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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
A cool little book exploring one more of Tolkiens' professorial work/hobbies. Divided roughly into 4 parts:
1. The poems. These are pretty cool and what you want the book for. In themselves they are very good and short. Which is why you need the next 3 parts.
2. An essay on Old English pronunciation. The least entertaining, but if you're into it, go for it.
3. The old versions. Much as everything Tolkien wrote, he had a lot of versions. People pick over them in minutiae. Final version is best though, and it really shows I have a preference for alliteration. It rings soo much better.
4. Also obligatory is the references and connections to LotR. Which are sometimes a bit thinly stretched, but still interesting.
1. The poems. These are pretty cool and what you want the book for. In themselves they are very good and short. Which is why you need the next 3 parts.
2. An essay on Old English pronunciation. The least entertaining, but if you're into it, go for it.
3. The old versions. Much as everything Tolkien wrote, he had a lot of versions. People pick over them in minutiae. Final version is best though, and it really shows I have a preference for alliteration. It rings soo much better.
4. Also obligatory is the references and connections to LotR. Which are sometimes a bit thinly stretched, but still interesting.
While incredibly impressive in its scope and the translation and historical work undertaken originally by Tolkien, this is a terribly dry and dull book with snippets of interesting history and prose. Only worth reading if you are a diehard Tolkien fan.
This is not a book for someone who is just a “Tolkien enjoyer” - it is of infinitely more use and interest to a scholar interested in Old English verse. The fact that Tolkien is the lecturer is appealing, but ultimately not of much consequence outside of Tolkien’s own “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth” and prose translation of “The Battle of Maldon”, both of which are brief. The bulk of the text is comprised of helpful footnotes and appendices to both, compiled by the author, as well as a few lengthy lectures and essays by Tolkien on Old English verse in general. It is very academic.
My own experience with Old English only consists of having read Beowulf a couple of times, and thus I don’t really have the background to fully appreciate this book. But, for my part, I can see no flaws in it. The author does an excellent job of compiling Tolkien’s materials on the subject, without muddying the waters with his own commentary. When his commentary is present, it always seemed helpful and appropriate. I am inspired to read more Old English poetry as a result of this book, and will probably read it again once I have a better footing in the genre.
My own experience with Old English only consists of having read Beowulf a couple of times, and thus I don’t really have the background to fully appreciate this book. But, for my part, I can see no flaws in it. The author does an excellent job of compiling Tolkien’s materials on the subject, without muddying the waters with his own commentary. When his commentary is present, it always seemed helpful and appropriate. I am inspired to read more Old English poetry as a result of this book, and will probably read it again once I have a better footing in the genre.
adventurous
medium-paced
Another Tolkien book to finally tick off the tbr! And it’s another one of Tolkien’s Old English poetry translations that I’m always fascinated by. Whilst Tolkien is obviously best known for his works on Middle Earth, I absolutely adore looking at his other works and I love seeing his mind trying to work out all of these old poems and epics that would have been his bread and butter as a Professor at Oxford.
It’s also interesting seeing these poems that I usually have never heard of before and looking at Tolkien’s translations and his notes give me an insight into British poetry that I would never have known existed before seeing these books. It does have the downside of making me sad that I will never be able to know what one of Tolkien’s lectures would be like but I’m going to have to live with that.
This one did have a slightly different feel to it than the ones that were collected and edited by Christopher Tolkien, but I guess that has to be expected seeing as Christopher has sadly passed away and there is a completely different editor now looking over these works.
It’s also interesting seeing these poems that I usually have never heard of before and looking at Tolkien’s translations and his notes give me an insight into British poetry that I would never have known existed before seeing these books. It does have the downside of making me sad that I will never be able to know what one of Tolkien’s lectures would be like but I’m going to have to live with that.
This one did have a slightly different feel to it than the ones that were collected and edited by Christopher Tolkien, but I guess that has to be expected seeing as Christopher has sadly passed away and there is a completely different editor now looking over these works.
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Informative read, I had hoped the pieces of tekst would have gone mostly about the Battle of Maldon, but it is more of an analysis of medieval poems and the Homecoming. Also it would have been preferable if the poems were there in Old English as well, because a lot of the analysis uses only the original sentences and not the translated sentences you have in this book.
I'm glad to have stumbled across this. I learned about The Battle of Maldon when I otherwise wouldn't have come anywhere close to it.
Besides his prose translation of the poem fragment describing the battle and Beorhtnoth's death, you get Tolkien's own two-man play in verse set after the battle. I like the thought of Tolkien being so struck by the original that he wrote his own sequel. You could see it as fanfic of another time.
Besides his prose translation of the poem fragment describing the battle and Beorhtnoth's death, you get Tolkien's own two-man play in verse set after the battle. I like the thought of Tolkien being so struck by the original that he wrote his own sequel. You could see it as fanfic of another time.
adventurous
dark
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
informative
medium-paced