Beowulf

By: C. W. Kennedy - translator

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

Length: 3 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Out of the mixture of Latin & Germanic paganism and the Christianity of the Early Middle Ages sprung one of the world's supremely great pieces of literature. J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, delivered a famous lecture to the British Academy in 1936 in which he maintained that Beowulf was a poem all of a piece, not (as had been suggested) a jumble of fragments for pedantic scholars to paw over. The power & beauty of Beowulf enchanted Tolkien so much that he borrowed freely of its imagery & even of some of its plot when he forged his own epic of Middle Earth.

This medieval masterpiece, written in pre-Norman England Saxon, lay forgotten for centuries, rediscovered & printed for the first time early in the 19th century. It has been translated many times since, and the more people read Beowulf, the more they admire it. For good reason. In strikingly beautiful lines, it affirms the ideal of tenderness joined to strength, and of courage ennobled by virtue. It speaks resounding tones of valor, faith, and honor. It¿s a heroic tale of pagan Germanic origin, a saga of a vanishing age retold in the new light of the Christian era. Its author, most likely an educated monk from Northumbria, was certainly influenced by the work of Virgil. The old pagan legends of blood feuds & monsters formed the dark background against which the Christian hero Beowulf would shine forth with deeds of courage & virtue. Of all old Anglo-Saxon poems, Beowulf is the greatest.

This version of Beowulf is organized in 17 parts. Within some sections, there are digressions which do not, strictly speaking, belong to the central plot. These sections, called "lays", have been enhanced by an echo to help the listener detect them. An introduction by Henry Bradley precedes the poem.

To supplement the full text, listen to the SparkNotes Guide for Beowulf.

(P)2005 Audio Connoisseur

Good reading, but translation just a bit stilted

Charlton Griffin's audiobooks always present interesting fusions of narration and music, and the same is true here. The music is generally well-chosen and provides an effective, atmospheric backdrop for the story. The poem is divided here into logical chunks, rather than the original short chapters that often seem to have more to do with length than content. Griffin certainly sounds like an Anglo-Saxon bard setting about his business. In terms of the translation used, though, I'd have to give the edge to the one used by Blackstone, old-fashioned in style but not in vocabulary; this one is old-fashioned in both, in a way that interferes with comprehension.

Yee Olde Beowulf

Great story and narration. Story is heavy on the Grendel adventure and proclaims brave nobility. As mentioned in the intro some parts are choppy, but hardly detract from the story when it fires back up. I advise John Gardener's book Grendel as a tasty companion read.

story ok, narration great

The story was ok, but the narration was great. It really made me want to hunker down into a fur clad mead hall.

good version of B

this grew to be one of my favorite translations recently though they all have something to commend them. I do like Griffin as a narrator in general and he does a fine job here and that may make a huge difference. one thing that may be of interest is the opening introduction which is about 1 1/2 in length i believe and gives some very good historical info regarding B as well.

There are some very nice lines in this one that keep the alliterative element in the line as well as the natural pause within each line, though it is difficult to do consistently. Basically originally it is a 4 beat line with a natural caesura/pause in the middle and the 3rd beat determines the alliteration that matches the 2 stressed syllables from the 1st half of the line & sometimes matches all 4. "places Made ready / for Much traveled Men."

see also my other B reviews. on to Heaney's

beowulf!

fun. great for someone unfamiliar with the story. performance is great but blends together at times making it a little difficult to follow

Magnificent reading!

I sampled the Audible readings and this seemed the absolute best of what was available. Having listened to the entire audio book I can say that not only Carlton Griffin’s reading (always first rate), but the entire production leaves the others in the dust. This Audio book is a five star experience!

A strange tale told in a strange way

Since high school (too many years ago) I've heard about Beowulf but it was always something that I was told was an "acquired taste" like Limberger cheese. But I heard so many good things about this new translation that I felt it deserved a chance. The narration with unobtrusive background music really made the story come alive so I would recommend it for anyone wanting to get an understanding of English/Danish sagas. This is the sort of tale that was told around the fire while our ancestors were drinking mead as the dogs crunched on the bones scattered on the floor. It deserves quiet time on a rainy weekend to get the best effect. While there are some exciting moments (as when Beowulf slays Grendel), most of it deals with the events leading up to the fateful moment and the aftermath. If you've ever considered reading Beowulf, this is the one!

Beowulf

Captivating but the subject matter must have full attention.

How does he do it?!

Beowulf is one of the greatest classics of English Literature! Of course it deserves five stars! And Charlton Griffin has done it again! The guy is a genius!

All hail Charleton Griffin!

Seriously, this man could read the instruction manual for a universal remote and I would hang on his every word! I was introduced to his amazing vocal talents through the complete Sherlock Holmes series (which I’ve listened to at least 75 times now) and completely fell in love! By a stroke of luck my current path of interest has lead me to a whole bunch of books in my list that he’s narrating!! Winning! I am so grateful that he has given us the gift of his wonderful voice and creative narrating, thank you Charleton Griffin I appreciate you more than I am currently capable of articulating!! (Also, you’ve ruined me for tolerating poor narration!)

I’m glad there was an explanation of the disorder of stories and add ins, it wouldn’t have made much sense to me otherwise. It was a very beautiful story. I really enjoy the language they used at the time. I’m very interested in various mythologies and history, Norse being a big one and Beowulf was a big deal. The movie was nothing like this story so I’m glad I decided to check it out.