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Beowulf
- Narrated by: Royce Pierreson, Roy McMillan - introduction
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
This Penguin Classic is performed by Royce Pierreson, star of Line of Duty, Our Girl and The Witcher. This definitive recording includes an introduction by Michael Alexander.
Beowulf is the greatest surviving work of literature in Old English, unparalleled in its epic grandeur and scope. It tells the story of the heroic Beowulf and of his battles, first with the monster Grendel, who has laid waste to the great hall of the Danish king Hrothgar, then with Grendel's avenging mother and finally with a dragon that threatens to devastate his homeland.
Through its blend of myth and history, Beowulf vividly evokes a twilight world in which men and supernatural forces live side by side. And it celebrates the endurance of the human spirit in a transient world.
Critic Reviews
"Alexander's translation is marked by a conviction that it is possible to be both ambitious and faithful [and]...communicates the poem with a care which goes beyond fidelity-to-meaning and reaches fidelity of implication. May it go on...to another half-million copies." (Tom Shippey, Bulletin of the International Association of University Professors of English)
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Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tad Davis
- 04-10-21
Excellent translation and reading
Of all the translations that are available, my favorite remains the one by Stephen Mitchell. But the audio version of Mitchell’s translation is marred by a weak reading, courtesy of Mitchell himself, who simply doesn’t have the voice for it. Royce Pierreson does have the voice for it, and he does a fine job with Michael Alexander’s (also) excellent translation.
The language is somewhat heightened —dignified, like the story itself — but not in any way archaic or obscure. (One exception: to capture the flavor of Old English, Alexander does, like many translators, preserve some of the kennings of the original: for instance, calling the ocean “the whale-road” or describing Beowulf as “unlocking his word-hoard” when he’s about to speak. (I can’t think of a single translation of the poem that doesn’t keep that last one.) On the whole it goes down smoothly, and the tragic end of the poem comes across with the sadness of an ice-bound ship.
And as always with the Penguin titles, the introduction — here read by Roy McMillan — adds considerable value to the audiobook. The introductions have always been one of the highlights of the Penguin classics, and it was a smart marketing decision to include them.
5 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 12-16-22
beowulf a classical masterpiece
Beowulf is a true classic worth hearing from the epics of norse and saxon writings.
This translation is a marvelous achievemnt and the narration is superb.
A truly phenomenal experience.
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Story
Stephen Mitchell's marvelously clear and vivid rendering recreates the robust masculine music of the original. It both hews closely to the Old English and captures its wild energy and vitality, not just as a deep "work of literature" but also as a rousing entertainment that can still stir our feelings and rivet our attention today, after more than a thousand years. This new translation - spare, sinuous, vigorous in its narration, and translucent in its poetry - makes a masterpiece accessible to everyone.
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Great translation, weak reading
- By Tad Davis on 10-24-17
By: Stephen Mitchell
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Beowulf: The New Translation
- By: Gerald J. Davis
- Narrated by: John Hanks
- Length: 3 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The origins, history and authorship of Beowulf are shrouded in uncertainty. This heroic epic probably began, as most do, with a wandering troubadour strumming a stringed instrument, sitting before a hearth-fire, and singing the verses to a spellbound audience arrayed before him. Beowulf is a rousing adventure story, filled with intrepid heroes, monsters and fire-breathing dragons, which can be listened to for the sheer enjoyment of the tale.
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Hard to follow as audio
- By CSterle on 10-14-14
By: Gerald J. Davis
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Beowulf
- By: Anonymous
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 2 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Beowulf, a masterpiece of ancient literature, reminds us of a world prior to the scientific revolution, where things were dark and monsters roamed in swamps and dragons hoarded gold in mountains. Beowulf is a character to be admired yet not without caution. Timeless, this oft-translated piece of old English literature will be sure to delight and teach you something.
By: Anonymous
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The Story of Beowulf
- By: Strafford Riggs
- Narrated by: Jack Chekijian
- Length: 2 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A prose translation of the oldest surviving long poem in Old English, this production captures the mood of the original legend of a pagan hero defeating a monster, its mother, and a dragon in Scandinavia.
