Beowulf: An Illustrated Edition
Composed toward the end of the first millennium, Beowulf is the elegiac narrative of the Scandinavian hero who saves the Danes from the seemingly invincible monster Grendel and, later, from Grendel’s mother. Drawn to what is called the “four-squareness of the utterance” in Beowulf and its immense emotional credibility, Seamus Heaney gives the great epic convincing reality for the reader.
But how to visualize the poet’s story has always been a challenge for modern-day readers. In Beowulf: An Illustrated Edition, John D. Niles, a scholar of old English literature, provides visual counterparts to Heaney’s remarkable translation. More than one hundred illustrations — of Viking warships, chain mail, lyres, spearheads, even a reconstruction of the Great Iron Age Hall that once stood where the action is set — make visible Beowulf’s world and the elemental themes of his story: death, divine power, horror, heroism, disgrace, devotion, and fame.
This mysterious world is transformed into one of material splendor as readers view its elegant goblets, dragon images, finely crafted gold jewelry against the backdrop of the Danish landscape of its origins.
Pages: 260 Pages
Writer:John D. Niles
I tried to read the poem before this book came out and was always turned off by the length. Come on, who writes a poem that is 3,182 lines long. Then I got my hands on this book and that all changed. With all the great pictures that go along with the poem, the reading became much more interesting. Oh, by the way when I say it has a lot of pictures I mean it (over one hundred). It is cool to be reading about a weapon that was used in this poem and right next to the reading is a real life example or as close to it as could be found. You can tell by the way the pictures fit in that plenty of time was put into getting the right pictures for each section of the poem. Besides how good the poem becomes, you also are treated to an introduction by the translator himself Seamus Heaney and an afterword by John D. Niles. Both of those have great insights into the poem, the background, and the real life counterparts. For anybody who has not read Beowulf this is the edition to get as it is very good.