Map; Introduction; The Story; Oral & Written Beowulfs; Legend and Lore; Narrative Strategies and Structures; The Hero; Christianity and the Problem of Violence; The Poet; The Metre of the Translation; Beowulf; People and Places in Beowulf; Three Shorter Old English Poems - The Fight at Finnisburg; A Meditation; Deor.
Dick Ringler is Professor of English and Scandinavian Languages, Emeritus, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Although an audience of enamored nonspecialists embraced Heaney's
version . . . other scholars gave only grudging respect to the poet
whose 'Heaneywulf' often seemed to represent an Anglo-Saxon world
re-created in the Irish poet's own image. Since 2002 new and
revised translations have come and gone, none attracting as much
attention as Heaney's. That should change with Ringler's new
translation, and not just because scholars such as Tom Shippey,
Frederick Rebsamen, and John Niles vouch for it. The proof is in
the reading, whether one does so silently or aloud. In his
comprehensive, insightful introduction and rhythmic replication of
Old English poetry, Ringler offers the specialist what Heaney did
not; this is a performative translation that re-creates the world
of Beowulf as accurately as may be possible. Accessible and
exciting for specialist and nonspecialist alike, this is the
edition professors should be using to introduce the venerable poem
to a new audience. Summing up: Essential. --A.P. Church, CHOICE
Ringler has produced a really good translation of the poem, free of
Seamus Heaney's quirks and Irishisms, keeping the rhythm and
alliteration, and retaining a simplicity which demonstrates how
otiose film effects are when the poem is both powerful and moving.
The translation is accompanied by a marvelously straightforward
introduction, eschewing all modish modern criticism and thus a
useful corrective for those student-readers confused by the
liberties taken by [Robert Zemeckis'] Beowulf and its writers.
Tolkien would have been pleased by Ringler's version. --Carolyne
Larrington, The Times Literary Supplement
Dick Ringler's masterful New Translation for Oral Delivery . . . is
indispensable for readers with an interest in the history of the
literature of the fantastic, as well as teachers and anyone steeped
in early English literature and lore. Ringler . . . has created a
vibrant translation that combines Heaney's earthy poetry with a
straightforward narrative that will also appeal to first-time
readers. Best of all is a lengthy and fascinating introduction that
provides a pocket-history of the text and its anonymous scop, or
poet, as well as a character index and informative discussions of
the poem's structure. . . . A bonus to this edition is the
inclusion of three short Old English poems. The second of these, 'A
Meditation' (sometimes published as 'The Wanderer') is a beautiful
and haunting piece on loss and the fall of empires. It gave me
goosebumps of a different sort than those generated by Grendel.
--Elizabeth Hand, Fantasy & Science Fiction
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