poikilia's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
christian_mcguire's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't like this book very much. Edited and translated by Michael Alexander, this is a greatest hits compilation of Old English poetry from the time of the Anglo-Saxons. The concept is great but somewhat flawed; I was hoping for something a little more exhaustive while also excluding anything covered by other editions. This was neither. First and foremost, the editing is not good. Alexander does include the best poems surviving, such as Brunanburh, Maldon, The Wanderer, The Seafarer, and The Ruin, as well as some lesser known poems and novelties. However, some of the poems are presented incompletely by choice, such as The Phoenix. Additionally, some of the riddles are included but not all. Penguin Classics already has an edition (The Exeter Book Riddles) that has all of them, so their presence here is redundant. The same can be said of several passages from Beowulf. Ultimately, the obligatory poems are here, but there's plenty of material I feel I missed out on, and material that my time was wasted on. Also, this book is 70% Michael Alexander and 30% poetry. He does far too much introducing. There is an introduction at the start and an introduction for each poem. Contained within are explanations for his translation and historical tidbits, alongside unnecessary technical detail that I could have just gotten by reading the poem. On account of the editing, I feel ripped off. I want to read more Anglo-Saxon poetry now, but that is because of Alexander's failures, not his successes.
The other big problem is Alexander's translation. If you're reading this book, its either because you're a student studying this stuff or because you just want to read poetry. This translation is clearly geared towards the first camp, and neglectful towards the second. The approach he takes basically is to re-create the oral aspects of this poetry. Anglo-Saxon poetry was primarily oral, and only sometimes was it written down. Therefor, he explicitly states that he expects the reader to read this out loud, and to attempt to mimic the highly specific meter when doing so. That is simply asking too much. I'm here to read and study historical poetry, not to larp. He also neglects alliteration somewhat, which is one of the best aspects of Anglo-Saxon poetry, and one that can be appreciated without reading out loud. The main problem however is the lack of readability and clarity. The translation isn't 100%. Old English and Modern English aren't completely seperate and there is a portion of vocabulary that doesn't absolutely have to be translated, but still should. He doesn't. Between that and a translation focused on meter and not readability for the casual audience, I found this confusing and hard to read at times. This is not the first time I've read The Ruin, Beowulf or Exeter Riddles, and I've seen all three much better translated multiple times each. The Ruin in particular is frankly butchered.
Overall, the Anglo-Saxons had a truly wonderful poetic tradition, and Alexander's editing work poorly represents it. He wastes valuable pages on poetry that can be found elsewhere. If I want to just read Beowulf or the Exeter Riddles again, I can just get those books out of my shelf. I understand that the Exeter Riddles are more obscure, but if you're reading this book, chances are you've already read Beowulf. Meanwhile, in focusing on the greatest hits, he's somewhat cagey. This book is just too short and doesn't have enough stuff, and what it does have, not all of it is necessary. Plus there is just too much introductory material. If I were in charge of this book's production, I would have had about half as much introductory material, I would have excluded the riddles and Beowulf passages, and included the more obscure and niche poems that are not present, and of course gotten a different person to do the translation. Overall, if you want a good cursory knowledge of Old English poetry by reading its highlights and the history of the genre, this ain't it chief.
The other big problem is Alexander's translation. If you're reading this book, its either because you're a student studying this stuff or because you just want to read poetry. This translation is clearly geared towards the first camp, and neglectful towards the second. The approach he takes basically is to re-create the oral aspects of this poetry. Anglo-Saxon poetry was primarily oral, and only sometimes was it written down. Therefor, he explicitly states that he expects the reader to read this out loud, and to attempt to mimic the highly specific meter when doing so. That is simply asking too much. I'm here to read and study historical poetry, not to larp. He also neglects alliteration somewhat, which is one of the best aspects of Anglo-Saxon poetry, and one that can be appreciated without reading out loud. The main problem however is the lack of readability and clarity. The translation isn't 100%. Old English and Modern English aren't completely seperate and there is a portion of vocabulary that doesn't absolutely have to be translated, but still should. He doesn't. Between that and a translation focused on meter and not readability for the casual audience, I found this confusing and hard to read at times. This is not the first time I've read The Ruin, Beowulf or Exeter Riddles, and I've seen all three much better translated multiple times each. The Ruin in particular is frankly butchered.
