regentrude Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 DD loves the Iliad and Beowulf. She read The Song of Roland in one sitting today and loves it too. Any suggestions for more heroic epics she could read? (She read Odyssey and Aeneid, but did not like them quite as much) Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice H Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 The Cid, translation by Byrd Simpson, which is the edition Invitation to the Classics recommends. It is completely different in tone than Song of Roland. (It has humour in it.) It made me want to learn Spanish; Invitation also mentions some other interesting-sounding Spanish classics that I am sure are better in the original language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 DD loves the Iliad and Beowulf. She read The Song of Roland in one sitting today and loves it too.Any suggestions for more heroic epics she could read? (She read Odyssey and Aeneid, but did not like them quite as much) Thanks. Which version of Song of Roland did she like so much? My kids also liked the Iliad much more than they Odyssey - wouldn't have expected that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 Which version of Song of Roland did she like so much? the verse translation by Dorothy Sayers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 (edited) I'm a little fuzzy about what is and what is not an epic, but judging by the things she has liked so far, what about: Gilgamesh Tristan et Iseult Auccasin et Nicolette The Mabinogeon And aren't there some Icelandic ones? I seem to remember that my children had children's versions of some that they adored. Nan ETA - LOL - Ok, just found a list of epic and heroic poems in my Medieval Lit compendium. It has a few others: The Battle of Maldon (991) The Exile of the sons of Usnech (xth) The Death of Digenis Akrites (xth) The song of Altabiskar (?) The song of the Battle of Igor (1186) The Lay of the Nibulungs (c. 1200) The Lay of Thrim (c. 1270) (This one is Icelandic) Aucassin et Nicolette is listed as not an epic (it is a chantefable) and is c. 1200. There are a whole lot of Irish heroic tales that she might like (my children did) about Cú Chulainn and others. Edited September 21, 2011 by Nan in Mass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deniseibase Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Le Morte D'Arthur The Faerie Queene Orlando Furioso Dante's Inferno Paradise Lost Faust The Lady of the Lake / The Lay of the Minstrel (Scott) Queen Mab (Shelley) Endymion (Keats) Evangeline (Longfellow) There's TONS of this kind of stuff with the early Victorians, there's a wonderful and out of print book called The Victorians and Their Reading which details what the POPULAR reading (as opposed to literary reading) of the day was and there is a LOT of epic poetry listed. If she's only interested in the older stuff, tho, there is still plenty - start with the first three on my list, and then branch out into other cultures for the Eddas and the Indian poetry, there's some beautiful and amazing stuff out there. Denise (who is apparently a bigger lit geek than she thought ;) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Adding: Gawain and the Green Knight (Tolkien) The Nibelungenlied Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Read Farmer Giles of Ham, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Finnish Kalevela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Tennyson's Morte D'Arthur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in the Country Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 John Brown's Body by Stephen Vincent Benet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Tennyson's is called Idylls of the King The Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Coleridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Don Juan by Lord Byron You may or may not have to do some editing depending on your standards, but wickedly funny and available at the Baldwin Project Thank you for asking the question. So many more titles to add to the "To Read" list now.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 DD loves the Iliad and Beowulf. She read The Song of Roland in one sitting today and loves it too.Any suggestions for more heroic epics she could read? (She read Odyssey and Aeneid, but did not like them quite as much) Thanks. My dd is really enjoying this anthology http://www.cadroncreek.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Victorian_002&Category_Code= Not all of the poetry is epic, but it does include Marmion, an abridged version of Lady of the Lake, and other works that were contained originally in the Royal Readers in the 1800s. The link has the ability to pull down the table of contents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 Thanks for all the great suggestions!!! Some I know, some I have never heard of. She just read the Nibelungenlied (in German) and did NOT like it, LOL - she thought Kriemhild was a b*tch, Siegfried was not a hero but an idiot, Guther a wimp - and the only person one can like and feel sorry for is Brunhild. A rather succinct summary. She has read a lot of Tennyson, Faust is on the German Lit list, Dante is next on our reading list for this semester. I'll see if I can find the others. Would not know what to do without you guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memphispeg Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 I would take a peak at Joseph Campbell's "Hero with a Thousand Faces" book. I think he covers all of them and, as I remember, there was a good reading list. You might also try the "Ramayana of Valmiki"...there's supposed to be a new "cool" translation with art work and explanations. The epic is supposedly the source of many of our familiar fairy tales and stories. I read a bit of it in the Norton Anthology of World Literature and it is now on my wish-list at Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquinas Academy Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 And aren't there some Icelandic ones? I seem to remember that my children had children's versions of some that they adored. . There are many, many Icelandic sagas. The Porse Edda, The Saga of the Volusngs, and The Vinland Sagas are a few you might want to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 The Dream of the Rood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 The Dream of the Rood that is an awesome one! Dd loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 How about the Irish cycles, Finian and/or Ulster? There's a famous hero in the Ulster cycle: Cu' Chulainn, although you'll see numerous spellings for his name). He's also called the Hound of Ulster, etc.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayne J Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Also in the Irish cycle--The Tain Bo Cuailnge. It is called "The Cattle Raid of Cooley" in English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 One more: Pope's The Rape of the Lock it is a mock epic in which a lock of hair is stolen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 I've never understood why the Irish tales aren't more popular in the US. They are fantastic adventures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elinor Everywhere Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Read Farmer Giles of Ham, too! :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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