I have just completed the reading of beowulf, which was translated by burton raffel. In 1964, raffel recorded an album along with robert p. Learning ally is a united states 501c3 tax exempt organization, id. Burton raffel is a translator, poet, and scholar whose major translations include the canterbury tales, beowulf, don quijote, the red and the black, and gargantua and pantagruel. Tolkien, author of the lord of the rings, delivered a famous lecture to the british academy in 1936 in which he maintained that. Three anglosaxon ideals that are portrayed in beowulf are strength of warriors, boasting of brave deeds, and the belief in. Aug 02, 2012 open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Audio version of burton raffels translation of beowulf. How shild made slaves of soldiers from every 5 land, crowds of captives hed beaten. A powerful monster, hwng down in the darkness, growled in pain, impatient. Burton nathan raffel april 27, 1928 september 29, 2015 was an american translator, a poet and a teacher.
Beowulf by professor burton raffel, 9780451530967, available at book depository with. It was composed in england four centuries before the norman conquest. As a work of art, it rings with a beauty, power, and artistry that have kept it alive for more. Grendel and beowulf were two pretty boys from the december 30, 1971 issue. None of his comrades came to him, helped him, his brave and noble followers. Beowulf as an epic hero in burton raffels translation of the story beowulf 10 october 2016 he continuously portrays features that no ordinary human being could acquire including eternal fame, extraordinary skill, and heroic courage. See a complete list of the characters in beowulf and indepth analyses of beowulf, grendel, hrothgar, unferth, wiglaf, grendels mother, and the dragon. Bateson is english, not american, and given the very sharp differences between contemporary english and american poetry it is. Beowulf audiobook part 2 translated by burton raffel youtube.
This literature guide for beowulf is for the burton raffel translation. Sep, 2016 this section covers chapter 22 to the end of the poem. A new translation with an introduction by burton raffel. Beowulf by burton raffel overdrive rakuten overdrive. Burton raffel s 1963 verse translation of beowulf remains popular due to its simple, accessible language. Beowulf is the earliest extant poem in a modern european language. Some scholars have criticized it, however, for its lack of subtlety and accuracy in. Outside in the darkness, however, lurks the monster grendel, a murderous creature who poses a great danger to the people inside the banquet hall. I am reading burton raffel s translation of the text and even though it isnt written in pros i find raffel s translation the easiest to read and understand. Beowulf literature guide, translation by burton raffel tpt. His sword, called hrunting, is used by beowulf in a later battle. Beowulf by burton raffel arts and humanities flashcards. This is a reading of burton raffel s translation of beowulf published by signet classics.
The epicthe legendary hero the epic beowulf is a long narrative poem that recounts the exploits of the legendary warrior beowulf. This unassuming little paperback is the best beowulf translation ever written. Like other legendary heroes, beowulf represents good and earns glory by struggling against the forces of evil represented by several monstrous. Unferths challenge from beowulf translated by burton raffel. Translated by burton raffel glossary of names located at end of text.
Beowulf a new translation with an introduction by burton raffel and afterword by robert p. Burton raffel s most popular book is beowulf with related readings. Translator burton raffel has taught english, classics, and comparative literature at universities in the united states, israel, and canada. Esteemed translator and bestselling author stephen mitchell energizes a heroic tale so old it predates homers iliad by more than a millennium. Bateson is entitled to his personal judgment of my beowulf translation nyr, december 30. Anglosaxon singer is recaptured in this vivid translation by burton raffel. Beowulf, parts 7 and 8the death and mourning of beowulf.
Beowulf epic are the stories of dream and legend, of monsters and of godfashioned weapons, of descents to the underworld and of fights with dragons, of the heros quest and of a community threat ened by the powers of evil. Please put the summary into bullets, since it is the easiest to read. Beowulf audiobook translated by burton raffel youtube. And only one of them remained, stood there, miserable. Raffel died on september 29, 2015 at the age of 87. Paused youre listening to a sample of the audible audio edition. Burton raffel quotes author of beowulf with related readings. New york times best seller and whitebread book of the year, nobel laureate seamus heaneys new translation of beowulf comes to life in this gripping audio.
Beowulf is the conventional title of an old english heroic epic poem set in scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of anglosaxon literature. Heaneys performance reminds us that beowulf, written near the turn of another millennium, was intended to be heard not read. Mythical monsters with great powers that get killed by human men are a typical theme in anglosaxon poetry. The noble simplicity of beowulfs anonymous anglosaxon singer is recaptured in this vivid translation by burton raffel. The british tradition also true of their new penguin edition, though pages differ are from the burton raffel translation. Tolkien, author of lord of the rings and the hobbit, in his famous 1936 lecture, beowulf, the monsters and the critics, said, beowulf is among my most valued sources. Odes, epodes, epistles, satires, the complete poetry and prose of chairil anwar, from the vietnamese, ten centuries of poetry, the complete poetry of osip emilevich, mandelstram with alla burago, and poems from the.
A new verse translation,by seamus heaney, 2000, is a sophisticated. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. The noble simplicity of beowulf s anonymous anglosaxon singer is recaptured in this vivid translation by burton raffel. Submitted photo literary scholar burton raffel, a retired university of louisiana at lafayette professor who published more than 100 books, including widely read translations of beowulf. Hml1240b author online 40 rl 3 analyze the impact of the. By this point i have read beowulf s successful battle against grendel. As a social document, this great epic poem reflects a feudal, newly christian world of heroes and monsters, blood and victory and death. He was a loving husband of elizabeth, father to brian, blake deceased, kezia, shifra, nathan and wendy and grandfather. His masterpiece, the canterbury tales, has been a touchstone for englishlanguage poetry for more than half a millennium and is one of the most widely read works in the western canon. Beowulf from beowulf translated by burton raffel literary analysis. Beowulf is the conventional title of an old english heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of anglosaxon literature. Beowulf version 2 audiobook unknown, translated by francis barton gummere 1855 1919 beowulf was composed by an anonymous anglosaxon poet. Its composition by an anonymous anglosaxon poet is dated between the 8th and the early 11th century.
