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The Poetic Edda
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Manufacturer: University of Texas Press
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $14.93
You Save: $ 7.02 ( 32% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: University of Texas Press
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Average Customer Rating:
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The Poetic Edda Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 839.61
EAN: 9780292764996
ISBN: 0292764995
Label: University of Texas Press
Manufacturer: University of Texas Press
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 375
Publication Date: 1986
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Studio: University of Texas Press
Dewey Decimal Number: 839.61
EAN: 9780292764996
ISBN: 0292764995
Label: University of Texas Press
Manufacturer: University of Texas Press
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 375
Publication Date: 1986
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Studio: University of Texas Press
Editorial Review of The Poetic Edda
"...the translation may indeed be regarded as the crowning achievement of a great scholar."
—Scandinavian-American Bulletin
The Poetic Edda comprises a treasure trove of mythic and spiritual verse holding an important place in Nordic culture, literature, and heritage. Its tales of strife and death form a repository, in poetic form, of Norse mythology and heroic lore, embodying both the ethical views and the cultural life of the North during the late heathen and early Christian times.
Collected by an unidentified Icelander, probably during the twelfth or thirteenth century, The Poetic Edda was rediscovered in Iceland in the seventeenth century by Danish scholars. Even then its value as poetry, as a source of historical information, and as a collection of entertaining stories was recognized. This meticulous translation succeeds in reproducing the verse patterns, the rhythm, the mood, and the dignity of the original in a revision that Scandinavian Studies says "may well grace anyone's bookshelf."
Customer Reviews of The Poetic Edda
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Great poetry
Review: It is impossible to translate poetry accurately from one language to another. We may be able to translate the sentences literally, but we will miss the subtleties of the form, and the way words are chosen for secondary meanings. Alternatively, we can attempt to emulate the form of the original, making it harder to understand in modern English.
Hollander does the latter. This is necessarily a compromise. However, it is as good a rendering of the poetic form as one could get, while still being intelligible. Even so, it is not as easy to understand as a translation to plain prose.
The answer to the dilemma is to read both types of translation, along with the original if possible. If you take the trouble to become familiar with one of the easier translations like Larrington first, Hollander's is a good way of getting the feel of the poetry before tackling the Old Norse original.
Sweyn
The Rune Primer: A Down to Earth Guide to the Runes
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Best, for the Serious Seeker.
Review: This is wonderful translation of an even better text.
This is a translation of the Poetic Edda that attempts to keep every potent inch of it. For those looking for an easy read, its not. But this never should attempt to be an 'easy read' in the first place. That isn't the goal of the Poetic Edda. If you want to lazily learn about Norse Mtyhs, there are a lot of other options out there.
"The Norse Myths" by Kevin-Crossley-Holland, for example. Easy to read, easy to understand, very accessible that book is. As massivly indepth and insightful as the Poetic Edda is, it is not.
If you want to actually get into the knitty gritty of Norse Mythology, if you actually want to examine it for what it is. This is the ticket. Any attempt to easy it down, would detract from the value of the knowledge carried with in it, which should be exactly what anyone reading this should want to avoid.
Hollander gives us the Kennings as they are, and explains them for what they are. He gives us a description about each text, what it went through to get to use today. If its missing parts, interloping, and general meaning. As well as a description of how the poems should be read.
There are some old words like 'ere' and others that might not ring any bells. They allow the translater to stay a bit more true to the original text. You might have to make a bit of an effort at first whenever one pops up to look to understand it. But its not a steep learning curve, it is English.
This is essential for anyone who is genuinely interested in the Poetic Edda. Meanwhile, anyone looking for stories of Norse myths to idly entertain them, you should probably play down to something more simple.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The only reason this is four stars is that Old Norse takes years to learn
Review: This is not a book for beginners in Old Norse literature. It is, based on my own studies in the area, the best English translation of the Poetic nature of the original.
Yes, you will need to have a full grasp of English to read it (and references available if not).
Yes, it is not a sanitary version which will attempt to ease the reader into the subject matter.
However it treats the old Latin and old Norse versions of the Poetic Edda with sensitivity and is well footnoted is areas of difficulty.
Bellows is based off a single German language copy, is incomplete in extreme and I find Larrington and Dronke's efforts useful as well, but at a cost to the original format, and presentation style of the sources. All are useful, in there own ways, and in niches they alone service.
For the overall most enjoyment and understanding of structure and meter of Poetic Edda though, Hollander is the essential work.
Barring actually learning the source languages, this is as close generally as you will get to actual understand the process, presentation and concepts presented in the collected Poetic Edda works.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Excellent if you want the rhythm and sound
Review: Old Norse poetry is based on two strong beats per half line, usually alliterated:
"he STOLE the SWORD || SALly had SOUGHT"
This is the original sound of proto-Germanic verse, and it appears in many important poems, including the Eddas and Beowulf. Unfortunately, it's a hard style of verse to capture in modern English. Our language's sound and rhythm are different, and we are quickly annoyed by sustained alliteration.
This poses a challenge for students of Old Norse and Old English: How can we develop an ear for a dead language, and hear the sound of this marvellous poetry?
Lee Hollander has solved this thorny problem for us. His translation captures the rhythm of Old Norse, including the tricky double beats, and preserves much of the alliteration without irritating the reader. As he explains in the introduction, you'll need to watch the alliteration to correctly place the stress. But once you do, his poetry works: You can hear the Old Norse rhythm, and get a good feel for the original sound.
