Beowulf audiobook by anonymous 9781470348342 rakuten kobo. Download and keep this book for free with a 30 day trial. 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. Beowulf modern english translation by anonymous poetry. Translated and with an introduction by burton raffel and an afterword by roberta frank. Librivox recording of beowulf by an unknown author translated by francis barton gummere.
Download hundreds of free audio books, mostly classics, to your mp3 player or computer. Beowulf was originally written in old english by an unknown anglosaxon poet sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries. 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. It is one of the most important works of old english literature. The sixth book of virgils aeneid, in which aeneas travels into the underworld to meet the spirit of his father, is a story that captivated seamus heaney from his schooldays. As you can hear in the beowulf reading above from the telegraph, its a thick, consonantrich language that may put you in mind of j.
It is one of the most important works of anglosaxon literature. Librivox recording of beowulf, translated by francis barton gummere 18551919. This is a short but beautiful book, and the gummere translation really captures the feel of the old english. Audibles beowulf recaptures the heroic style and vast scale of what can be considered englands first native audiobook. Buy beowulf by michael morpurgo, michael foreman, michael foreman isbn. 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. Beowulf version 2 audiobook unknown, translated by francis barton gummere 1855 1919 beowulf was composed by an. On the second leg of our librivox world tour, lets stay in the southern hemisphere. Get 50% off this audiobook at the audiobooksnow online audio book store and download or stream it right to your computer, smartphone or tablet. Long a mainstay of english literature 101 courses at universities around the world, it is not only. 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. But the work took on a special significance for him after the death of his own father, becoming a touchstone to which he would return as an adult. Francis barton gummere translates this beautiful poem. 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.
Michael morpurgo author, michael foreman illustrator 4. You can also read the full text online using our ereader. Beowulf is an old english epic poem written anonymously around 975 ad. The main character, beowulf, proves himself a hero as he battles against supernatural demons and beasts. A great story to be listened to, this audio book is well read by tad e. See a complete list of the characters in beowulf and indepth analyses of beowulf, grendel, hrothgar, unferth, wiglaf, grendels mother, and the dragon. 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. Considered one of the most important pieces of english literature, beowulf has gripped audiences for over 1,000 years. Listen to beowulf by seamus heaney for free with a 30 day free trial. This man is beowulf, whose heroic dragonslaying deeds were sung in the courts of anglosaxon england more than a thousand years ago. Beowulf is an oldenglish epic poem telling the tale of the scandinavian hero, beowulf and his battles with monstrous creatures such as the savage grendel. Heaneys performance reminds us that beowulf, written near the turn of another millennium, was intended to be heard not read. 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.
While the tale of beowulf is set in scandinavia the epic poem was written in england somewhere between the 8th and 11th centuries. 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. Home classics beowulf free audio book beowulf is an oldenglish epic poem telling the tale of the scandinavian hero, beowulf and his battles with monstrous creatures such as the savage grendel. For further information, including links to online text, reader information, rss feeds, cd cover or other formats if available, please go to the librivox catalog page for this recording. A new york times bestseller and whitbread book of the year. Written a thousand years ago, this long poem is the very first surviving piece of english literature. The noble simplicity of beowulfs anonymous anglosaxon singer is recaptured in this vivid translation by burton raffel. The best option that helped me understand completely was reading sparks notes after each chapter. Plus, youll get an additional audiobook per month after trial.
The noble simplicity of beowulf s anonymous anglosaxon singer is recaptured in this vivid translation by burton raffel. Beowulf tells the story of a mysterious young warrior who saves the speardanes from the terrible monster grendel and his venomous mother. Beowulf rings with beauty, power, and artistry that have kept it alive for a thousand years. Wulfgar spake, the wendles chieftain, whose might of mind to many was known. Beowulf was composed by an anonymous anglosaxon poet. Written by seamus heaney, narrated by seamus heaney. Beowulf translation by seamus heaney highbridge audio. When sleep was at its deepest, night at its blackest, up from the mistfilled marsh came grendel stalking. After trial, get 1 audiobook and 2 audible originals each month. Heres where youll find analysis about the book as a whole, from the major themes and ideas to. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg.
Beowulf, the epic tale of adventure that follows beowulf as he battles grendel, grendels mother, and later becomes king. Tolkien, author of the lord of the rings, delivered a famous lecture to the british academy in 1936 in which he maintained that. 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 heynesocin text and glossary have been closely. Hear the epic battle between the hero beowulf and the monster grendel, and then grendels mother. Join beowulf, a young warrior, as he achieves glory by fighting and killing three fantastic monsters.
The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars. 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. This is a short but beautiful book, and the gummere translation really captures the feel of the. The language arrived in britonpreviously inhabited by celtic speakerssometime in the fifth century, though whether the anglosaxon invasion was a hostile takeover by germanic mercenaries or a slow population drift that.
Top 100 free audio books that you can download in mp3, ipod and itunes format for your portable audio player. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. Germanic paganism and the christianity of the early middle ages sprung one of the worlds supremely great pieces of literature. The language arrived in britonpreviously inhabited by celtic speakerssometime in the fifth century, though whether the anglosaxon invasion was a hostile takeover by germanic mercenaries or a slow population drift that introduced a. Download this important work of anglosaxon literature and the oldest surviving epic poem of old english. Listen to beowulf translated by seamus heaney by anonymous available from rakuten kobo. 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. Beowulf is the conventional title of an old english epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in scandinavia, the oldest surviving epic poem of old english and thus commonly cited as one of the most important works of anglosaxon literature, and also arguably the earliest vernacular english literature. Read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis. Librivox should be your first stop when looking for audio books. This book is available for free download in a number of formats including epub, pdf, azw, mobi and more.
More than 3,000 lines long, beowulf relates the exploits of its eponymous hero, and his successive battles with a monster named grendel, with grendels revengeful mother, and with a dragon which was guarding a hoard of treasure. Originally written in old english, this translation by francis barton gummere updates it to modern english. This new translation, by the nobel laureate poet seamus heaney, offers modern listeners an accessible, intensely dramatic text. Long a mainstay of english literature 101 courses at universities. The main character, beowulf, proves himself a hero as he battles against supernatural demons. The present work is a modest effort to reproduce approximately, in modern measures, the venerable epic, beowulf. Beowulf unabridged beowulf unabridged audiobook, by c. This translation, by professor francis gummere, was first published in. Beowulf is the longest epic poem in old english, the language spoken in anglosaxon england before the norman conquest. Beowulf stands as one of the first and greatest works of english literature. May 04, 2000 a new york times bestseller and whitbread book of the year.
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. Heaneys performance reminds us that beowulf, written near. Beowulf free audio book description beowulf is an oldenglish epic poem telling the tale of the scandinavian hero, beowulf and his battles with monstrous creatures such as the savage grendel. Things seem to get better, but if you prefer to stay home still, follow us to southern europe with 10 gems from our catalog. But in each chapter there are five sections so one chapter of beowulf here equals one section in sparksnotes.
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