The poem is a subtle blending of themesthe conflict of. Esteemed translator and bestselling author stephen mitchell energizes a heroic tale so old it predates homers iliad by more than a millennium. When beowulf arrives at hrothgars hall, he discovers that the hall is beset by grendel, an evil creature that kills and pillages with impunity. A the cliffsnotes study guide on beowulf supplements the original literary work, giving you background information about the author, an introduction to the work, a graphical character map, critical commentaries, expanded glossaries, and a comprehensive index, all for you to use as an educational tool. Librivox, audiobook, old english, poetry, hero, grendel, dane. Get 50% off this audiobook at the audiobooksnow online audio book store and download or stream it right to your computer, smartphone or tablet. Beowulf translation by seamus heaney highbridge audio. It comes in english and then old english if youre inclined to read an older language.
Project gutenberg offers 61,662 free ebooks to download. Librivox recording of beowulf by an unknown author translated by francis barton gummere. The monster grendel terrorises the scyldings of hrothgars danish kingdom until beowulf defeats him. Beowulf version 2 audiobook unknown, translated by francis barton gummere 1855 1919 beowulf was composed by an anonymous anglosaxon poet. Gummere apparently follows closely the anglosaxon original, even to the alliterative verse and kennings, so that listening to it gives one the illusion of listening to the real poem. This book is a literally classic thats definitely not for all readers. Beowulf recounts the story of the valiant warrior of geats who comes to the aid of his neighbor, king hrothgar whose mead hall is being attacked by a dreadful creature called grendel. Translation by michael alexander, first published on 1973 is very skillfully put together and admirable. But in each chapter there are five sections so one chapter of beowulf here equals one section in sparksnotes. Beowulf tells the story of a mysterious young warrior who saves the. Jan 01, 2006 the earliest extant heroic epic in any european vernacular, beowulf is considered the most important poem in old english.
In this epic poem, beowulf, a hero of the geats, comes to the aid of the king of the danes whose great hall is plagued by the. Composed toward the end of the first millennium of our era, beowulf is the elegiac narrative of the adventures of beowulf, a scandinavian hero who saves the danes from the seemingly invincible monster grendel and, later, from grendels mother. The mead hall was the big feasting hall of the king and sometimes even served as a living quarter for the king and his noblemen in medieval times in scandinavia. A new york times bestseller and whitbread book of the year. Beowulf kills grendel barehanded and goes on to kill grendels mother with a giants sword that he recovers from her lair. He also represents the ideal lord and vassal, generous to his own men while fulfilling all the forms of courtesy at court. Beowulf free full audiobook online listen authors unknown language west saxon dialect of old english date c. Beowulf, in heroic fashion, bests grendel in combat, then follows grendel back to his lair to finish the job. 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 stands as one of the first and greatest works of english literature. I tend to read beowulf every few years, and this time i listened to the recorded books audio book available on audible narrated by george guidall. Heaneys performance reminds us that beowulf, written near. This audio book successfully got me through fully reading beowulf in one weekend for my literature class. The earliest extant heroic epic in any european vernacular, beowulf is considered the most important poem in old english.
The main character, beowulf, proves himself a hero as he battles against supernatural demons and beasts. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by. The main character, beowulf, proves himself a hero as he battles against supernatural demons. The best option that helped me understand completely was reading sparks notes after each chapter. Beowulf is the iconic work of literature in old english. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. A great story to be listened to, this audio book is well read by tad e.
Audio book, humanread addeddate 20061207 boxid ol20014 call number. Beowulfs terrifying quest to destroy grendel, the foul fiend, a hideous seahag and a monstrous firedragon is the oldest surviving epic in british literature. Free beowulf audio book at this site, you can download an audio reading of the entire text of beowulf in a contemporary english translation for free. A great story to be listened to, this audio book is well read by a group of seven narrators at librivox. This audio book is the translated by irish poet and nobel laureate seamus heaney and he also narrates the audio book which runs 2 hrs. This audio book is the translated by irish poet and. Wikipedia book beowulf version 2 download m4b 76mb download cover art download cd case insert. A caution that the violence and scary monsters dont make this a picture book for very young readers. Gummere version feels overwhelming, and more like a reading assignment than a leisurely read. Germanic paganism and the christianity of the early middle ages sprung one of the worlds supremely great pieces of literature. Beowulf heroically battles grendel, the water witch, and a fierce dragon.
