Beowulf: A Verse Translation - Softcover

Anonymous

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140447881 ISBN 13: 9780140447880

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2001

Synopsis

Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon poem of epic scope, dates back to the year 850 and marks the beginning of the English literary tradition. This revised edition of Michael Alexander's acclaimed verse translation makes accessible to modern readers the story of the Scandinavian hero Beowulf-slayer of the monster Grendel and Grendel's mother-who becomes a king of Greatland in old age and is mortally wounded in combat with a dragon. A richly allusive narrative, blending history with legend and folklore, Beowulf portrays an epic conflict of feast and feud, generosity and vengeance, life and death.

In this new edition for Penguin Classics, Michael Alexander provides a new introduction, bibliography, notes, maps, an index of proper names, genealogical tables, and a fully revised text.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

One of the most universally studied of the English classics, Beowulf is considered the finest heroic poem in Old English. Written ten centuries ago, it celebrates the character and exploits of Beowulf, a young nobleman of the Geats, a people of southern Sweden.

Beowulf first rescues the royal house of Denmark from two marauding monsters, then returns to rule his people for 50 years, ultimately losing his life in a battle to defend the Geats from a dragon's rampage. The poem combines mythical elements, Christian and pagan sensibilities, and actual historical figures and events in a narrative that ranges from vivid descriptions of fierce fighting and detailed portrayals of court life to earnest considerations of social and moral dilemmas. Originally written in Old English verse, it is presented here in an authoritative prose translation by R.K. Gordon.

About the Author:

Michael Alexander is Berry Professor of English Literature at the University of St Andrews. For Penguin he has translated, 'The Earliest English Poems', 'The Canterbury Tales: The First Fragment', as well as a prose translation of BEOWULF.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0140447881
• ISBN 13: 9780140447880
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192