$3.99 delivery: April 19 - 23

Fastest delivery: April 15 - 20

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
As an alternative, the Kindle eBook is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app.

Secure transaction

Ships from	GlobalOnlineCo
Sold by	GlobalOnlineCo

Details

Ships from

GlobalOnlineCo

Sold by

GlobalOnlineCo

+ $3.94 shipping

$3.94 delivery: April 16 - 23

Fastest delivery: April 14 - 19

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Goodwill of NNE

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

Carolyne Larrington

The Poetic Edda (Oxford World's Classics) Paperback – June 10, 1999

by Carolyne Larrington (Translator)

516 ratings

See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$8.23

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$24.95

$17.84

$12.48

Paperback

"Please retry"

$14.93

$10.32

$10.35

Paperback, June 10, 1999

$19.66

$7.18

Enhance your purchase

The collection of Norse-Icelandic mythological and heroic poetry known as the Poetic Edda contains the great narratives of the creation of the world and the coming of Ragnarok, the Doom of the Gods. The mythological poems explore the wisdom of the gods and giants, narrating the adventures of the god Thor against the hostile giants and the gods' rivalries amongst themselves. The heroic poems trace the exploits of the hero Helgi and his valkyrie bride, the tragic tale of Sigurd and Brynhild's doomed love, and the terrible drama of Sigurd's widow Gudrun and her children.

Many of the poems predate the conversion of Scandinavia to Christianity, allowing us to glimpse the pagan beliefs of the North. Since the rediscovery of the Poetic Edda in the seventeenth century, its poetry has fascinated artists as diverse as Thomas Gray, Richard Wagner, and Jorge Luis Borges.

This is the first complete translation to be published in Britain for fifty years, and it includes a scholarly introduction, notes, a genealogy of the gods and giants, and an index of names.

Print length

368 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Oxford University Press
Publication date

June 10, 1999
Dimensions

7.7 x 1 x 5.4 inches
ISBN-10

0192839462
ISBN-13

978-0192839466
See all details

Frequently bought together

Total price: $51.64

These items are shipped from and sold by different sellers. Show details

Buy the selected items together

This item:The Poetic Edda (Oxford World's Classics) by Carolyne Larrington Paperback $19.66
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by GlobalOnlineCo.
The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology (Penguin Classics) by Snorri Sturluson Paperback $15.99
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00. Details
The Saga of the Volsungs (Penguin Classics) by Jesse L. Byock Paperback $15.99
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00. Details

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Snorri Sturluson
1,051
Paperback
$15.99
Jackson Crawford
2,316
Paperback
in German Literary Criticism
$15.20
Jackson Crawford
1,341
Paperback
$11.40
Snorri Sturluson
345
Paperback
37 offers from $5.59
Snorri Sturluson
205
Hardcover
$14.99
Lee M. Hollander
293
Paperback
$22.45

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Snorri Sturluson
1,051
Paperback
$15.99
Snorri Sturluson
345
Paperback
37 offers from $5.59
Jesse L. Byock
301
Paperback
$15.99
John Lindow
335
Paperback
$21.87
Anonymous
107
Paperback
$14.39
Jesse L. Byock
95
Paperback
$14.49

Special offers and product promotions

Amazon Business: Make the most of your Amazon Business account with exclusive tools and savings. Login now
Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Carolyne Larrington is Senior Research Fellow at Montfort University, Leicester.

Start reading The Poetic Edda (Oxford World's Classics) instantly on your Kindle Fire or on the free Kindle apps for iPad, Android tablet, PC or Mac. Don't have a free Kindle app? Get yours here

Product details

Publisher : Oxford University Press; Reissued 1999 edition (June 10, 1999)
Language : English
Paperback : 368 pages
ISBN-10 : 0192839462
ISBN-13 : 978-0192839466
Item Weight : 10.4 ounces
Dimensions : 7.7 x 1 x 5.4 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,145,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #124 in Scandinavian Literary Criticism (Books)
- #164 in Norse & Icelandic Sagas (Books)
- #1,100 in Ancient & Classical Poetry

Customer Reviews:
516 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		85%
4 star		9%
3 star		3%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

sceadwis

The only complete English translation of the poetic Edda that is almost reliable

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2017

Verified Purchase

This is not to review the Eddic poems themselves, but Larrington's translation of them. I've given her translation five stars because it is the most accurate complete translation available in English, and as such, along with Ursula Dronke's editions, the only English translation to be recommended as an aid to the student reading the poetic Edda in Old Norse. That being said, while it is the best available, it is still not completely reliable, so be careful. For a proper study of the Poetic Edda you'll need to also consult the glossary of Lafarge and Tucker, the massive Frankfurt commentary (in German), as well as the editions of Jónas and Gísli published in Icelandic.

For the reader not intending to read the Old Norse, I would say any of the translations of the Edda from Larrington, Orchard, Crawford, or Dodd can be recommended, each for different reasons.

