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Burton Raffel
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Beowulf (Signet Classics) Mass Market Paperback – June 3, 2008

by Burton Raffel (Translator), Roberta Frank (Introduction)
4.7 out of 5 stars 640 ratings
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Before there was Game of Thrones, there was Beowulf...
 
 SONG OF BATTLE AND KINGS
  
 Beowulf is one of the earliest extant poems in a modern European language, composed in England before the Norman Conquest. As a social document this great epic poem is invaluable—reflecting a feudal world of heroes and monsters, blood and victory, life and death. As a work of art, it is unique. Beowulf rings with beauty, power, and artistry that have kept it alive for a thousand years. The noble simplicity of Beowulf's anonymous Anglo-Saxon singer is recaptured in this vivid translation by Burton Raffel.
  
 Translated and with an Introduction by Burton Raffel
 and an Afterword by Roberta Frank
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  1. Print length
    176 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Signet
  4. Publication date
    June 3, 2008
  5. Dimensions
    4.13 x 0.47 x 6.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780451530967
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0451530967
  8. Lexile measure
    NP
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Translator Burton Raffel has taught English, classics, and comparative literature at universities in the United States, Israel, and Canada. His books include translations of Beowulf, The Complete Poetry and Prose of Chairil Anwar, From the Vietnamese, Ten Centuries of Poetry, The Complete Poetry of Osip Emilevich Mandelstam (with Alla Burago), Poems from the Old English, and The Annotated Milton. Mr. Raffel practiced law on Wall Street and taught in the Ford Foundation's English Language Teacher Training Project in Indonesia.
 
Roberta Frank,Marie Borroff Professor of English and Linguistics at Yale University, works in all aspects—literary, historical, and archaeological—of early England and Scandinavia. She has written widely on Beowulf, including “A Scandal in Toronto: The Dating of Beowulf a Quarter-Century On” (2007).

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0451530969
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Signet
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 3, 2008
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780451530967
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0451530967
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.21 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.13 x 0.47 x 6.75 inches
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ NP
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 out of 5 stars 640 ratings

About the author

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Burton Raffel

Burton Raffel

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Burton Raffel is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Arts and Humanities and emeritus professor of English, University of Louisiana at Lafayette. His other translations from the French include Stendhal's The Red and the Black and Rabelais's Gargantua and Pantagruel, winner of the French-American Foundation Translation Prize, 1992.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
640 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's translation easy to understand and perfect for school use. They appreciate its readability, with one customer specifically enjoying rereading it in modern English. The story quality receives positive feedback, with one customer noting it's a standard version of the classic tale.

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ReadabilityTranslationStory quality
23 customers mention "Readability"23 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and fantastic, with one mentioning they enjoy rereading it in modern English.

"...Wonderful, masculine, heroic book. Great & understandable translation. According to my research, this is the best translation of this classic book." Read more

"...It is a hard read, but well worth the effort. So much of the human condition, and the comparison of good and evil, is in this classic." Read more

"A nice little copy!" Read more

"...Nothing was damaged and it was a pretty good read." Read more

11 customers mention "Translation"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the translation of Beowulf very easy to understand and perfect for school use.

"...Wonderful, masculine, heroic book. Great & understandable translation. According to my research, this is the best translation of this classic book." Read more

"...] This copy was a simple basic copy perfect for school. I can remember reading Beowulf as a high school student...." Read more

"Raffel's translation is the most readable, easiest to understand, and most honest translation available...." Read more

"...However, Beowulf has always been an easy read and fun...." Read more

6 customers mention "Story quality"6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story quality of the book, describing it as a great and classic tale.