As the epic begins, we are introduced to king hrothgar, a revered and successful leader who has ruled the danes for many years. Burton raffel reads lines 86315 chapters 14, 399455 chapter 6, 710836 chapters 1112, and 4582 chapter 20. A great story to be listened to, this audio book is well read by tad e. Wrenn claws cliffs courage danes danish darkness dead death denmark dragon earth enemy evil fame famous fate father feast fierce fight flames followed forever fought frisians gave geatland geats gifts glorious glory gold golden grendel. Burton raffel author of beowulf with related readings. The excerpts in our particular texbook, prentice halls timeless voices, timeless themes. What is the summary of beowulf translated by burton raffel. This section covers chapter 22 to the end of the poem. Beowulf is an old english poem about a geatish hero who comes to denmark to kill a monster beowulf comes to the aid of hrothgar, king of the danes, to fight the monster grendel.
Burton raffel has 102 books on goodreads with 92678 ratings. This is most likely because the raffel translation is published by signet, who is owned by penguinputnam. Beowulf stands as one of the first and greatest works of english literature. The earliest extant poem in a modern european language, beowulf was composed 400 years before the norman conquest. This is a readalong of burton raffels translation of beowulf as it commonly appears in many high school textbooks. His books include translations of beowulf, the complete poetry and prose of chairil anwar, from the vietnamese, ten centuries of poetry, the complete poetry of osip emilevich mandelstam with alla burago, poems from the old english, and the annotated milton. Translated and with an introduction by burton raffel and an afterword by roberta frank. He has also annotated several shakespeare plays for yale university. Books by burton raffel author of beowulf with related. As a social document this great epic poem is invaluablereflecting a feudal, newly christian world of heroes and monsters, blood and victory, life and death. Burton raffel is a translator, poet, and scholar whose major translations include beowulf, don quijote, the red and the black, and gargantua and pantagruel.
Beowulf by raffel, burton author mass market paperbound on 03jun2008. Beowulf, a dane,is the protagonist who battled the evil grendel to grendels death. Beowulf a new translation with an introduction by burton. As a social document, this great epic poem reflects a feudal, newly christian world of.
Beowulf rings with beauty, power, and artistry that have kept it alive for a thousand years. Weve heard of danish heroes, ancient kings and the glory they cut. This brilliant new treatment of the worlds oldest epic is a literary event on par with seamus heaneys wildly popular beowulf translation. Germanic paganism and the christianity of the early middle ages sprung one of the worlds supremely great pieces of literature. Burton raffel has taught english, classics, and comparative literature at universities in the united states, israel, and canada. While taking a german 4 course in the spring semester of my sophomore year in 1963 i translated a modern german version of beowulf into english that was the full course.
Heres where youll find analysis about the book as a whole, from the major themes and ideas to. Beowulf audiobook part 2 translated by burton raffel. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Creed, on folkways records entitled lyrics from the old english. Beowulf translated by burton raffel the selection opens during an evening of celebration at herot, the banquet hall of the danish king hrothgar. Unferths challenge from beowulf translated by burton raffel unferth spoke, ecglafs son, who sat at hrothgars feet, spoke harshly 235 and sharp vexed by beowulfs adventure, by their visitors courage, and angry that anyone in denmark or anywhere on earth had ever acquired glory and fame greater than his own. This is important because there are different words and lines that are in this translation as well as a significant amount of framework story that is not in this translation. Originally written in old english, this translation by francis barton gummere updates it to modern english. This displays hubris because unferth was making fun of beowulf for losing against brecca when, technically, beowulf won because he killed 9 other sea monsters and protected the people of the danes.
The epic from beowulf, translated by burton raffel. Burton raffel reads chapters 22 and 23 and much of 35 and 36. Beowulf epic are the stories of dream and legend, of monsters and. Sep 29, 2015 burton raffel born 1928 is a translator, a poet and a teacher. Greenfield, 1982, is a translation of the poem written at a comfortable reading level. Raffel was born in new york city in 1928 an alumnus of james madison high school in brooklyn, new york 1944, he earned a b. The american linguist, john nist, writes of beowulfs immense excitementand to sneak in one medievalist, american of course, stanley greenfield sums it all up by referring to the magnificence of beowulf as an epic or heroic poem. Raffel burton nathan lafayette burton raffel died tuesday, september 29.
I once taught this book to a class of disaffected high. It is a work of genius, rare and surprising in the period, a. Beowulf unabridged beowulf unabridged audiobook, by c. An analysis of the poem beowulf translated by burton raffel. It survives in a single manuscript known as the nowell codex. By translated by burton raffel beowulf 19630116 paperback by translated by burton raffel. Beowulf is an anglosaxon poem translated by burton raffel. Quickly, the dragon came at him, encouraged as beowulf fell back. Beowulf by burton raffel paperback book the parent store. This displays hubris because unferth was making fun of beowulf for loosing against brecca when technically beowulf won because he killed 9 other sea monsters and he is also protecting the people of the danes. The shocking thing for me about this work was to find out that it is the earliest poem in a modern e. Burton nathan raffel april 27, 1928 september 29, 2015 was a translator, a poet and a teacher. Jan 30, 2015 audio version of burton raffel s translation of beowulf.