read and understand, whilst rendering an often true translation at a galloping narrative pace. Heaney's Beowulf opens up one of the most famous founding epics of European literature to a modern world of new readers. --James Barry --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Review
"'The whole performance is wonderfully intermediate - poised between the Bible and folk wisdom, between the Light Ages and the Dark Ages - and at the same time pulverisingly actual in its language. He has made a masterpiece out of a masterpiece.' Andrew Motion, Financial Times"
--This text refers to the
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First Sentence
So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness. Read the first page
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Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
OK, so it's not 'Beowulf', it's 'HEANEY's Beowulf'. But if anything that just makes it even more interesting. Amazing poem from 'The Dark Ages' coupled with amazing poet from our current dark ages. What's not to like? And here you can compare the Heaney-fication on the one side of the page with the original on the other (oh come on, Old English isn't THAT difficult) and see exactly what he's changed and how he's made the poem his own. ('Inhabited the poem' as my lecturer put it.) Fantastic.
46 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm the average reader: not a student or scholar studying the book, but a person who has just read the story for the first time. Also, I have no ear for poetry, which could well be perceived as a profound disadvantage when reading an epic poem. So I'm pleased to announce that the book is readable and enjoyable. Seamus Heaney's introduction is helpful, moving and filled me with anticipation so I could hardly wait to start reading his translation. As expected, the poetry element was almost entirely lost to me but I could, at least, tell that it's beautifully written. The story itself is a gripping yarn and disbelief needs to be suspended, especially for aquatic sections where Beowulf appears to be able to function under water for hours and swim for weeks dressed in mail. He could have been an early model for Superman. I've never read anything like this book before and enjoyed it despite the fact that it seemed very odd to me. My only criticism is that I thought a glossary would have been useful.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio Cassette
I was mesmerized by Heaney's translation (I'd give the book at least 5 stars), and I truely enjoyed hearing him read the parts of it that are included in these "unabridged excerpts." I would buy the tapes again, but would gladly have paid more to get a true unabridged reading.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not Truely Unabridged
I bought this to help me get through Beowulf in my college lit class. I had tried to read it last year in high school, but ultimately got bored because I felt like it needed to be... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Christy
Beautiful translation but the "look inside" preview is misleading
This is an absolutely beautiful translation of Beowulf and Seamus Heaney has done a wonderful job of conveying the rhythm and spirit of the original in a way that manages to be... Read more
Published 10 months ago by London reader
A great epic poem
As most people interested in reading this book, I don't have an academic degree in this kind of things, nevertheless this novel is highly enjoyable. Read more
Published 15 months ago by ManInsideTheHelm
Heaney's Beowulf: A Painting with a Worthy Guide
I appreciated this translation of Beowful like I would a painting, or a piece of classical music: indulging in the rich colours and dramatic overtones, peering into the Dark Ages... Read more
Published 16 months ago by From Rags to Books
An Epic of an Epic
Seamus Heaney is in my personal view one of the greatest living poets. So for him to square up to this daunting task is quite a wonderful thought. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Dr. Andrew R. Glover
Excellent
I bought this for my mum, who already had a modern English version, she says it is excellent.
Published 23 months ago by Pretty Girl
A good read!
Difficult for me to say whether this is a good version or not as I have no knowledge of the original, I just wanted to read it. Read more
Published on 17 May 2010 by purplegoffer
Beowulf - Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney's literary transaltion, 'Beowulf', is an epic adaptation of the originally Anglo - Saxon poem, written sometime between the 8th and early 11th century. Read more
Published on 11 Jan 2009 by O. Tutcher
Beowulf: Story of a true warrior
This remarkable story was written sometime between seventh and tenth century of first millennium in Anglo-Saxon or Old English language. Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2009 by Mr. Tomas Skiotys
Epic stuff!
This was my first encounter with Beowulf, (I haven't seen the film either). I chose the bilingual edition to see what the Old English looked like and although I could barely... Read more
Published on 10 April 2008 by Annabel Gaskell
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