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Beowulf (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

~ R. K. Gordon (Translator)

3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Finest heroic poem in Old English celebrates character and exploits of Beowulf, a young nobleman of the Geats, a people of southern Sweden. Narrative combines mythical elements, Christian and pagan sensibilities, actual historical figures and events to create a striking work of great power and beauty. Authoritative translation by R. K. Gordon. Genealogies.

Product Details

Paperback: 64 pages
Publisher: Dover Publications; 1st Edition edition (September 30, 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0486272648
ISBN-13: 978-0486272641
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #513,383 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
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Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beowulf, January 12, 2000

By	Elizabeth L. Reece "reececourt" (youngstown, ny) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the book to read if you've ever read and liked JRR Tolkien's "Hobbit", "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King".I was in the middle of reading the above books for the second time when I started to read "Beowulf".Tolkien was a "scholar", if you will, of "Beowulf" and when you are finished reading it you will realize that all he did when he wrote the Hobbit books was to take this epic story, expand and add characters to it. I was very disenchanted with Tolkien's books after having read "Beowulf". "Beowulf" is a fantastic story and a classic that should be required reading for all.

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding adventure, August 23, 1998

By	SH Moore (Oak Ridge, TN USA) - See all my reviews

An exciting world of courage, bravery, strength, and cunning in the face of untold dangers from blood thirsty dragons. This is the best of the epic poems, and the one I return to every ten years or so. The Kings anywhere don't get any braver, or more noble, than Beowulf; and the dragons don't get any more menacing or terrifying than Grendel.

GOOD STUFF!

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A solid prose translation of a great epic, October 3, 2005

By	FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

I once made the joke that Grendel was the first beo-degradable monster in history...

GROAN!

When I gave this joke to an English professor, he used it in class, and promptly returned it to me.

Okay. I'll accept that. But, Beowulf deserves the kind of serious attention that would prompt people to want to make bad jokes about it (unimportant things are ignored; only important things are held up in jest).

Beowulf is an old poem--often considered the first in English. This is technically not true, for linguistic and other reasons (where the demarcations of English beginnings fall are debatable; also there is the fact that there are older poems, just not epic poems). An epic is a long, narrative poem, a literary form undervalued today, but which was probably the equivalent of a Cecil B. DeMille production in more ancient times. The Illiad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid, Gilgamesh--all these are epic poems. Generally, they recount heroic deeds, and most often were composed and intended as oral history. Beowulf consists of 3182 existing lines.

Scholars also disagree on the 'British heritage' of the poem, many believing it more likely to be an import from Anglo-Saxon European homelands than a composition original to the Britain. The tale does portray two leaders, Hrothgar, leader of the Danes, and Beowulf, leader of the Geats, a Swedish tribe. These are interconnected through generations of family intermarriages, and Beowulf because of this loyalty takes his men to help defend Hrothgar's home against the monster Grendel.

The tale of Beowulf involves heroism, sacrifice, loyalty, warfare, conflict and resolution--all the elements that go into a good action feature. It also has moral overtones (so it was meant to educate and inspire as well as entertain). It carries the strong message that a fighting man's allegiance to the overlord and to God should be absolute (something that is often instilled in soldiers of today). It is almost decidedly Klingon in the glorification of battle (in fact, I've often wondered if the Star Trek universe took a leaf out of this epic to create the Klingon idea)--Beowulf fights three battles (a holy trinity of battles, almost), dying gloriously in the final battle with a great dragon, after having lived an honourable and courageous life.

This story contains elements of both early Christianity and late paganism, however in some cases the Christian aspects may be later additions by monks who transcribed the manuscripts (monks were noted for doing that in many circumstances, including Biblical texts). The oldest existing manuscript dates from about the tenth century and is preserved in the British Museum.

This particular translation is by Robert Kay Gordon, and was originally published as part of a collection on Anglo-Saxon poetry in 1926. This is more of an academic translation, with a great deal of attention paid to translating the fullness of each word (modern English is far more wordy than its Old English forerunner). This translation is done much more in the style of a prose-poem, which is entirely appropriate if one thinks about it - prose was virtually unknown to Old English literature, so anything that we might in our modern times think of as being appropriate to prose would still have had a poetic treatment at the time.

A great poem, and good translation in prose form, bridging the past and the present together in a good way. I will agree with another reviewer that Heaney's more recent translation is a better translation for today, but this affordable text is a useful one also for those who want to get yet more out of the tale of Beowulf.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars very entertaining story, great reading
I wanted to read Beowulf before seeing the movie, so I decided to listen to this audio edition of it, and I really liked it. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Matthew the Raven

2.0 out of 5 stars Cover of Book and Material
The cover of the book, Beowulf, was most satisfactory for the story and charge for the book. Thank you.

Published on September 9, 2007 by Peggy A. Rycroft

3.0 out of 5 stars Free SF Reader
This is a good vs evil story, in one sense. You have a dwelling full of people having a good time, but a monster decides to cause a bit of carnage. Read more

Published on September 3, 2007 by Blue Tyson

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Story, but Heany's translation is better.
So we all had to plow throught this poem wit its unpronounceable names, and far-off places that one on has ever heard of.

So why bother? Read more

Published on April 16, 2002 by Kendal B. Hunter

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy over adventure
Beowulf is a wonderful poem, not just because of the wondrous adventures of its heroes, but rather because it shows the courteous manner in which the Germanic kingdoms of the... Read more

Published on October 19, 2000

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