Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Broadview Literary Texts) [Paperback]

James Winny (Editor, Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0921149921 | ISBN-13: 978-0921149927 | Edition: New edition

The fourteenth-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the greatest classics of English literature, but one of the least accessible to most twentieth-century readers. Written in an obscure dialect, it is far more difficult to digest in the original than are most other late medieval English works. Yet any translation is bound to lose much of the flavour of the original. This edition of the poem offers the original text together with a facing-page translation. With the alliterative Middle English before the reader, James Winny provides a non-alliterative and sensitively literal rendering in modern English. This edition also provides an introduction, explanatory and textual notes, a further note on some words that present particular difficulties, and, in the appendices, two contemporary stories, The Feast of Bricriu and The Knight of the Sword, which provide insight on the poem.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is the best translation of Sir Gawain. It has the taughtness and vigor of the original, and it shares that Gawain-poet's almost miraculous ability to make the remote world of Arthurian romance immediate to the reader." (Gordon Teskey ) --Gordon Teskey

From the Publisher

The Broadview Literary Texts series is an effort to represent the ever-changing canon of literature in English by bringing together texts long regarded as classics with valuable, though lesser-known literature.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Broadview Press; New edition edition (May 31, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0921149921
• ISBN-13: 978-0921149927
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,750 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Content Not Sacrificed for Form, March 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Broadview Literary Texts) (Paperback)

This is my favorite edition of _Sir Gawain and the Green Knight_ not only because it is a fine poem, but also because the facing-page layout allows Winny to translate very accurately. The introduction to the poem and to Winny's translation of it is excellent, and discusses why he chooses not to translate within the confines of the formal characteristics of the poem in the original. Also, there are textual notes, a section discussing certain words in the poet's vocabulary that present significant difficulties for translators, and two appendices containing Arthurian analogues: Fled Briend/Bricriu's Feast and from Le Chevalier a L'Epee/The Knight of the Sword.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 2+3=5, May 2, 2009

By 

C. Liang "books please" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Broadview Literary Texts) (Paperback)

I love this book! I just read it and it has so much symmetry and meaning related to the star which is Gawain's symbol on his shield. Came in fast, great and good book. I recommend it.

When you read the book, the left hand side is Middle English and the right hand side is the translation which makes it much more interesting!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SGGK, December 2, 2009

By 

P. E. Phillips "Philip Phillips" (Franklin, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Broadview Literary Texts) (Paperback)

An excellent edition of the text with facing-page Middle English and modern English translation that replicates the sound and cadences of the original--ideal for use in undergraduate courses on medieval English literature. Broadview is one of the best publishers of medieval and early modern literature textbooks.