Beowulf
Ratings191
Average rating3.5
The tag goodreads has is that it's by “Anonymous” but the translation is by Seamus Heaney and his name is on the spine, so I've filed it under “author a-i” for that reason.
I really liked this book, but then again I was reading it because I wanted to and not because a teacher was making me.
This is a great story and Seamus Heaney does a masterful translation. What is especially nice is the translation on one page and the original Old English on the other, complete with copious footnotes and definitions of arcane terms.
Even if you don't like Beowulf this is a fantastic book to have for learning Old English. Then again, I don't think I've met anyone learning OE that didn't like Beowulf...
And if you've never read Beowulf, but are interested, this is the edition to get. I can assure you it is much, much better than the movie.
Finished in a day, what else can I say? Fantastic translation. I haven't approached Beowulf since school, and back then I was just reading it to write a report. I remember wrestling through it, feeling myself unable to focus... this book was the direct opposite of that.
Loved it! Absolutely loved it. Love the translation. It has now made me want to come back to the original, and also compare to other versions.
Read this four, five times maybe. Beowulf is sure to drag you into the depths of monster killing and redemption. I would buy the book if I could.
Glad I finally read this very old story. It was probably very amazing in its time.
Apparently Goodreads doesn't distinguish between the different translations of Beowulf, so this is a review for Seamus Heaney's translation: [b:Beowulf 52357 Beowulf Unknown https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878125l/52357.SY75.jpg 189503]This is an incredible translation that I just had the joy to read for the first time! This translation of Beowulf is amongst the very best out there, and also amongst the ones I have read. It does not aim at giving a word-for-word translated meaning of the Old English text, rather it looks for ways to convey the meaning in the most comprehensible and poetic way possible, while staying true to the epic poem form. If you are looking to make your way through this masterpiece of Anglo-Saxon poetry, this is the translation I would place at the top of the list.
Worth reading for history. Your can see early forms of narrative that are refined in the subsequent centuries. But it's not a FUN read, though you get to see that people were so similar to us even over 1000 years ago.