Beowulf: A Verse Translation (Penguin Classics) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140449310 ISBN 13: 9780140449310

Verlag: Penguin Classics, 2003

Inhaltsangabe

Beowulf is the greatest surviving work of literature in Old English, unparalleled in its epic grandeur and scope. It tells the story of the heroic Beowulf and of his battles, first with the monster Grendel, who has laid waste to the great hall of the Danish king Hrothgar, then with Grendel's avenging mother, and finally with a dragon that threatens to devastate his homeland. Through its blend of myth and history, Beowulf vividly evokes a twilight world in which men and supernatural forces live side by side. And it celebrates the endurance of the human spirit in a transient world.
"Alexander's translation is marked by a conviction that it is possible to be both ambitious and faithful [and] ...communicates the poem with a care which goes beyond fidelity-to-meaning and reaches fidelity of implication. May it go on ... to another half-million copies." - Tom Shippey, Bulletin of the International Association of University Professors of English

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Michael Alexander (translator) is Berry Professor of English Literature at the University of St Andrews. He has translated The Earliest English Poems, The Canterbury Tales: The First Fragment, and Beowulf for Penguin.

Von der hinteren Coverseite

One of the most universally studied of the English classics, Beowulf is considered the finest heroic poem in Old English. Written ten centuries ago, it celebrates the character and exploits of Beowulf, a young nobleman of the Geats, a people of southern Sweden.

Beowulf first rescues the royal house of Denmark from two marauding monsters, then returns to rule his people for 50 years, ultimately losing his life in a battle to defend the Geats from a dragon's rampage. The poem combines mythical elements, Christian and pagan sensibilities, and actual historical figures and events in a narrative that ranges from vivid descriptions of fierce fighting and detailed portrayals of court life to earnest considerations of social and moral dilemmas. Originally written in Old English verse, it is presented here in an authoritative prose translation by R.K. Gordon.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Penguin Classics
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2003
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0140449310
• ISBN 13: 9780140449310
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 208
• Herausgeber: Alexander Michael
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Penguin Books Limited; productsafety@penguin.co.uk; ; One Embassy Gardens, 8 Viaduct Gardens; London; SW11 7BW; Vereinigtes Königreich
• Verantwortliche Person: Penguin Books Limited; productsafety@penguin.co.uk; ; One Embassy Gardens, 8 Viaduct Gardens; London; SW11 7BW; Vereinigtes Königreich