The Death of King Arthur: A New Verse Translation - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393073971 ISBN 13: 9780393073973

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011

Synopsis

King Arthur comes to vivid life in this gripping poetic translation by the renowned poet and translator.

First appearing around 1400, The Alliterative Morte Arthure, or, The Death of King Arthur, is one of the most widely beloved and spectacularly alliterative poems ever penned in Middle English. Now, from the internationally acclaimed translator of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, comes this magisterial new presentation of the Arthurian tale, rendered in unflinching and gory detail. Following Arthur's bloody conquests across the cities and fields of Europe, all the way to his spectacular and even bloodier fall, this masterpiece features some of the most spellbinding and poignant passages in English poetry. Never before have the deaths of Arthur's loyal knights, his own final hours, and the subsequent burial been so poignantly evoked.

Echoing the lyrical passion that so distinguished Seamus Heaney's Beowulf, Simon Armitage has produced a virtuosic new translation that promises to become both the literary event of the year and the definitive edition for generations to come.

About this title

About the Author:

Simon Armitage is the award-winning poet and translator of both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Death of King Arthur, as well as several works of poetry, prose, and drama. He is the Oxford Professor of Poetry.

Review:

“[T]ake heart, brave literary warriors. Norton has...just published a paperback edition of Simon Armitage’s spectacular translation of The Death of King Arthur. The celebrated British writer renders this anonymous poem into modern English lines that command your full allegiance.”
- Ron Charles, Washington Post

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0393073971
• ISBN 13: 9780393073973
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304