Beowulf (Signet Classics) [Mass Market Paperback]

Anonymous (Author), Burton Raffel (Translator, Introduction), Roberta Frank (Afterword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0451530969 | ISBN-13: 978-0451530967 | Publication Date: June 3, 2008

Beowulf is the earliest extant poem in a modern European language reflecting a feudal, newly Christian world of heroes and monsters, blood and victory, life and death. Its beauty, power, and artistry have kept it alive for more than thirteen centuries.

@Eazy-B Uh oh. Grendel’s mom showed up. She is really pissed. Wait. Monsters have feelings?

From Twitterature: The World's Greatest Books in Twenty Tweets or Less

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Burton Raffel has taught English, Classics, and Comparative Literature at universities in the United States, Israel, and Canada. His books include translations of Beowulf, Horace: Odes, Epodes, Epistles, Satires, The Complete Poetry and Prose of Chairil Anwar, From the Vietnamese, Ten Centuries of Poetry, The Complete Poetry of Osip Emilevich, Mandelstram (with Alla Burago), and Poems From the Old English and The Annotated Milton; several critical studies, Introduction to Poetry, How to Read a Poem, The Development of Modern Indonesian Poetry, and The Forked Tounge: A Study of the Translation Process; and Mia Poems, a volume of his own poetry. Mr. Raffel practiced law on Wall Street and taught in the Ford Foundation’s English Language Teacher Training Project in Indonesia.
Burton Raffel has taught English, Classics, and Comparative Literature at universities in the United States, Israel, and Canada. His books include translations of Beowulf, Horace: Odes, Epodes, Epistles, Satires, The Complete Poetry and Prose of Chairil Anwar, From the Vietnamese, Ten Centuries of Poetry, The Complete Poetry of Osip Emilevich, Mandelstram (with Alla Burago), and Poems From the Old English and The Annotated Milton; several critical studies, Introduction to Poetry, How to Read a Poem, The Development of Modern Indonesian Poetry, and The Forked Tounge: A Study of the Translation Process; and Mia Poems, a volume of his own poetry. Mr. Raffel practiced law on Wall Street and taught in the Ford Foundation’s English Language Teacher Training Project in Indonesia.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Signet Classics (June 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451530969
• ISBN-13: 978-0451530967
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,527 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Epic

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars more poetic than heaney's translation, May 18, 2010

By 

Eichendorff "Eichendorff" (Fort Wayne, IN, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beowulf (Signet Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

Raffel's translation of "Beowulf" to me seems more vivid and poetic in its language than Seamus Heaney's now more famous one. The images he provides stand out as clear and beautiful pictures, making a deep sensory impression where Heaney's poetry seems to employ at times more abstract, at times more mundane, less inventive language. This is not to say that Heaney's translation lacks poetic beauty--it certainly does not. Yet, browsing both editions, comparing various passages, I found that Raffel's rendition almost always struck a deeper chord with me, appealing to the senses and the imagination more strongly. Raffel's translation is not available in the same beautifully bound, larger-print, dual language edition as Heaney's, yet I still find that it gives me greater reading pleasure. As to accuracy, I do suspect that Raffel might be granting himself somewhat more poetic license than Heaney does, and yet, neither translation strays significantly from the original. I prefer Robert Fitzgerald's poetic, somewhat less accurate translation of the "Odyssey" to Richmond Lattimore's for similar reasons.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Beowulf for Dummies !, July 5, 2010

By 

TJam (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Beowulf (Signet Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

I first read Beowulf, as did countless high schoolers over the years, in my senior English class; the experience was less than memorable, due in part to my teacher's insistence on using an Old English text. When I entered college the most vivid imagery I still had was of Grendel entering the mead hall and tearing the diners limb from limb.
Had I been able to also read the text in modern English in that senior class, I would have been well-prepared to tackle the OE with a deeper understanding of how this great work acts as a foundational text for all British literature from Chaucer to the Renaissance and beyond.
Burton Raffel's clear translation allows the reader to establish a connection to the allegorical and mythological constructs without having to resort to a "Beowulf for Dummies," just to get a passing grade. I am using this book in a graduate class in Horror Text and Theory, and though I am now able to read the OE with more fluency, the accessibility of this translation situates the text in a more viable position for discussion and critical analysis in an arena populated with 20th and 21st century horror. I would recommend Raffel's Beowulf to anyone as their entree into Old English Lit.; to be read along side the original text. It takes the "horror" out of ready Horror.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Long, Long Ago World-But Not That Far Away, June 7, 2011

By 

Tony Marquise Jr. - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beowulf (Signet Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

The translation by Burton Raffel in this book is by far the best I have ever read. The book reveals a world that was completely different from the one we live in, however, human nature being the same then as now, we feel as if we know the charcters and wish we could meet them. Highest recommendation.