Books : Beowulf: A Prose Translation, Second Edition (Norton Critical Editions)
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from: W. W. Norton
Amazon.com's Price: $9.40 Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 829.3
EAN: 9780393974065
ISBN: 0393974065
Label: W. W. Norton
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 224
Publication Date: 2001-11
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Sales Rank: 47681
Studio: W. W. Norton
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Editorial Review:
Book Description:
The text of this edition of Beowulf is based on the highly regarded Donaldson prose translation of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem. Accurate and literally faithful, the Donaldson translation conveys the full meaning and spirit of the original. 'Backgrounds and Contexts' provides readers with the historical, linguistic, and literary settings of Beowulf, including Robert C. Hughes on the origins of the Old English language, E. Talbot Donaldson's presentation of the major features of Old English poetry, new material on Beowulf's tribes and genealogies, three maps, and a facsimile illustration of the manuscript. 'Criticism' collects seven new and wide-ranging interpretations of Beowulf by Fred C. Robinson, Roberta Frank, John D. Niles, Michael Lapidge, Joyce Hill, Helen Bennett, and Nicholas Howe. A Glossary of Proper Names and a Selected Bibliography are included.
About the series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the Norton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehensive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - A mastermind masterpiece in English poetry
A very useful book on a cult poem in English literature, maybe the founding poem of English literature. The translation of the Anglosaxon text is altogether good because nearly word for word. Yet it contains some imperfections, or some untranslatable - and improperly rendered - elements. For example the text contains at least thirteen words to speak of the sword, without counting developed metaphors or descriptions. It is of course impossible to translate such lexical richness. But it is a sign of ... Read More
Rating:  - Much more useful than Heaney's version
I am a dissenter from the hype surrounding Seamus Heaney's new translation. I prefer Donaldson for two important reasons: the transparency of the translation and the translator's humble willingness to let stand archaic implications that may seem absurb or offensive to most people today.
On a technical level, Donaldson--much more consistently than Heaney--reproduces Old English compounded words and phrases with Modern equivalents. He does this with accuracy and freshness--if not with seamless ... Read More
Rating:  - True to the Original
Of the translations that I have read this is the most true to the original words. It is a prose translation, so Donaldson did not need to select words based on their sounds and could get the meaning more accurately.
The exactness of the translation makes this language sound archaic.
The footnotes are quite helpful, especially when going through the difficult passages at the start of the Dragon story that describe the wars of the Swedish succession.
Read this translation ... Read More
Rating: - I recommend this edition, this translation because:
I am one of those people who, out of pride perhaps, force themselves to read classic old stuff even when it gives me headaches. I was braced for such an experience when I began to read Beowulf. I remembered being completely disinterested when I had to read an excerpt of it in high school.
But I was pleasantly surprised. In the first place, Beowulf is short; I was able to read it in an afternoon.
Secondly, the translation is very readable and entertaining. A few times I had to read a ... Read More
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