Beowulf: A Prose Translation: A Norton Critical Edition (Norton Critical Editions)

This book really helped me during my British Literature college course. I would recommend it if your professor wants you to read Beowulf.

As Described.

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 sentence twice to understand it, but that happens. The translator was definitely a craftsman of the English language.Third, the story is entertaining. It's fun to read. This might not be true of all classic literature! It's an adventure story, and a pleasing one. One reason it was fun to read is that you can feel the pleasures of the heroic values that the poet and his audience shared; in this respect it's similar to what you might experience in "Lord of the Rings." In fact, the story often reminded me of Tolkien--I confidently guaratee that Tolkien fans will enjoy it. (Tolkien also wrote one of the essays included in this edition.)Fourth, it is interesting to read the oldest "English" story (of course our language has evolved so much that we now need a translator). The historical interest is much aided by the essays in the Norton Critical edition, including very helpful maps of England and ancient Scandinavia. One interesting aspect of Beowulf is the tension between pre-Christian values and Christian ones within the story as we know it. Again, the essays were interesting and enlightening about this as well.All in all, this is classic literature at its best: readable, highly entertaining, and educational (and short). The essays and maps really were helpful; you won't need to buy the Cliffs Notes to understand or appreciate the text. If you want to read classic literature, I strongly recommend Beowulf; if you want to read Beowulf, I strongly recommend this edition.

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 and then try a poetic translation such as Heaney's.

Perfect.. Exactly as described!

was mir vor allem gefällt und auch wichtig für die uni ist, dass es noch zu verschiedenen themen am ende mehrere essays gibt, wird sicherlich bei meiner kurzen hausarbeit hilfreich sein