50 people found this helpful

Helpful

J Law

recommend

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2020

Verified Purchase

Translation is a big deal. The smallest words interpreted different ways can change the whole meaning. This book was recommended by the Norroena Society as being one of the more accurate translations. Trying to translate the meaning and thinking of an ancient society that has been lost and crushed by Christian rule has a huge impact on the end result. What were the social norms at the time? How did our ancestors view nature, god's, marriage, property, community, and family?

It's interesting to read the same stanza from different translations and the message is completely different in parts while the same in others.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Vaygar-Ingvald Elmersson aka Caroll EH Reimer

this is the BEST translation of our lore

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2016

Verified Purchase

IMO, this is the BEST translation of our lore, free of the "thees and thous" of Shakespearian language present in other translations.

17 people found this helpful

Helpful

Bruce Burns

Wonderful

Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2013

Verified Purchase

This is an excellent presentation of an ancient myth.
The translation was readable but still carried through some of the rhythm and power of the original (as much as I can understand without speaking Old Norse).
Footnotes were frequent and useful without breaking up the flow of the text. I'd recommend this book for the layman and historian alike.

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kelsey P.

An excellent translation, which changes just enough to make it ...

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2016

Verified Purchase

An excellent translation, which changes just enough to make it digestible to modern English speakers without losing the actual original meanings, as some other translations I've found have done.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Ky Nam Nguyen

Amazing book of Viking mythology

Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2019

Verified Purchase

The book is good for people who want to learn about Viking/Scandinavian mythology.

Helpful

Amazon Customer

Great Overview of Viking Myth

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2018

Verified Purchase

It's concise, but informational. Thanks Snorri!

Helpful

Corey

Great read

Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2019

Verified Purchase

Just what I wanted

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Nicholas Casley

"Fate Catches Fire"

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 19, 2016

Verified Purchase

This is a review of the Oxford World Classics edition of 1996, a new translation by Carolyne Larrington. She provides a fifteen-page introduction, although each of the thirty-five ‘chapters’ has its own brief introductory words. Without the introductions I am not sure I would have understood what was being sung – and even with the introduction and notes I was still often unsure of “the allusions and obscurities.” In short, this book was not an easy or even enjoyable read. Her translation is direct and does not attempt to be poetic itself.

‘The Poetic Edda’ (‘Edda’ means ‘poetics’) is an Icelandic compilation made around 1270. Still kept in Reykjavik, Larrington describes it as “an unprepossessingly-looking codex the size of a fat paperback.” It is therefore not one single poem, nor even one single conception, but a collection of different poems on different subjects. They are thought to date to the first millennium, that is before Christianity arrived in Scandinavia.

Larrington tells us that the book has the “oldest and most original form” of many scenes we think about when considering the myths of the pagan north, its characters including the likes of Odin, Thor, Brunhilde, Sigurd, and Yggdrasill. Indeed, if I had read the ‘Kalevala’ with one ear on Sibelius, I read the ‘The Poetic Edda’ with my other ear on Wagner (for example ‘The Lay of Fafnir’). And the very first chapter – ‘The Seeress’s Prophecy’ – has the names of dwarves that Tolkien would later use. But there are many, many more names included. Indeed, there is a twenty-five-page index at the back of the book which lists almost a thousand.

In short, this is a book I will keep for reference rather than as a good read.

18 people found this helpful

D. Parkin

A wonderfully tactile book. (The Poetic Edda)

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2020

Verified Purchase

This is, first off, a beautifully bound book with a gorgeous cover. Fabulously finished and tactile, the textured finish fairly begs you to open it. You don't get this with Kindle!
The paper itself is of a quality thickness and texture, which adds to the reading experience.
The Edda itself is quite dense to read, but comes with sound explanatory text and copious footnotes of varying quality when it comes to imparting additional illuminating information. The poetry is rendered well enough by the translator (I do not read Old Norse, so I can only judge on the metre, rhythm and sense of the translation), and sometimes lines jump out from the page with the precision and pungency of a well-chosen lyric.
I would suggest that the Edda here would be a good complement to a general mythology of the Vikings for a general reader, while there are nuggets squirrelled away here that would appear to reflect closely upon Norse domestic life of the period. Several tales reflect obliquely or direcly upon the role and status of women in Norse society for example.
In all it is a scholarly work that I am enjoying reading as my current bedtime book. Like all poetry, it is meant to be read aloud to fully savour the words within. I am enjoying revisiting aspects of tales that I have not looked at for many years.

3 people found this helpful

Paul Simmonds

Nothing mythalogical about it

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 16, 2020

Verified Purchase

Great item.

Why is everything pre christian calles mythology. I guess that makes cristianity true, right? Haha

7 people found this helpful

Raymond S

Challenging & informative life Poetry

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 28, 2020

Verified Purchase

Want to read a book with more logic than the Bible? Look no further than this. Beautiful poetry that actually makes you think about what you want out of life’s experiences and how to conquer some of the riddles you face during life. Makes you think twice and maybe more. A must in every collection.

2 people found this helpful

Paul buckle

Good read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2021

Verified Purchase

Interesting read, takes some going through but if your interested in old norse myths this is the book for you.

See all reviews

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Follow the Author

Similar authors to follow