Beowulf full audiobook greatestaudiobooks v2 youtube. He is a monster, grendel, and all who know of him live in fear. He also represents the ideal lord and vassal, generous to his own men while fulfilling all the forms of courtesy at court. Of all old anglosaxon poems, beowulf is the greatest. Feb 27, 2003 through its blend of myth and history, beowulf vividly evokes a twilight world in which men and supernatural forces live side by side. The brave warrior, beowulf, comes to the aid of king hrothgar when he hears that grendel, a horrible monster, is terrorizing the inhabitants of hart hall.
This is a short but beautiful book, and the gummere translation really captures the feel of the old english. Complete epic poetry beowulf by unknown rg librivox. Germanic paganism and the christianity of the early middle ages sprung one of the worlds supremely great pieces of literature. For more than seventy years, penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the englishspeaking world. Mar 29, 2010 beowulf is our only native english heroic epic. In the figure of beowulf, the scandinavian warrior, and his struggles against monsters, the unknown author depicts the life and outlook of a pagan age. The poem was inspired by the oral tradition anglosaxon and germanic transcribed a verse epic, recounting the exploits of beowulf hero who gave his name to the poem, on which are grafted. Hrothgar offers rich rewards of twisted gold if beowulf can find and kill the monster and escape with his life. Grendel comes, the great marchstepper, bearing gods anger. Great choice with the film coming up hopefully this film wont be a disappointment. The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars. See a complete list of the characters in beowulf and indepth analyses of beowulf, grendel, hrothgar, unferth, wiglaf, grendels mother, and the dragon.
For further information, including links to online text, reader information, rss feeds, cd cover or other formats if available, please go to the librivox catalog page for this recording. The script for beowulf is by roger avary reservoir dogs, true romance, pulp fiction and neil gaiman neverwhere, american gods, the sandman. Originally written in old english, this translation by francis barton gummere updates it to modern english. He later goes on to rule the geats before dying killing another foe, a dragon. Tolkien, author of the lord of the rings, delivered a famous lecture to the british academy in 1936 in which he maintained that. Beowulf finally gets to meet hrothgar face to face and offer his help. Francis barton gummere translates this beautiful poem.
It follows the tale of beowulf the geat for comes to aid of king hrothgar because the kingdom is plagued by a monster named grendel. Librivox recording of beowulf by an unknown author translated by francis barton gummere. The earliest extant heroic epic in any european vernacular, beowulf is considered the most important poem in old english. A stag chased by hounds allows itself to be torn apart rather than plunge into those waters. The brave warrior, beowulf, comes to the aid of king hrothgar when he hears that. My class of 78 year olds loved this book and how gory it is.
Beowulf audible audiobook unabridged the beowulf poet author, steven crossley. It prompted lots of discussion about language choices and has enhanced their vocabulary knowledge. Also, if you want to hear what old english sounds like, check out 2. He comes out of the darkness, moving in on his victims in deadly silence. Drout, norsemen in the mediterranean, embarrassingly subservient to their women, miklagard, russia and the rus. But beowulf couldnt have counted on meeting grendels mother. Beowulf by michael alexander overdrive rakuten overdrive.
Beowulf full audiobook greatestaudiobooks v2 the most famous piece of old english literature, beowulf was written by an unknown poet at least year. Beowulf version 2 audiobook unknown, translated by francis barton gummere 1855 1919 beowulf was composed by an anonymous anglosaxon poet. The seven sermons to the dead by carl gustav jung librivox 7th anniversary collection audiobook duration. Heaneys performance reminds us that beowulf, written near the turn of another millennium, was intended to be heard not read composed toward the end of the first millennium of our era, beowulf. Within some sections, there are digressions which do not, strictly speaking. All retire to rest, beowulf, as it were, sleeping upon his arms. Beowulf unabridged beowulf unabridged audiobook, by c. This is a short but beautiful book, and the gummere translation really captures the feel of the. When sleep was at its deepest, night at its blackest, up from the mistfilled marsh came grendel stalking. Composed toward the end of the first millennium of our era, beowulf is the elegiac narrative of the adventures of beowulf, a scandinavian hero who saves the danes from the seemingly invincible monster grendel and. Composed toward the end of the first millennium of our era, beowulf is the elegiac narrative of the adventures of beowulf, a scandinavian hero who saves the danes from the seemingly invincible monster grendel and, later, from grendels mother. Hrothgars family tree a visual of hrothgars family dynamics.
Composed toward the end of the first millennium of our era, beowulf is the elegiac narrative of the adventures of. Beowulf is an old english epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative lines. Beowulf was composed by an anonymous anglo saxon poet. It is the oldest surviving long poem in old english and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of old english. Complete epic poetry beowulf by unknown rg librivox forum. And it celebrates the endurance of the human spirit in a transient world. It tells the story of the heroic beowulf and of his battles, first with the monster grendel, who has laid waste to the great hall of the danish king hrothgar, then with grendels avenging mother, and finally with a dragon that. This book is a literally classic thats definitely not for all readers. The story of heroic beowulf and his battles with the monster grendel and also with grendels mother not to mention the dragon is rather awesome. Tomorrowland 2017 special madness mix official warm up. This is a short but beautiful book, and the gummere. Page 31 the inner freedom from the practical desire, the release from action and suffering, release from the inner and the outer compulsion, yet surrounded by a grace of sense, a white light still and moving, erhebung without motion, concentration without elimination, both a new world and the old made explicit, understood in the completion of its partial ecstasy, the resolution of its. Chapter number of stories of beowulf told to the children. Beowulf version 2 audio book librivox audio books catalog.
