From the acclaimed translator of sir gawain and the green knight, a spellbinding. A recipient of numerous prizes and awards, he has published twelve collections of poetry, including seeing stars 2010, the unaccompanied 2017, sandetti e light vessel automatic 2019 and his acclaimed translation of sir gawain and the green knight 2007. Preserved on a single surviving manuscript dating from around 1400, composed by an anonymous master, sir gawain and the green knight was rediscovered only 200 years ago, and published for the first time in 1839. Sir gawain and the green knight a new verse translation 9780393060485. In 2018, faber publsihed a new illustrated edition in which the medieval poems key episodes have been visualised into a series of bold, richly textured screenprints by british artist clive hicksjenkins.
For jrr tolkien, gawain is a fairy tale for adults. Sir gawain and the green knight a new verse translation paperback quantity add to cart sku. We kick it off with a kind of mythological history lesson, including some references to the trojan war and aeneas which you can learn more about in our guide to virgils aeneid and homers iliad the narrator says that when the siege of troy had ended and the city was burnt to the ground. They are reproduced here, alongside armitages revised text, to create a special edition of this marvellous classic. Sir gawain and the green knight a new verse translation. His lecture as oxford professor of poetry about sir gawain and the green knght is available as a podcast here. Sir gawain and the green knight trans simon armitage. Simon armitages bbc documentary on sir gawain and the green knight is available on the bbc website. Bbc radio 4s in our time discussed sir gawain and the green knight with guests laura ashe, simon armiatge and ad putter. Sir gawain and the green knight, translated by simon armitage.
Buy sir gawain and the green knight by simon armitage from waterstones today. Simon armitages sir gawain and the green knight is a thrilling and accessible. He rides into arthurs court on new years eve almost as if summoned by the kings request to hear a marvelous story. These first 36 lines serve as a kind of introduction to the story of sir gawain and the green knight. Simon armitage translates sir gawain and the green knight for a. Sir gawain and the green knight, folio society abebooks. Sir gawain and the green knight is a masterpiece of medieval literature. One of our most ingenious interpreters of middle english, oxford professor of poetry simon armitage is celebrated for his compulsively. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk delivery on orders over. Contains the greatest oh fuck moment in medieval literature. Sir gawain and the green knight translated by simon. Its language and form put it beyond the reach even of readers who can make their way through chaucer, who was a near contemporary of the anonymous gawain poet. This excellent book is a modern translation by simon armitage of an old anonymous medieval poem about an arthurian myth.
Sir gawain and the green knight by simon armitage and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Simon armitage is the awardwinning poet and translator of both sir gawain and the green knight and the death of king arthur, as well as several works of poetry. One of the earliest great stories of english literature, after beowulf, the poem narrates the strange tale of a green knight on a green horse, who rudely interrupts. Simon armitages melodious interpretation of this 600yearold medieval english. Sir gawain green knight by simon armitage abebooks. Get an answer for do you have any info on sir gawain and the green knight by simon armitage. Sir gawain and the green knight narrates in crystalline verse the strange tale of a green knight who rudely interrupts the round table festivities one yuletide, casting a pall of unease over the company and challenging one of. It is one of the best known arthurian stories, with its plot combining two types of folk motifs, the beheading game and the exchange of winnings. Following in the tradition of seamus heaney, simon armitage, one of englands leading poets, has produced a virtuoso new translation that resounds with both clarity and verve.
Sir gawain and the green knight, 2008, folio society. Sir gawain and the green knight by simon armitage, 9780571223282. Volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain, and then. Sir gawain and the green knight small press distribution. It was composed in the west midlands region of britain at the end of the 14th century. Simon armitage translates sir gawain and the green knight. Any knight brave enough to strike off the green knights head may keep the green knights ax, but that man must accept a return stroke in one year. Sir gawain and the green knight audiobook simon armitage. Why does sir gawain and the green knight demand to be. Sir gawain and the green knight audiobook by simon. Tolkien to seamus heaney, it is at once a stirring supernatural adventure and a profound meditation on courage, loyalty and human imperfection. Simon armitage was born in west yorkshire and is professor of poetry at the university of leeds. The material is taken from sir gawain and the green knight, an english poem written in the latter half of the 14th.
