Books by J.R.R.Tolkien - Beowulf and the Finnesburg Fragment
Short Description:
The book is translated into modern English prose by John R. Clark Hall, with prefatory remarks by J R R Tolkien. tolkien's essay is one of the best and most authoritative on the difficult subject of metre and stress. His point also is that a prose version (any version) cannot substitute for the original. Point taken, but most of us of course read Homer etc in translation: its all right for Tolkien et al when "everyone" learnt Greek, Latin, and Old English etc ! Of course even a prose translation helps in understanding and learning to read the poem in the original.
The book is translated into modern English prose by John R. Clark Hall, with prefatory remarks by J R R Tolkien. tolkien's essay is one of the best and most authoritative on the difficult subject of metre and stress. His point also is that a prose version (any version) cannot substitute for the original. Point taken, but most of us of course read Homer etc in translation: its all right for Tolkien et al when "everyone" learnt Greek, Latin, and Old English etc ! Of course even a prose translation helps in understanding and learning to read the poem in the original.
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