Review (PDF) The Song Of Roland (Hackett Classics)
Swift yet resonant, this masterful new verse translation conveys the immediacy, intimacy, and power of this greatest of Old French epic poems. John DuVal approaches the unadorned syntax of The Song of Roland in straightforward modern English, attuned to the nuance and detail of the narrative and the poetry of the original text.In his concise but thorough general Introduction, David Staines traces the origins of the poem and its reception in medieval society, discusses its content and its themes, and in clear, accessible prose illuminates the epic poem’s chivalric spirit.Footnotes provide glosses on events, characters, and medieval terms. Endnotes discuss editorial and translational issues. This edition also includes a selected bibliography, a map, and a glossary and index. An appendix provides the entire text of the Old French original.
Series: Hackett Classics
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. (September 15, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1603848509
ISBN-13: 978-1603848503
Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5.5 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #728,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #112 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Regional & Cultural > European > French #528 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Themes & Styles > Epic #846 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Ancient, Classical & Medieval
This is a poem of grief and its lessons, a bloody, troubling epic where the heroes are arrogant and the villains brave, and vice versa. In light of history, the relationship of the Islamic Spaniards and Christian French is troubling and thought-provoking, even as the poetry sings. The story is compressed, and much happens between each line; the characters are more complex than an initial reading might suggest. Read it aloud. The assonance on the hard stress at the end of each line is marvelous, but when reading aloud you'll also pick up interior rhymes and a rhythm that hurtles along much as the French charge on their mighty steeds into the Spanish swords.
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