Beowulf & Other Stories: A New Introduction to Old English, Old Icelandic and Anglo-Norman Literatures
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.71 (503 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1405835729 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 560 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-06-29 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
At last, a friendly guide into Old English for newcomers! I learned Old English from a professor who revised what was then the standard literary history for Anglo-Saxon. Although I enjoyed the subject, I had a heavy course load in grad school and so little time to progress further with OE. Now, with North & Allard's considerably livelier survey, I can catch up on current attitudes towards our linguistic forebears. The editors and their co- contributors remind us that it's ironic how "relevance" can be used to neglect OE, when movies and sagas, old and new, Tolkien and CGI, enchant us with truly intriguing tales taken from . A Critical Edition and Genre Study An excellent study to Old English, Old Icelandic and Anglo-NormanLiteratures. The reader is complete with superb translations.More than half a century, I have studied and pondered Beowulf. Ispeak highly of the scholars who have compiled this anthology. Thevariety of the interpretative streams of thought resulting in theselection of essays with most of the major issues of criticism areoutstanding.Here is to appreciate the keenest readable compendium of studies inchronological order with determination and significant aspects ofthe rich history of these literatures. Ve
Written with verve, panache and a deep understanding of its subject, 'Beowulf' & Other Stories puts the pleasure back into studying Old English. • A new action film, Beowulf and Grendel, is out very soon and so is an animated version of the tale starring angelina Jolie and Ray Winston• There is lots of general interest in stories inspired by old English – tolkein’s Lord of the Rings, Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia• The authors have a fantastic writing style – engaging, witty, insightful – this book will be a page-turner that focuses on what readers want to know, instead of what it is perceived they ought to know• Gives the real low-down on the subject – translates lots of the original text, allows readers to have a go at translation themselves, and gives readers the chance to learn some old English and some old Icelandic• Contains colour photographs – rare in this kind of book – that will visually help to bring old English back to life
The challenges in teaching these subjects have to do with accessibility and with the fact that existing introductions tend to expect too much from their readers, who do not have the same background today as they would have had in the past. It is a breath of fresh air in this respect and should appeal to students taking their first proper steps in Old English/Old Norse. It is approachable by absolute beginners, but those who read it from cover to cover will have accrued a very wide range of knowledge on a variety of material relevant to the study of Old English (and Old Norse)
He translates and publishes (mares’ Nest Publishers, festival Books) contemporary Icelandic poetry and fiction. Publications include Heathen Godsin old English Literature (1997), The Origins of ‘Beowulf’ (2006), and some poems and short stories in Undertow, the UCL English students’ literary magazine. Hobbies include piano, reading the sagas and c