Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary
May 2014 · Sold by HarperCollins
4.5star
43 reviews
Ebook
448
Pages
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Eligible
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About this ebook
New York Times bestseller“A thrill . . . Beowulf was Tolkien’s lodestar. Everything he did led up to or away from it.” —New Yorker
J.R.R. Tolkien completed his translation of Beowulf in 1926: he returned to it later to make hasty corrections, but seems never to have considered its publication. This edition includes an illuminating written commentary on the poem by the translator himself, drawn from a series of lectures he gave at Oxford in the 1930s.
His creative attention to detail in these lectures gives rise to a sense of the immediacy and clarity of his vision. It is as if Tolkien entered into the imagined past: standing beside Beowulf and his men shaking out their mail-shirts as they beach their ship on the coast of Denmark, listening to Beowulf’s rising anger at Unferth’s taunting, or looking up in amazement at Grendel’s terrible hand set under the roof of Heorot.
“Essential for students of the Old English poem—and the ideal gift for devotees of the One Ring.” —Kirkus
J.R.R. Tolkien completed his translation of Beowulf in 1926: he returned to it later to make hasty corrections, but seems never to have considered its publication. This edition includes an illuminating written commentary on the poem by the translator himself, drawn from a series of lectures he gave at Oxford in the 1930s.
His creative attention to detail in these lectures gives rise to a sense of the immediacy and clarity of his vision. It is as if Tolkien entered into the imagined past: standing beside Beowulf and his men shaking out their mail-shirts as they beach their ship on the coast of Denmark, listening to Beowulf’s rising anger at Unferth’s taunting, or looking up in amazement at Grendel’s terrible hand set under the roof of Heorot.
“Essential for students of the Old English poem—and the ideal gift for devotees of the One Ring.” —Kirkus
Ratings and reviews
4.5
43 reviews
John DiBartolo
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April 4, 2014
Everyone within the wide network of Middle-earth has been waiting to hear the voice of the Professor on Beowulf. This will be the defining translation.
6 people found this review helpful
richard acosta
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September 10, 2014
Bought this book and was really excited to see Tolkien's translation of Beowolf. Open the Play Books app...Nothing. What gives!?
5 people found this review helpful
Mark Richards
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December 17, 2021
after a few pages it just stops. when will you be fixing the app?
About the author
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892–1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over sixty languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.
Christopher Tolkien (1924–2020) was the third son of J.R.R. Tolkien. Appointed by Tolkien to be his literary executor, he devoted himself to the editing and publication of unpublished writings, notably The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and The History of Middle-earth.
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