To achieve this goal, Hollander makes some sacrifices. He frequently digs for archaic words (many of them hold-overs from Old English), and his sentence structure can be tricky. Frankly, if you're reading the Eddas for the first time, or if you're more interested in the stories than the poetry, you'll probably want a different translation.
But if you already love the Eddas, and you want to hear the sound of Old Norse verse, this is an excellent place to start.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Poetic Edda
Review: I got this translation as my first copy of the Poetic Edda, and I would not recommend it to a beginner. At first I thought it was because I was unfamiliar with the poems that I had so much difficulty understanding it.
I got Larrington's translation, and it is much more readable for a beginner. Nevertheless, I find myself missing the poetic attempts of Ms. Hollander, and especially the footnote, rather than endnote, format.
I give her credit for making the poetic attempt, and I like the format, but if you actually want to understand the content, I'd go with a different translation.
Review Summary: Great poetry
Review: It is impossible to translate poetry accurately from one language to another. We may be able to translate the sentences literally, but we will miss the subtleties of the form, and the way words are chosen for secondary meanings. Alternatively, we can attempt to emulate the form of the original, making it harder to understand in modern English.
Hollander does the latter. This is necessarily a compromise. However, it is as good a rendering of the poetic form as one could get, while still being intelligible. Even so, it is not as easy to understand as a translation to plain prose.
The answer to the dilemma is to read both types of translation, along with the original if possible. If you take the trouble to become familiar with one of the easier translations like Larrington first, Hollander's is a good way of getting the feel of the poetry before tackling the Old Norse original.
Sweyn
The Rune Primer: A Down to Earth Guide to the Runes
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Best, for the Serious Seeker.
Review: This is wonderful translation of an even better text.
This is a translation of the Poetic Edda that attempts to keep every potent inch of it. For those looking for an easy read, its not. But this never should attempt to be an 'easy read' in the first place. That isn't the goal of the Poetic Edda. If you want to lazily learn about Norse Mtyhs, there are a lot of other options out there.
"The Norse Myths" by Kevin-Crossley-Holland, for example. Easy to read, easy to understand, very accessible that book is. As massivly indepth and insightful as the Poetic Edda is, it is not.
If you want to actually get into the knitty gritty of Norse Mythology, if you actually want to examine it for what it is. This is the ticket. Any attempt to easy it down, would detract from the value of the knowledge carried with in it, which should be exactly what anyone reading this should want to avoid.
Hollander gives us the Kennings as they are, and explains them for what they are. He gives us a description about each text, what it went through to get to use today. If its missing parts, interloping, and general meaning. As well as a description of how the poems should be read.
There are some old words like 'ere' and others that might not ring any bells. They allow the translater to stay a bit more true to the original text. You might have to make a bit of an effort at first whenever one pops up to look to understand it. But its not a steep learning curve, it is English.
This is essential for anyone who is genuinely interested in the Poetic Edda. Meanwhile, anyone looking for stories of Norse myths to idly entertain them, you should probably play down to something more simple.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The only reason this is four stars is that Old Norse takes years to learn
Review: This is not a book for beginners in Old Norse literature. It is, based on my own studies in the area, the best English translation of the Poetic nature of the original.
Yes, you will need to have a full grasp of English to read it (and references available if not).
Yes, it is not a sanitary version which will attempt to ease the reader into the subject matter.
However it treats the old Latin and old Norse versions of the Poetic Edda with sensitivity and is well footnoted is areas of difficulty.
Bellows is based off a single German language copy, is incomplete in extreme and I find Larrington and Dronke's efforts useful as well, but at a cost to the original format, and presentation style of the sources. All are useful, in there own ways, and in niches they alone service.
For the overall most enjoyment and understanding of structure and meter of Poetic Edda though, Hollander is the essential work.
Barring actually learning the source languages, this is as close generally as you will get to actual understand the process, presentation and concepts presented in the collected Poetic Edda works.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Excellent if you want the rhythm and sound
Review: Old Norse poetry is based on two strong beats per half line, usually alliterated:
"he STOLE the SWORD || SALly had SOUGHT"
This is the original sound of proto-Germanic verse, and it appears in many important poems, including the Eddas and Beowulf. Unfortunately, it's a hard style of verse to capture in modern English. Our language's sound and rhythm are different, and we are quickly annoyed by sustained alliteration.
This poses a challenge for students of Old Norse and Old English: How can we develop an ear for a dead language, and hear the sound of this marvellous poetry?
Lee Hollander has solved this thorny problem for us. His translation captures the rhythm of Old Norse, including the tricky double beats, and preserves much of the alliteration without irritating the reader. As he explains in the introduction, you'll need to watch the alliteration to correctly place the stress. But once you do, his poetry works: You can hear the Old Norse rhythm, and get a good feel for the original sound.
To achieve this goal, Hollander makes some sacrifices. He frequently digs for archaic words (many of them hold-overs from Old English), and his sentence structure can be tricky. Frankly, if you're reading the Eddas for the first time, or if you're more interested in the stories than the poetry, you'll probably want a different translation.
But if you already love the Eddas, and you want to hear the sound of Old Norse verse, this is an excellent place to start.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Poetic Edda
Review: I got this translation as my first copy of the Poetic Edda, and I would not recommend it to a beginner. At first I thought it was because I was unfamiliar with the poems that I had so much difficulty understanding it.
I got Larrington's translation, and it is much more readable for a beginner. Nevertheless, I find myself missing the poetic attempts of Ms. Hollander, and especially the footnote, rather than endnote, format.
I give her credit for making the poetic attempt, and I like the format, but if you actually want to understand the content, I'd go with a different translation.