Overall, the Anglo-Saxons had a truly wonderful poetic tradition, and Alexander's editing work poorly represents it. He wastes valuable pages on poetry that can be found elsewhere. If I want to just read Beowulf or the Exeter Riddles again, I can just get those books out of my shelf. I understand that the Exeter Riddles are more obscure, but if you're reading this book, chances are you've already read Beowulf. Meanwhile, in focusing on the greatest hits, he's somewhat cagey. This book is just too short and doesn't have enough stuff, and what it does have, not all of it is necessary. Plus there is just too much introductory material. If I were in charge of this book's production, I would have had about half as much introductory material, I would have excluded the riddles and Beowulf passages, and included the more obscure and niche poems that are not present, and of course gotten a different person to do the translation. Overall, if you want a good cursory knowledge of Old English poetry by reading its highlights and the history of the genre, this ain't it chief.
xolotlll's review against another edition
5.0
These poems are very short and for the most part quite easy to read. Most of them are melancholy meditations on loss, revealing a time and place where life was short and painful and people had a deep appreciation for the simplest things. These poems express a very personal view of a people's intense love of home and hearth, and their profound need to belong.
jayceebond's review against another edition
Read Beowulf, The Wanderer, and The Seafarer for school
laura_trap's review against another edition
4.0
So much battle and mead drinking. That's basically the entirety of this little collection, but a worth while read. These poems are perfect for anyone interested in the social, economic, and political atmosphere of Britain after the fall of Rome. This was an age of heroes and clans and mead drinking and weaving stories long into the night. I followed the translator's advice when I could and read many of these poem's aloud, and the cadence is amazing. The lilting aspect to each poem is beautiful and truly brings you back to a time when bards would stand in the center of a hall and tell these stories. Each poem is more than just fancy, but exemplifies the strength of a clan, the fierce loyalty among those under a liege-lord, of the uncertain world in which they lived that was fraught with battle and blood shed. And for such a simple language, there were phrases of utmost beauty mixed with the lines of each poem. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading these poems.
"That went by, this may too"
"That went by, this may too"
graywacke's review
4.0
My Listy post: Wasn‘t sure what to expect. It was nice, the poems, and then I encountered The Wanderer and The Seafarer (the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon manuscript is below). You have to understand these were completely new to me. They have such a different perspective compared to everything I know of that‘s older. They look inward at an emotional state in their own kind of touching way. And to imagine, as I currently am, that they just came out of the mist.
Some reference links for anyone curious (note, these are long poems):
Michael R. Burch's The Seafarer - decent, easy to understand translation
Ezra Pound's The Seafarer - a classic translation. This takes some work to get through...but it's quite something.
Sean Miller's The Wanderer - decent, easy to understand translation, with a note about Tolkien's LoRT
39. The Earliest English Poems by Michael Alexander
published: 1966, revised 1977, 1991
format: 200 page Kindle ebook
acquired: Aug 3
read: Aug 8-16
time reading: 8 hr 4 min, 2.8 min/page
rating: 4
Some reference links for anyone curious (note, these are long poems):
Michael R. Burch's The Seafarer - decent, easy to understand translation
Ezra Pound's The Seafarer - a classic translation. This takes some work to get through...but it's quite something.
Sean Miller's The Wanderer - decent, easy to understand translation, with a note about Tolkien's LoRT
39. The Earliest English Poems by Michael Alexander
published: 1966, revised 1977, 1991
format: 200 page Kindle ebook
acquired: Aug 3
read: Aug 8-16
time reading: 8 hr 4 min, 2.8 min/page
rating: 4
kristi_asleep_dreaming's review against another edition
The Earliest English Poems (Penguin Classics) by Various (1992)
More...