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Excellent narration!
- By 22Wonderful on 11-23-16
By: Strafford Riggs
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Beowulf
- By: Douglas Wilson
- Narrated by: Douglas Wilson
- Length: 2 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Beowulf has been translated before, but not like this. In this faithful, but hardly wooden translation, Douglas Wilson gives listeners a taste of the heavy alliteration of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Lewis said Anglo-Saxon poetry was like "blows from a hammer" or "the repeated thunder of breakers on the beach." This recording should delight anyone who loves the sounds of words for their own sake. The essays found in the book are not included in this recording.
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terrible translation, and even worse performance
- By White Dog on 09-20-22
By: Douglas Wilson
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Beowulf
- By: Anonymous
- Narrated by: J. B. Bessinger Jr.
- Length: 52 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It's never been easy to be a hero. When Beowulf arrives at Hrothgar's hall, he discovers that the hall is beset by Grendel, an evil creature that kills and pillages with impunity. Beowulf, in heroic fashion, bests Grendel in combat, then follows Grendel back to his lair to finish the job.
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Fun
- By Kenneth on 11-21-07
By: Anonymous
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Beowulf the Warrior
- Living History Library
- By: Ian Serrailier
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 1 hr
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Beowulf the Warrior is an outstanding modern version of the oldest epic in the English language. Ian Serraillier has retold in verse the story of the hero Beowulf and his three memorable exploits - first, his rescuing of Hrothgar the Dane from the ravages of monstrous Grendel; next, his victory over Grendel's strange and horrible mother; and finally, in Beowulf's old age, his saving of his own people, the Geats, from the horrors of a dragon at the cost of his life. Beowulf's heroism and noble heart communicate to any modern listener.
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Great read
- By Bridget O'Hare on 05-13-20
By: Ian Serrailier
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The Iliad of Homer
- By: Elizabeth Vandiver, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Vandiver
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
For thousands of years, Homer's ancient epic poem the
Iliad has enchanted readers from around the world. When you join Professor Vandiver for this lecture series on the Iliad, you'll come to understand what has enthralled and gripped so many people. Her compelling 12-lecture look at this literary masterpiece -whether it's the work of many authors or the "vision" of a single blind poet - makes it vividly clear why, after almost 3,000 years, the
Iliad remains not only among the greatest adventure stories ever told but also one of the most compelling meditations on the human condition ever written.
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Vandiver never disappoints
- By Machteacher on 07-23-13
By: Elizabeth Vandiver, and others
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The Aeneid
- By: Virgil, Robert Fitzgerald - translator
- Narrated by: Christopher Ravenscroft
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Profoundly poetic yet gloriously accessible, this is the best way to experience a work that has remained a centerpiece of Western civilization for 2,000 years. Fitzgerald's rendering speaks directly to the modern listener, inviting us to share the excitement, adventure, and human tears as Aeneas, the warrior hero, escapes from the burning city of Troy, embarks on a long and perilous journey, and eventually, triumphantly establishes a new nation: Rome.
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Not complete
- By Martin E Sargent on 04-16-16
By: Virgil, and others
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Beowulf
- By: Robert K. Gordon, translator
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 2 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Beowulf is considered the finest heroic poem in Old English. It celebrates the character and exploits of Beowulf, a young nobleman and warrior, as he proves his superhuman strength and endurance. He also represents the ideal lord and vassal, rewarding his men generously and accomplishing glorious deeds to honor his king.
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Translator Preferred
- By JerryT on 05-10-05
By: Robert K. Gordon, and others
Related to this topic
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Beowulf
- By: Douglas Wilson
- Narrated by: Douglas Wilson
- Length: 2 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Beowulf has been translated before, but not like this. In this faithful, but hardly wooden translation, Douglas Wilson gives listeners a taste of the heavy alliteration of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Lewis said Anglo-Saxon poetry was like "blows from a hammer" or "the repeated thunder of breakers on the beach." This recording should delight anyone who loves the sounds of words for their own sake. The essays found in the book are not included in this recording.
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terrible translation, and even worse performance
- By White Dog on 09-20-22
By: Douglas Wilson