Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, Pearl: Verse Translations [Paperback]

Marie Borroff (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393976580 | ISBN-13: 978-0393976588 | Publication Date: January 2001 | Edition: 1st ed

Verse translations of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, and Pearl by Marie Borroff.

"These translations by Marie Borroff not only are one of the great achievements of the translator's craft but are works of art in their own right."--Lee Patterson, Frederick W. Hilles Professor of English and Chairman of Medieval Studies, Yale University.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)

About the Author

Marie Borroff is Sterling Professor of English, Emeritus, at Yale University. Her verse translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was first published in 1967; it appeared together with her translations of Patience and Pearl in 2001. The Gawain-Poet: Complete Works, including her translation of Cleanness and St. Erkenwald, is scheduled for publication in 2010. She is the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A Stylistic and Metrical Study and of Traditions and Renewals: Chaucer, the Gawain-Poet, and Beyond (Yale University Press, 1962, 2003).

Product Details

• Paperback: 194 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st ed edition (January 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393976580
• ISBN-13: 978-0393976588
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Fairy Tales

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best modern translation, October 21, 2002

By 

"jdeg0729" (Frankfort, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, Pearl: Verse Translations (Paperback)

This book contains a reprint of Borroff's now standard translation, in addition to translations of two other middle English poems from the Gawain ms. Borroff has not only rendered Gawain into very readable modern English, but has also retained the alliterative lines of the original. Aside from the merits of this edition as a translation, Sir Gawain is one of the finest poems written in the English language. There are several sharp departures from typical romances of this type, and in Gawain's test we are made to see the contradictory nature of the courtly ideal. Amazing in style, it is both a clever critique of chivalric values and an entertaining adventure.
Due to the difficulty of the remote dialect of the original, this lively and witty romance is difficult to read in middle English, even for those who have studied Chaucer. It is, however, not impossible. For those who are interested in the poem, I would recommend reading it in translation, then trying the Anderson-Cawley (Everyman) edition, which normalizes the runic letters preserved in the Tolkien-Gordon-Davis (Oxford UP) scholarly edition.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Borroff is the Best!, March 4, 2006

By 

Wanda B. Red (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, Pearl: Verse Translations (Paperback)

These are absolutely the best translations of the Gawain- (aka Pearl-) poet around. It's diabolically tricky to translate the Middle English of this obscure, anonymous poet, due to the fact that he combines the accentual, alliterative prosody of the native tradition with the rhythmic and rhyming verse of continental models. Of all the translators who have attempted it, Borroff by far provides an experience closest to reading this brilliant verse in the original.

These translations were originally published in short paperback versions of each poem. These are often still available from used booksellers. If you are only interested in one poem (probably Sir Gawain), look for one of these used paperback versions, and save your money. Patience and Purity (or "Cleanness") are wonderful poems, but they are not really of much interest to the general reader, and are mostly studied by scholars or by grad students.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent translation, November 2, 2002

By 

bixodoido (Utah, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, Pearl: Verse Translations (Paperback)

This is a great translation of one of the finest poems ever written in the English (well, middle English) language. The poem, in its original form, is very difficult to read, and Borroff's translation makes it not only easy but also very enjoyable to read.

This poem originally was very alliterative, and Borroff has preserved much of that. Sir Gawain is one of the greatest of the Arthurian legends, and this translation preserves much of the poems integrity. This is definitely a must have for any student of early English poetry or Arthurian legend.

The other works, Pearl and Patience, are believed to share the same author as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. These, too, are excellent poems. This would be a great addition to any collection.