Beowulf : a translation and commentary, together with Sellic spell
(Book)
Contributors
Published
Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.
Status
Central Library - Nonfiction - 2nd Floor
829 B45t
1 available
829 B45t
1 available
East Side Library - Nonfiction - Adult
829 B45t
1 available
829 B45t
1 available
Forest Ave. Library - Nonfiction - Adult
829 B45t
1 available
829 B45t
1 available
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Copies
Location | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Central Library - Nonfiction - 2nd Floor | 829 B45t | On Shelf |
East Side Library - Nonfiction - Adult | 829 B45t | On Shelf |
Forest Ave. Library - Nonfiction - Adult | 829 B45t | On Shelf |
South Side Library - Nonfiction - Adult | 829 B45t | On Shelf |
More Details
Published
Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.
Format
Book
Physical Desc
xiv, 425 pages : illustration ; 22 cm.
Language
English
Notes
Description
The translation of Beowulf by J.R.R. Tolkien was an early work, very distinctive in its mode, completed in 1926: he returned to it later to make hasty corrections, but seems never to have considered its publication. This edition is twofold, for there exists an illuminating commentary on the text of the poem by the translator himself, in the written form of a series of lectures given at Oxford in the 1930s; and from these lectures a substantial selection has been made, to form also a commentary on the translation in this book. From his creative attention to detail in these lectures there arises a sense of the immediacy and clarity of his vision. It is as if he entered into the imagined past: standing beside Beowulf and his men shaking out their mail-shirts as they beached their ship on the coast of Denmark, listening to the rising anger of Beowulf at the taunting of Unferth, or looking up in amazement at Grendel{u2019}s terrible hand set under the roof of Heorot. But the commentary in this book includes also much from those lectures in which, while always anchored in the text, he expressed his wider perceptions. He looks closely at the dragon that would slay Beowulf "snuffling in baffled rage and injured greed when he discovers the theft of the cup"; but he rebuts the notion that this is "a mere treasure story", "just another dragon tale". He turns to the lines that tell of the burying of the golden things long ago, and observes that it is "the feeling for the treasure itself, this sad history" that raises it to another level. "The whole thing is sombre, tragic, sinister, curiously real. The treasure is not just some lucky wealth that will enable the finder to have a good time, or marry the princess. It is laden with history, leading back into the dark heathen ages beyond the memory of song, but not beyond the reach of imagination." Sellic spell, a "marvellous tale", is a story written by Tolkien suggesting what might have been the form and style of an Old English folk-tale of Beowulf, in which there was no association with the "historical legends" of the Northern kingdoms.
Citations
APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)
Tolkien, C., Tolkien, J. R. R. 1., & Tolkien, J. R. R. 1. (2014). Beowulf: a translation and commentary, together with Sellic spell . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Tolkien, Christopher, J. R. R. 1892-1973, Tolkien and J. R. R. 1892-1973. Tolkien. 2014. Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, Together With Sellic Spell. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Tolkien, Christopher, J. R. R. 1892-1973, Tolkien and J. R. R. 1892-1973. Tolkien. Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, Together With Sellic Spell Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.
MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)Tolkien, Christopher,, J. R. R. 1892-1973 Tolkien, and J. R. R. 1892-1973 Tolkien. Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, Together With Sellic Spell Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.
Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.
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