This meter, which was native in old english, had been invaded and transformed, three centuries before the gawain poets time. Sir gawain and the green knight poetry books faber. Sir gawain and the green knight the famous middle english poem by an anonymous english poet is beautifully translated by fellow poet simon armitage in this edition. Ian mckellens reading will be broadcast on radio 4, december 21. Sir gawain and the green knight listed here as written by unknown, though i believe it may have been penned by that prolific greek author anonymous is a classic tale from arthurian legend in which the code of honor attributed to chivalry is heavily ensconced. The knight picks up his severed head and leaves, telling gawain to look for the green chapel. Sir gawain and the green knight bbc documentary youtube. It is entirely appropriate that this new translation of sir gawain and the green knight, a long 14thcentury poem from the english midlands by an anonymous author, should be published in the. Be the first to ask a question about sir gawain and the green knight.
His supernatural characteristics, such as his ability to survive decapitation and his green complexion, immediately mark him as a foreboding figure. Joining translators such as jrr tolkien and ted hughes, simon armitage takes on one of the earliest stories told in english. Written in stanzas of alliterative verse, each of which ends in a rhyming bob and wheel, it draws on welsh. Sir gawain and the green knight narrates in crystalline verse the strange tale of a green knight who rudely interrupts the round table festivities one yuletide, casting a pall of unease over the company and challenging one of their number to a wager. Sir gawain and the green knight the british library. Sir gawain and the green knight was rediscovered only 200 years ago, and published for the first time in 1839. The book reproduces the images alongside armitages revised text. Sir gawain and the green knight is one of the finest surviving examples of middle english poetry, but little is known about the author except hints that he came from the north of england.
The green knight is a mysterious, supernatural creature. Sir gawain and the green knight is one of the finest surviving examples of. Sir gawain and the green knight by simon armitage overview one of the earliest great stories of english literature after. Simon armitages highly acclaimed 2009 translation of sir gawain and the green knight has sold over 100,000 copies worldwide. Buy sir gawain and the green knight 97805740163 by simon. Poet simon armitage goes on the trail of one of the jewels in the crown of british poetry, sir gawain and the green knight, written about 600 years ago by an.
Simon armitages version is meticulously responsive to the tact, sophistication and dramatic intensity of the original. There are many interpretations of the poems meaning, and. Sir gawain and the green knight by simon armitage, clive. Gawain accepts the challenge and cuts off the green knights head. His quest for the green knight involves a winter journey, a seduction scene in a dreamlike castle, a dire challenge answered and a drama of enigmatic reward disguised as psychic undoing. What follows is a test of nerve and heart as gawain travels north to meet his destiny at the green chapel in a years time. Sir gawain and the green knight simon armitage the. It tells the tale of a knight of the round table,sir gawain,who takes on a bizarre challenge put up to camelot by a sort of green ogre who intrudes on their new year festivities. Simon armitage is the awardwinning poet and translator of both sir gawain and the green knight and the death of king arthur, as well as several works of poetry, prose, and drama. Do you have any info on sir gawain and the green knight by. It is as if, six hundred years apart, two poets set out on a journey through the same mesmeric landscape physical, allegorical and acoustic in the course of which the gawain poet has finally found his true translator. Sir gawain and the green knight is a librivox recording librivox disclaimer. Editions of sir gawain and the green knight by unknown.
It is a mirror into the world of chivalry in the time of the middle ages. How could fellow poet and northerner simon armitage resist the challenge of. Sir gawain and the green knight sir ian mckellen is the narrator in this new, contemporary translation from the medieval verse by poet simon armitage of the poem that has become known as sir gawain and the green knight. Simon armitage goes on a journey to discover the language and landscape of our first great arthurian romance, sir gawain and the green knight. The anonymous poem sir gawain and the green knight is considered one of the masterpieces of middle english literature a story of knightly deeds, sexual enticement and wild landscapes. Sir gawain and the green knight seldom receives its due as an enduring piece of early english literature. The poem is brilliantly interpreted into modern english by simon armitage. What is sir gawain and the green knight about gawain tells the story of a young knight at the legendary court of king. The paperback of the sir gawain and the green knight. The virtuous gawain accepts and then decapitates the intruder with his own axe. Sir gawain and the green knight translated by jessie l. The poet simon armitage retains the lyricism of the original but, you really need.
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