Nobel laureate seamus heaneys new translation of beowulf comes to life in this gripping audio. The title character is a warrior of superhuman strength who accomplishes glorious deeds to honor his king. On the other hand, beowulf provides wonderful strong images of bravery, camaraderie, friendship and devotion. Composed toward the end of the first millennium of our era, beowulf is the elegiac narrative of the adventures of beowulf, a scandinavian hero who saves the danes from the seemingly invincible. It is abridged but that works to its advantage because this francis b. Heaneys performance reminds us that beowulf, written near the turn of another millennium, was.
Oct 03, 20 beowulf remains a classic, and this gorgeously illustrated retelling brings the tale to life. May 04, 2000 a new york times bestseller and whitbread book of the year. Tolkien, author of the lord of the rings, delivered a famous lecture to the british academy in 1936 in which he maintained that. An anglosaxon epic poem, translated from the heynesocin text, read by eleanor chalkley. Get 50% off this audiobook at the audiobooksnow online audio book store and download or stream it right to. It was performed well, and concludes with a thought provoking essay by the translator. Originally written in old english, this translation by francis barton gummere updates it to modern english.
Apr, 2012 nobel laureate seamus heaneys new translation of beowulf comes to life in this gripping audio. Beowulf version 2 unknown, translated by francis barton gummere 1855 1919 beowulf was composed by an anonymous anglosaxon poet. For more free audio books or to become a volunteer reader, visit. Librivox recording of beowulf by an unknown author translated by francis. Download hundreds of free audio books, mostly classics, to your mp3 player or computer. Beowulf was composed by an anonymous anglosaxon poet. Read in old english, this collection of poetry includes selections from beowulf, the most wellknown epic poem in englands history, as well as other classics such as caedmons hymn, the dream of the road, the wanderer, the battle of brunan burg and a wifes lament. This audio book takes you on a journey back to the dark ages, and gives you an experience youll never forget. When sleep was at its deepest, night at its blackest, up from the mistfilled marsh came grendel stalking. Heaneys performance reminds us that beowulf, written near the turn of another millennium, was intended to be heard not read. Sep 14, 2016 beowulf free full audiobook online listen authors unknown language west saxon dialect of old english date c. This makes it hard to follow both in story and speech.
This audio book deserves 6 stars, and i 100% recommend this. Seamus heaney, seamus heaney, highbridge, a division of recorded books. Francis barton gummere translates this beautiful poem. Wonderfully grim, austere, beautiful beowulf this is a great audiobook beowulf. Oct 19, 2015 beowulf version 2 audiobook unknown, translated by francis barton gummere 1855 1919 beowulf was composed by an anonymous anglosaxon poet. Beowulf is one of the best books in old english literature that youll ever read listen to.
This feels like an old english translation not a modern english audio book. The story of heroic beowulf and his battles with the monster grendel and also with grendels mother not to mention the dragon is rather awesome. It follows the tale of beowulf the geat for comes to aid of king hrothgar because the kingdom is plagued by a monster named grendel. Beowulf tells the story of a mysterious young warrior who saves the speardanes from the terrible monster grendel and his venomous mother. In the figure of beowulf, the scandinavian warrior, and his struggles against monsters, the unknown author depicts the life and outlook of a pagan age. Thus begins the battle between good and evil, for lying in wait and anxious to challenge the ogre grendel is a young man, strongwilled and firehearted. Mar 29, 2010 listen to beowulf audiobook by anonymous. Hear the epic battle between the hero beowulf and the monster grendel, and then grendels mother. Beowulf was a great story though it ran on at many points. Beowulf unabridged beowulf unabridged audiobook, by c. The different style readings at different paces for every section in this particular audio book took some getting used to.
In this epic poem, beowulf, a hero of the geats, comes to the aid of the king of the danes whose great hall is plagued by the monster grendel. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. Composed toward the end of the first millennium of our era, beowulf is the elegiac narrative of the adventures of beowulf, a scandinavian hero who saves the danes from the seemingly invincible monster grendel and. First page of the beowulf manuscript this scan of the first page of the only surviving manuscript of beowulf shows what the work of anglosaxon scribes actually looked like. The brave warrior, beowulf, comes to the aid of king hrothgar when he hears that grendel, a horrible monster, is terrorizing the inhabitants of hart hall. This brilliant new treatment of the worlds oldest epic is a literary event on par with seamus heaneys wildly popular beowulf translation. Artfully retold and magnificently illustrated, this companion volume to sir gawain and the green knight is made instantly accessible to children by a formidable childrens book partnership. Overall, this free audiobook of beowulf does the job well enough as an introduction to interested audiences but. Download this important work of anglosaxon literature and the oldest surviving epic poem of old english. This is a short but beautiful book, and the gummere translation really captures the feel of the old english. Heaneys performance reminds us that beowulf, written near the turn of another millennium, was intended to be heard not read composed toward the end of the first millennium of our era, beowulf is the.
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