Beowulf: An Illustrated Edition

I picked up the 'normal' paper-back version of Seamus Heaney's Beowulf a few years back. As far as translations go it is obviously difficult to gauge against the surfeit of those available today. I can say with confidence though Heaney does a magnificent job preserving the original flavour of the poem whilst bringing it into a contemporary reading. I was pleasantly surprised to see that an illustrated version was available to purchase and despite having the exact same thing un-illustrated, I decided to make the buy. I would venture to say that this is the definitive version of Beowulf to possess. The illustrations really provide a type of context that is imperative to appreciating the epic poem. The main reason is due to the Anglo-Saxon era itself. Most of us are familiar with the Classical Era and the later High Middles Ages, but the time period Beowulf occurs in can seem a bit foggy as it is not quite as popular as some of it 'competitors.' The photographs are richly diverse and enable one to acquire a solid envisioning of what life was like during that time. If you can only have one version of Beowulf gracing your bookshelf, make it this one!

This book is gorgeous, inside and out. Heaney's translation is beautiful and the illustrator picked pictures that were very helpful in understanding the story. There were even mini summaries of certain paragraphs on most pages, which really helped a lot and made it a very easy read. As a book lover, and as a university student studying archaeology and European history, this copy is just perfect and did not disappoint.

This version of Beowulf has a great deal to offer to the reader in terms of its sound, content, and visuals. I started by reading the section of the introduction entitled "The Poem." It gives the historical background of the Beowulf manuscript, and more importantly it helps the reader know what to look for in the structure of the text. For example, I looked for the "three archetypal sites of fear" described by Heaney: the "barricaded night-house," the "infested underwater current," and the "reptile-haunted rocks of a wilderness" when I read the poetry about Beowulf's heroic deeds fighting Grendel, Grendel's Mother, and the dragon. In the next section "About This Translation," Heaney describes his patterns for the alliteration that give the poem its distinctive sound. I am a museum lover, so I enjoyed the pictures of swords and the wonderful artifacts found at the burial sites and in the bogs. I found myself showing some of them to others. My dentist admired the picture of a metal boar meant to illustrate decorations on war gear. I also found myself showing off some of the pictures of gold pendants and necklaces to various people to explain how a gold hoard was an important sign of civilization and prosperity in the culture of the Danes and the Geats. At the end of the book, in an "Afterword," Professor Niles writes about visualizing the narrative and explains his rational for choosing the various types of illustrations. For example, the outdoor photos that illustrate concepts such as "night-shapes" at sunset are meant to establish a scene in the poem or to create an analogue to it according to Niles. When I came upon an instance of two textual pages together without an illustration or a photo, I missed seeing one there. To me that proves that the visuals did illuminate the text. So, I thought that everything was well done, and it is refreshing to see a publisher support such an artistic effort. It must have taken a big budget and a lot of effort to put this book together.

This edition of the poem is simply a piece of art. The quality of the book is brilliant: from the paper itself to the illustrations, every detail is beautiful. Regarding the translation, honestly, I will not say anything new about it; Seamus Heaney made a fantastic job, his detailed work is, perhaps, one of the greatest translations ever in every language: The music of the Anglo-Saxon can be clearly heard in Heaney's words. Definitely, this edition is a comprehensive work that every book lover must have.

It’s a nice copy with good illustrations and helpful explanations on the sidebar. The book is thick which makes it look like the story is longer than it is.

This is a kind of "coffee-table" edition of Beowulf. Loaded with great pictures to support the text, one on every other page, the book weighs too much for me to hold it in comfort. My own problem, most likely, but I bought the Kindle edition to read the poem and glance through this book for the atmosphere it creates for the poem.

This is a wonderful book with many full page photos of artifacts (that are fully credited)that align with the story. Helpful notes on names, translation notes, and family tree. Highly recommended

I teach Beo to my HS Juniors and wish I could buy one for all 80 of them. I have given this book away twice to students who are especially smitten by Beowulf and plan to do so again. The translation is powerful, moving, and makes my man Beo look somewhat less like an arrogant fool. The illustrations are on point. Seamus Heaney has made an invaluable contribution of Eng. Lit. Thanks . . .

MUY RECOMENDABLE..

Great book. A wonderful telling by Heaney. The illustrated version immerses you in the period. As for the book as a physical object, it had crushed corners due to lazy packers who use envelope style packaging for most books when they should be using packaging with secure internal flaps so the book doesn't move in transit. Has happened to the last 3 books ordered. Losing my faith in Amazon as a book supplier.

Gorgeously illustrated and translated copy of Beowulf. I have no regrets on this purchase.

Fantastic. Of course, Seamus Heaney's translation is way out there great. You should listen to this poet performing the text on the CD's, too. Or on YouTube, by the way. But the illustrations really expand the enjoyment of it all. I visited the Dublin museum in Dublin with all the Viking stuff, and I can recommend that, too.

Without doubt, this is the second most beautiful book I have ever received from Amazon. It is superb in content and presentation and is exactly what I wanted. I would like to see some other books as beautifully presented and stay within the confines of reasonable price. Very pleasing indeed