Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney ISBN: 0-393-32097-9 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: February, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.36 (174 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Great!
Comment: The latest translation of the classic Anglo-Saxon epic. Venture back to a time when a mans honor and abilty to live by a warriors code was more important than any temporary comforts or instant gratification, or for that matter his life. Also I loved that along with the modern English on the opposite page was the same text in old English.
Rating: 2
Summary: Abridged
Comment: It's not that long of a poem but large chunks where left out in the reading. I would have liked to hear the old english as well. Seamus Heaney does a great translation and it's is pretty easy to read. I say skip the audio version and read the book.
Rating: 5
Summary: Great piece of literature
Comment: I'm not a scholar of English, so a lot of the fascination with Heaney's translation is more or less lost on me. However, as a fan of Tolkien's works, I found Beowulf a beautifully written and flawlessly progressing story that just about anyone can appreciate. An added advantage of this edition is the side-by-side presence of the original Old English version of the poem on every page.
If you like Tolkien's works, you will enjoy Beowulf -- while the story is much more brief than either the Lord of the Rings series or The Silmarillion, it is no less beautiful or meaningful. The protagonist of the story is a great Geat warrior who slays the monster that is haunting the Danes, as well as the monster's mother. After returning to his home, and ruling the lands for over 50 years, he is fatally wounded in a fight against a dragon, and dies.
If you are familiar with Lord of the Rings (the Rohirrim in particular), try sometimes glossing over the original Old English text. You will notice definite similarities in the way names and words are formed in Old English and the language of Rohan. For example, the "Shieldings" (Danes, descendants of Shield Sheafson) in Old English is written as "Scyldingas" -- this may look familiar if you recall that the warriors of Rohan were often called "Eorlingas" in The LOTR. Additionally, both stories have mention of a warrior named Eomer (they're different characters).
Of course, this is hardly a coincidence -- it's well known that the Rohirrim are based on the Anglo-Saxons, with the language of Rohan being none other than Old English. Tolkien has long studied Beowulf, even before he began work on his Middle Earth epics and reading the poem will enable you to see how it's influenced his works. The main difference you will notice between the two authors is religion - Tolkien's epics had their own gods, while Beowulf is a Christian epic -- Grendel himself being a spawn of blood spilled by Cain in killing of his brother Abel.
 |
Title: Grendel by John Gardner ISBN: 0679723110 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 14 May, 1989 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
 |
Title: Beowulf (Cliffs Notes) by Stanley P. Baldwin, Elaine Strong Skill ISBN: 0764585800 Publisher: Cliffs Notes Pub. Date: 30 May, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
 |
Title: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, Sir Orfeo by J.R.R. Tolkien ISBN: 0345277600 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 12 December, 1979 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
 |
Title: The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer ISBN: 0553210823 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 February, 1982 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
 |
Title: The Canterbury Tales (Penguin Classics) by Geoffrey Chaucer, Nevill Coghill ISBN: 0140424385 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 04 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
