Book: Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, by J.R.R, Tolkien
One does not casually read Beowulf. It takes commitment. It also takes a good translation, and few were better at that than Oxford don J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Houghton Mifflin
4 stars
Tish Wells
One does not casually read Beowulf. It takes commitment. It also takes a good translation, and few were better at that than Oxford don J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
His son, Christopher, has finally published Tolkien's version of Beowulf. As he says in his prologue, his father wrote the translation in 1926 before he went to Oxford as professor of Anglo-Saxon history. He would continue to study the poem for decades and lecture on it, but did not produce another translation.
Beowulf, a classic man-versus-monsters tale, was originally written in Old English between the 8th and 12th century. The only existing copy is in the British Museum.
In it, a young prince, Beowulf, goes to the aid of a king whose great hall is under attack by a monster, Grendel, known for killing and eating warriors. Beowulf fights Grendel, follows the wounded monster to its lair, meets its evil mother, and kills them both.
The king gives Beowulf lots of gold, the prince sails home and becomes king of his own country.