"...Overall it's fun a book and it's timeless." Read more

"...This is a standard version of the story but Ian Serraillier has a version that is a little easier to understand if you want to adapt the reading..." Read more

"One of my all time favorite stories it was a gift and was happy too add it too the collection." Read more

"Great story! It's interesting to see what themes have been inspired by this classic. I read it in one sitting." Read more

Simple Copy Perfect for School
5 out of 5 stars
Simple Copy Perfect for School
This copy was a simple basic copy perfect for school. I can remember reading Beowulf as a high school student. I bought this copy for my brother who is now studying this classic epic poem. This book brought so much joy to me, and I have thought of it often over the years . It is a hard read, but well worth the effort. So much of the human condition, and the comparison of good and evil, is in this classic.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • The Edge
    5.0 out of 5 stars Masculine Book
    Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2024
    Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I wish I had read this book 50 years ago. Wonderful, masculine, heroic book. Great & understandable translation. According to my research, this is the best translation of this classic book.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Helpful Sal
    5.0 out of 5 stars Simple Copy Perfect for School
    Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2023
    Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase
    The media could not be loaded.
    This copy was a simple basic copy perfect for school. I can remember reading Beowulf as a high school student. I bought this copy for my brother who is now studying this classic epic poem. This book brought so much joy to me, and I have thought of it often over the years . It is a hard read, but well worth the effort. So much of the human condition, and the comparison of good and evil, is in this classic.
    Customer image
    Helpful Sal
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Simple Copy Perfect for School

    Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2023
    This copy was a simple basic copy perfect for school. I can remember reading Beowulf as a high school student. I bought this copy for my brother who is now studying this classic epic poem. This book brought so much joy to me, and I have thought of it often over the years . It is a hard read, but well worth the effort. So much of the human condition, and the comparison of good and evil, is in this classic.
    Images in this review
    Customer image
    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • TJam
    5.0 out of 5 stars Not Beowulf for Dummies !
    Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2010
    Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase
    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.
    51 people found this helpful
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  • BT
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2024
    Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase
    A nice little copy!
    Helpful
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  • Liz
    4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad
    Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2024
    Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I haven’t been able to read Beowulf yet but I did receive the book so I’ll rate it off of that. The way the cover was printed is a bit weird and unsymmetrical but nevertheless it came in pretty good condition. It is a bit scuffed but it’s nothing I don’t mind.
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  • Paul M Conlin
    5.0 out of 5 stars It's not what you think it is.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2023
    Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This tale isn't (really) about monsters and demons. It's about Danes and Swedes (who knew?) and Goths ('Geats') in multi-national half-pagan / half-Christian Britain.
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  • Mia
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
    Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2023
    Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I needed this book for school and it came in great condition. Nothing was damaged and it was a pretty good read.
    One person found this helpful
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  • J. P.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Best Translation
    Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2013
    Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Raffel's translation is the most readable, easiest to understand, and most honest translation available. I do not begrudge Seamus Heaney his poetry, but I find that Beowulf has already had to undergo glosses of other types in its recordings without further flowery alterations being performed on the text. The original composition/song would have been understandable and engaging for any of the warriors, villagers, or foreign guests of the Anglo-Saxon tribes: it should be equally as accessible to modern high school students and twenty-somethings. Raffel achieves this, and this translation is a steal while it remains available. If you are interested in Heaney's version of Beowulf, spend the extra money: but know that you are buying Heaney, not Beowulf.
    6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Marie
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent translation for a low price
    Reviewed in Canada on January 9, 2024
    Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Burton Raffel's translation of Beowulf is one of, if not THE best. Highly recommend.
    The book quality is surprisingly good for the price. You won't go wrong with this one.
    Report
  • Uriel Malváez
    5.0 out of 5 stars The great English poem brought to life!
    Reviewed in Mexico on March 11, 2023
    Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This beautiful but simple edition has a wonderful translation of the Old English poem that brings the hero Beowulf and his world to life in the reader’s mind. It arrived on time and undamaged, unlike other deliveries.
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  • Samuel E. Wagar
    5.0 out of 5 stars My favourite translation of an incredible heroic age masterpiece
    Reviewed in Canada on May 25, 2015
    Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase
    My favourite translation of an incredible heroic age masterpiece. Thank the Gods that the single manuscript of this astonishing work survived.
    Report
  • Carole Wassill
    4.0 out of 5 stars Beowulf
    Reviewed in Canada on February 22, 2013
    Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Came in good condition and in a short time. We were replacing our copy for the english department. The english department have this book on their reading list.
    Report