A great story to be listened to, this audio book is well read by a group of seven narrators at librivox. All librivox recordings are in the public domain in the usa and available as free downloads on. Beowulf part 3 by unknown full audiobook from librivox. Beowulf stands as one of the first and greatest works of english literature. Beowulf is the greatest surviving work of literature in old english, unparalleled in its epic grandeur and scope. The title character is a warrior of superhuman strength who accomplishes glorious deeds to honor his king. When beowulf arrives at hrothgars hall, he discovers that the hall is beset by grendel, an evil creature that kills and pillages with impunity. Beowulf university of oxford podcasts audio and video. The mead hall was the big feasting hall of the king and sometimes even served as a living quarter for the king and his noblemen in medieval times in scandinavia. Beowulf by michael morpurgo meet your next favorite book. As you can hear in the beowulf reading above from the telegraph, its a thick, consonantrich language that may put you in mind of j. Translation by michael alexander, first published on 1973 is very skillfully put together and admirable.
Long a mainstay of english literature 101 courses at universities around the world, it is not only. It is one of the most important works of old english literature. The beowulf poet, in a sense, is more of a collective noun than an individual author. Start of recording intro chapter number of beowulf. Long a mainstay of english literature 101 courses at universities around the world, it is not only one of the oldest, but one of the most exciting english folktales ever invented. Dec 03, 2017 librivox recording of beowulf, translated by francis barton gummere 18551919. Beowulf audible audiobook unabridged audio book contractors author, flo gibson narrator, audio book contractors, inc. New york times best seller and whitebread book of the year, nobel laureate seamus heaneys new translation of beowulf comes to life in this gripping audio. The language arrived in britonpreviously inhabited by celtic speakerssometime in the fifth century, though whether the anglosaxon invasion was a hostile takeover by germanic mercenaries or a slow population drift that introduced a.
Listen to unlimited audiobooks on the web, ipad, iphone and android. Beowulf, in heroic fashion, bests grendel in combat, then follows grendel back to his lair to finish the job. Note, the translation may vary slightly from your textbook. The reader will record the following at the beginning and end of each file. Note, this may vary slightly from the translation found in your textbook. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. This is more complicated than it sounds because all the actors have to negotiate through the complicated codes of germanicold norse codes of behaviour. The anglosaxon saga retold in excellent english prose, with the heroic qualities emphasized. Heres where youll find analysis about the book as a whole, from the major themes and ideas to. Click on the audio link to hear an actor reading the passage.
Long a mainstay of english literature 101 courses at universities around. The main character, beowulf, proves himself a hero as he battles against supernatural demons and beasts. It comes in english and then old english if youre inclined to read an older language. Composed toward the end of the first millennium of our era, beowulf is the elegiac narrative of the adventures of beowulf, a scandinavian hero who saves the danes from the.
Listen to beowulf audiobook by librivox community free. When he leaves, a trail of blood is all that remains. Oct 24, 2006 our class reader to accompany the anglo saxon topic. Librivox acoustical liberation of books in the public domain menu.
The book is well written and the version i have just finished featured two other beowulf stories. Beowulf hall translation the most famous piece of old english literature, beowulf was written by an unknown poet at least years ago and tells how the eponymous hero who is a great warrior defeats the monster grendel and his mother. Librivox founded in 2005 is a community of volunteers from all over the world who record public domain texts. Beowulf reading the norton anthology of english literature. A great story to be listened to, this audio book is well read by tad e. Beowulf heroically battles grendel, the water witch, and a fierce dragon. Composed toward the end of the first millennium of our era, beowulf is the elegiac narrative of the adventures of beowulf, a scandinavian hero who saves the danes from. Relates how beowulf, the hero of the anglosaxons, journeys to daneland, and how he overcomes grendel, the ogre, and his mother, the water witch, then returns to his own land to serve as king. Tolkien said of beowulf that it is in fact so interesting as poetry, that the poetry quite overshadows the historical content in places. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit. The odyssey, mead, recorded books modern scholar series, michael d. Beowulf is the longest epic poem in old english, the language spoken in anglosaxon england before the norman conquest. Beowulf confronts a dragon that terrorizes his kingdom. Beowulf is the iconic work of literature in old english.
A new york times bestseller and whitbread book of the year. Nov 12, 2007 thats why im excited to see that the new animated version of beowulf is coming to movie theatres november 16th thats a still from the trailer above. Listen to beowulf by librivox community for free with a 30 day free trial. Heaneys performance reminds us that beowulf, written near the turn of another millennium, was intended to be heard not read. Listen to thousands of best sellers and new releases on your iphone, ipad, or android. Beowulf recounts the story of the valiant warrior of geats who comes to the aid of his neighbor, king hrothgar whose mead hall is being attacked by a dreadful creature called grendel. Listen to beowulf audiobook by librivox community free 30. Hrothgar, the king of the danes, knows something must. Beowulf was composed by an anonymous anglosaxon poet. The poem is a subtle blending of themesthe conflict of good and evil, and an examination of heroism. More than 3,000 lines long, beowulf relates the exploits of its eponymous hero, and his successive battles with a monster named grendel, with grendels revengeful mother, and with a dragon which was guarding a hoard of treasure. Thus begins the battle between good and evil, for lying in wait and anxious to challenge the ogre grendel is a young man, strongwilled and firehearted. The most famous piece of old english literature, beowulf was written by an unknown poet at least. Beowulf is a major epic of anglosaxon literature, probably composed between the first half of the seventh century and the end of the first millennium.
413 1257 102 548 1159 987 208 1267 329 15 1116 1146 857 1190 565 781 243 739 1337 1354 959 1187 525 335 846 1153 279 1 868 167