Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (A New Verse Translation) [Paperback]

Marie Borroff (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393097544 | ISBN-13: 978-0393097542 | Publication Date: April 1967 | Edition: 3rd

In translation from the West Midland dialect (sorry, prose was best I could find.)

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

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). --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 62 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; 3rd edition (April 1967)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393097544
• ISBN-13: 978-0393097542
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #378,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, A Gem of Romantic Literature, February 8, 2001

By 

"netchild" (Lubbock, TX. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (A New Verse Translation) (Paperback)

Gaiwan would be worth the purchase if only for the story line alone. However Marie Borroff's amazing translation adds that beauty and eloquence which only a master translator can produce. Borroff uses an alliterative meter which will get you tongue tied if you try and read it out loud. For example the first line is "Since the siege and the assault was ceased at Troy." She also gives us beautiful rhymes at the end of each stanza, like in lines 1236-1240: "My body is here at hand,/ Your each wish to fulfill;/ Your servant to command/ I am, and shall be still/." The story is full of symbolism, and confronts us with a tough philosophical question. You have to read the book to find out what that is however. The book also deals with the problems inherent in the institution of chivalry, and especially courtly love. Overall I thought the story was wonderful, the translation impeccable, and the underlying message profound.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Kindle description all wrong!, September 18, 2010

By 

A. Williams (Colorado Plateau) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Kindle Edition)

The Kindle text is not verse, it is prose. It is not the Marie Borroff verse translation of 1967; rather it is a prose translation dated 1898, revised 1900!!!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Kindle Version Poorly Formatted, March 3, 2008

By 

Pallbear (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Kindle Edition)

The Kindle version of this book has hard breaks at the end of every line making it very difficult to read because the text splits in the middle of every other line rather than where it logically should.