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A review by cryo_guy
The Green Knight (Movie Tie-In) by Anonymous
4.0
I read this because some friends invited me to watch the new movie. I also happened to come across a bbc podcast from In Our Time about the poem which I listened to all in preparation for the movie. I had a real fun time with all of it and the movie was pretty decent. To be honest, I think I had built it up a bit too much in my head and while it was stunning visually, it lacked a certain narrative integrity. That isn't to say it didn't make sense, it just preferred to tell the story differently. It embraced a sort of vagueness, which one might argue is in the spirit of the original poem. Nevertheless, I feel like some of the themes I explored in my reading of the poem weren't utilized as much as they could have been for the movie (plus Morgan le Fay is Gawain's mom? Really throws a wrench in things. Or a holly branch at the very least). I can't stress enough though that the movie is very beautiful and visually dynamic.
At any rate, let's get to this book! So I thought O'Donoghue did a pretty decent job although he's left me wondering what Tolkien's is like. I think his translation is imminently accessible, but in parts lacks a certain lyrical verve. Other times, it does really well with what I understand is the general formula-rhyming, meter, alliteration, etc.-for this poem and its genre. All in all, a worthy translation. The poem itself was fun for me to finally read for the first time and really doesnt suffer from being boring because its so short. Good stuff.
At any rate, let's get to this book! So I thought O'Donoghue did a pretty decent job although he's left me wondering what Tolkien's is like. I think his translation is imminently accessible, but in parts lacks a certain lyrical verve. Other times, it does really well with what I understand is the general formula-rhyming, meter, alliteration, etc.-for this poem and its genre. All in all, a worthy translation. The poem itself was fun for me to finally read for the first time and really doesnt suffer from being boring because its so short. Good stuff.