Review (PDF) The Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda comprises a treasure trove of mythic and spiritual verse holding an important place in Nordic culture, literature, and heritage. Its tales of strife and death form a repository, in poetic form, of Norse mythology and heroic lore, embodying both the ethical views and the cultural life of the North during the late heathen and early Christian times.Collected by an unidentified Icelander, probably during the twelfth or thirteenth century, The Poetic Edda was rediscovered in Iceland in the seventeenth century by Danish scholars. Even then its value as poetry, as a source of historical information, and as a collection of entertaining stories was recognized. This meticulous translation succeeds in reproducing the verse patterns, the rhythm, the mood, and the dignity of the original in a revision that Scandinavian Studies says "may well grace anyone's bookshelf."
Paperback: 375 pages
Publisher: University of Texas Press; 2nd ed. edition (1986)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0292764995
ISBN-13: 978-0292764996
Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1.1 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #16,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #4 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Regional & Cultural > European > Norse & Icelandic Sagas #4 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Movements & Periods > Medieval #5 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Movements & Periods > Ancient & Classical
first of all, here is my review of the poetic edda itself, which i give five stars:the poetic edda is one of the greatest collections of poetry of all times. it contains the beautifully vivid "volupso", the norse apocalypse poem, the comedic ballads, the "wrangling of Loki" and "Lay of Thrmy", the proverbial wisdom of the "sayings of har" and the mournful lays of the larger-than-heroes, the volsungs and niflungs. the edda is better written than Beowulf, the more popular northern epic, and the rhythmic verse gives it more aesthetic appeal than most epic poems. the meter, based on alliteration and caesura, whether rhythmic fornyrdislag or lilting ljodahattr, is much more pleasing to the ear than classical blank verse, which has sticter syllable stress patterns. unfortunately, the edda is not in very good condition. their are gaps in the manuscripts, and there are numerous places where it appears a scribe covered up a gap with extraneous material. the poems vary greatly in quality, and you need a good understanting of norse myths to understand what is going on (i recommend Norse Stories: Retold from the Eddas by Hamilton Mabie). none the less, the edda is a wonderful read for fans of poetry, epics, or norse mythology.unfortunatley, of the numerous translations of the poestic edda, only four are in print, those of Bellows, Dronke, Hollander, and Larington. Bellows is an excellent translation, at least aesthetically, and it does a very good job of preserving the rhythm, if not the precise metrics of the original. It is very readable and fairly accurate. Unfortunately, only half of it is in print, but I would recommend it highly. You can find the full text at [...] but reading off the computer just isn't the same.
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