Beowulf: A New Verse Translation (English, Old English and Old English Edition) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1568959206 ISBN 13: 9781568959207

Publisher: Wheeler Pub Inc, 2000

Synopsis

Seamus Heaney's translation of "Beowulf" is a work that is both true to the original poem and an expression of something fundamental to Heaney's own creative gift. One of the great classics of European Literature, the poem is about encountering the monstrous, defeating it, being exhausted by it and then having to live on, physically and psychically exposed, in that exhausted aftermath. There are obvious parallels to be found in the history of the twentieth century and Heaney's "Beowulf" cannot fail to be read partly in the light of his Northern Irish upbringing. But it also transcends such considerations, revealing psychological and spiritual truths that are both permanent and liberating.

About this title

About the Author

Seamus Heaney was born in County Derry in Northern Ireland. Death of a Naturalist, his first collection of poems, appeared in 1966, and was followed by poetry, criticism and translations which established him as the leading poet of his generation. In 1995 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, and twice won the Whitbread Book of the Year, for The Spirit Level (1996) and Beowulf (1999). Stepping Stones, a book of interviews conducted by Dennis O'Driscoll, appeared in 2008; Human Chain, his last volume of poems, was awarded the 2010 Forward Prize for Best Collection. He died in 2013.

From AudioFile

Beowulf is the early Teutonic epic poem many of us read in literature class and wondered why we were supposed to read it. The answer might have been clearer had we heard it instead. Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney has translated the poem from Old English and does the reading in this version. He handles the German and Scandinavian names with ease. But his versification is truly marvelous. The language has a flow and color that make listening a pleasure. The poem chronicles the exploits of Beowulf, at first a young prince who slays the monster Grendel and the monster's mother, and later an aging monarch who dies slaying a fire-breathing dragon. A subtext focuses on the rivalries and suspicions among Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. The themes in Beowulf echo throughout English literature. Many of the episodes, for instance, are clearly paralleled in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: Wheeler Pub Inc
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1568959206
• ISBN 13: 9781568959207
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 243
• Editor: Heaney Seamus