Jump to content

Menu

Beowulf versions compared


Recommended Posts

In my quest to find a version of Beowulf to use with my students, I ran across this very interesting article that compares five different versions [beowulf the Warrior by Ian Serraillier (1954),  Beowulf Dragonslayer by Rosemary Sutcliff (1961),  Beowulf by Kevin Crossley-Holland (1982),  Beowulf by Robert Nye (1995), and  Beowulf and the Monster by Brian Patten], and I decided to share it in case it might help someone else also:

 

http://www.academia.edu/476181/Beowulf_For_Boys

 

Since Michael Morpurgo's Beowulf adaptation was not included in the article, I am curious as to how it would compare in its faithfulness to the original.  Anyone care to comment?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for posting this! 

 

The children's version I plan to use next for A. (we did a picture book version, Rumford's, which suited our elementary reading quite well) is Marshall's "Stories of Beowulf Told to the Children" which isn't listed in that analysis.  I didn't know Sutcliff had a version -- we're doing her Homeric stuff next year, I hope as a prelude to something more like the "Told to the Children" series, and now we may do her Beowulf before the Marshall one.

 

For myself I've been happy to read Gardner's Grendel (not Beowulf, obviously, but a great adult or high school version told from Grendel's perspective). 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...