Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

By: Simon Armitage

Narrated by: Bill Wallis

The famous Middle English poem by an anonymous Northern England poet is beautifully translated by fellow poet Simon Armitage. This audiobook features a brilliant reading of the translation by Bill Wallis; as a bonus, Wallis also masterfully tackles the poem in its original Middle English text.

"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" narrates in crystalline verse the strange tale of a green knight who rudely interrupts the Round Table festivities one Yuletide, casting a pall of unease over the company and challenging one of their number to a wager. The virtuous Gawain accepts and then decapitates the intruder with his own axe. Gushing blood, the knight reclaims his head, orders Gawain to seek him out a year hence, and departs. Next Yuletide, Gawain dutifully sets forth. His quest for the Green Knight involves a winter journey, a seduction scene in a dream-like castle, a dire challenge answered, and a drama of enigmatic reward disguised as psychic undoing.

©2007 Simon Armitage (P)2007 BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

"'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' is one of the eerie, exuberant joys of Middle English poetry....Simon Armitage has given us an energetic, free-flowing, high-spirited version. He reminds us that 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' still wields an uncanny power after 600 years." ( The New York Times Book Review)

great original, translation, and reader

I loved this in Middle English, in grad school, and it was a huge treat to encounter a skilled reader, a very good new translation AND the original as well, competently read.

The story is really good, and the poetry remains to a fair extent in the translation. The reader is outstanding.

Breathtaking

This medieval tale of gallantry and honour is brought to glorious life by narrator, Bill Wallis.
The hint of supernatural forces at play in the narrative is heightened by the gripping vocal interpretations that Wallis brings to the reading.
The rich language and alliterative composition remain a thing of joy these hundreds of years later.

Great

No way this can rate under 5 stars. Whoever would do so would be a Grinch! Excellent altogether, and the untranslated version comes after. That was unexpected.

Old Fable in a Superb, Refreshing New Translation

I didn't fully appreciate this when I read it 25 years ago, at least as I can recall. This new translation is refreshing and easily comprehensible without watering down the tale's mysticism or sacrificing its bite.

Very good performance by the narrator.

One of the greatest of all winter tales

Listening to this perfect performance of Armitage's great translation of this classic has become part of my annual winter traditions. The poem was meant to be read aloud, and its alliterative language is lively and musical to hear. Its perfect for hearing in Christmas season, especially in the week leading into the new year, when the meat of the story takes place. Bill Wallis has a rich and resonant voice, and is well suited to narrating both the modern translation and the Middle English original.