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A `must read' which deserves many more than the 5 stars I was able to assign. Seamus Heaney's brilliant contribution to literature makes the epic poem accessible without sacrificing its power or poetry.
I have read elsewhere that it may not be as literal as other translations, but it wasn't a pain to get through like some literal translations I've seen of other works. It flows nicely like a novel, I practically read the whole thing in one sitting. I highly recommend this to anyone, especially people who have tried to read it before but were put off by hard to read literal translations. This is the only version of Beowulf I have read, so I can't compare it to other versions, but I thought it was an excellent version of the story. It was very easy to read.
It is one that even after reading other translations, is good. This is a great book.
Only time reveals what precise faces they will wear, but they are our fate, "unknowable but certain."That's why the tale of Beowulf is both stirring and melancholy, as are all the Scandinavian sagas. Over the years I've read several English renderings of Beowulf. In his introductory essay, Heaney says that he's always loved the Beowulf poet's "foursquareness about the utterance," the "undeluded quality" of his "sense of the world." In translating from the Anglo-Saxon, Heaney seeks to be loyal to this "attractively direct" style, and he succeeds admirably. Tolkien's insightful essay "Beowulf and the Monsters."
It's a beautiful gift. After savoring it, readers may wish to consult J.R.R. (2446-2449)Heaney's remarkable artistry has brought Beowulf back to us. In one of the most poignant sections of the saga, a poem within the poem telling of the sorrow of one Hrethel over the death of his son, this theme comes through clearly.He begins to keenand weep for his boy, watching the ravengloat where he hangs: he can be of no help.The wisdom of age is worthless to him.
Heaney's craft renders the dragon which slays Beowulf, for example, as "ground-burner," "cave-guard," and "sky-plague."Beowulf is a rousing good story if read just for the action. But even the heroes, the Beowulfs, at last come to know their mortality. But I don't think I've ever really appreciated the haunting beauty of the thing until reading Seamus Heaney's translation. We are called to great heroism, and some of us can attain it.
They are our fate, our doom. He's especially good at capturing the original poem's directness while retaining its beauty in translating the compound words so beloved by the Anglo Saxons. But as Heaney reminds us, the three challenges of Beowulf--the battle with Grendel in dark of night, the battle with his witch mother in water running deep underground, and the battle with the dragon in the wilderness--are also archetypes of the deepest fears every human must face.
Would purchase from the buyer again. Product arrived in condition described and in a timely fashion.
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