Sir Gawain and the Green Knight : A New Verse Translation

Rating:
Summary: A smooth, fluid translation of a great medieval tale
Review: As a translator myself (currently working on a translation of Le Conte du Graal from the old French), I am in awe of Merwin's fluid rendering of this middle English tale. He uses a true vernacular style and vocabulary, giving non of the false archaism with which translations of works of this period are generally imbued. It's clear that he is a poet first, and a translator second.

But he also avoids the tack chosen by Seamus Heaney in his Beowulf; Heaney delighted in using obscure words from time to time, which does not fit with the context of such works. These tales were declaimed, read out loud, and to groups of people who were certainly not learned. What may seem obscure in the original - or what may have an obscure equivalent today - shouldn't sound as such in a translation. These tales need to be rendered in contemporary language, as they were heard in the contemporary languages of their originators.

On the down side, Merwin seems to fall into the trap of false cognates - words that, while spelled the same, have different meanings today. A few examples:

On page 27, Gawain says "And if my request is improper, I ask this great court not to blame me." The middle English word, blame, is closer to today's "censure", "criticize", or even "find fault with". Given the vernacular treatment of this translation, the reader is more likely to seize the first meanings that come to mind when reading. Blame does, indeed, hold the meaning that is used in the original, but it is far from the most common usage of the word.

Again on page 27, king Arthur say to Gawain, "Take care, cousin." The original word, cosyn, means kinsman, and was often used to denote a niece or nephew (and, indeed, Gawain, on the previous page, points out that Arthur is his uncle). So the use of cousin here is incorrect, since the relationship between the two men is not that of cousin, but clearly of uncle and nephew.

He also succumbs to the tyranny of the original word order, and the desire to leave no word untranslated. On page 27, he translates, "The blood gushed from the body," which has a "the" too many. English doesn't need an article before a non-count noun like "blood", though this article exists in the original text.

All in all, in spite of the minor translator's nits, this is a brilliant work. It reads smoothly and fluidly, and renders the energy and wonder of this tale. If only more medieval works were translated this well, readers would discover how much amazing literature there is from this period.

I'm giving it 5 stars in spite of my reservations; Merwin deserves it for achieving such clarity.

Rating:
Summary: sir gawain and the green knight
Review: i rate this book higher based on its foreword which, as a lecture, would provide a semester's worth of knowledge and recommended reading. a must for fans of arthurian legend (or fans of tolkien, who was a "great scholar of the Arthurian cycle"), and for those interested in welsh history and literature, poetry, troubador lore, linguistics, or the middle ages.

the translation itself i'm not qualified to judge; the _new york review of books_ "hails [Merwin] as one of the finest of our poets [and] a skilled and sensitive translator." J.D. McClatchy cover-blurbs the translation as being written with "clarity, ingenuity, and force."

as for the plot, it's great stuff: courtly knight of the round table honorably and courageously accepts what appears to be a pact of certain death, honorably averts the importunate seductions of his host's wife, agonizingly tells a white fib because doing so is the only thing that may save his life, and . . . i leave the rest for the reader to discover.

Rating:
Summary: sir gawain
Review: In this Middle English tale, Sir Gawain is a noble who is approached one day by a green knight. He is offered a challenge: The green knight would take a blow to the neck from Gawain, and exactly one year later, the green knight would give Gawain a blow to the neck. Gawain accepts. He chops the Green knight's head off. The green knight picks up his head, and tells gawain to kepp his promise. The story goes on to tell of the epic journey Gawain faces while on his journey to keep the pact. It is well written, but over descriptive. I would recommend this book to anyone with too much time. otherwise, a good story.

Rating:
Summary: Fresh, faithful, wonderful
Review: Merwin follows up his translation of Dante's Purgatorio with this rendering of Gawain and the Green Knight. The translation appears on the right hand side, the original middle English on the left. For anyone who had to memorize the first part of Chaucer's Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (and kind of enjoyed it), this reproduction of the original is great. As a matter of fact, and I didn't realize this until reading the intro here, Chaucer and this author (who is also The Pearl author) were writing basically as contemporaries.

The story of Gawain and the Green Knight is a foundational one in western civilization, maybe not ranking as high up there as the quest for the grail, but still echoed and repeated in writing (see Iris Murdoch's novel The Green Knight for example).

Merwin renders the tale in wonderful language and form. While I'm not a medievalist, I have a friend who is. She stole the book out from my hands...even though I wasn't even close to done...and insisted on keeping it for a few days. She handed it back to me saying it was one of the most faithful renderings of the sense of the original she had encountered. (A plea to Mr. Merwin: please move on next to a translation of the Paradiso!).

Rating:
Summary: Literature for the Ages
Review: Merwin has risen to the challenge, and, unlike Gawain, he has prevailed triumphantly on the first stroke.

A new, exciting translation of the Arthurian legend, SIR GAWAIN & THE GREEN KNIGHT reads excitingly crisp and vibrant. A story with equal parts chivalry, temptation, redemption, and romance, Merwin's GAWAIN deserves to be read by a far wider audience or, even better, deserves a touring one-man roadshow presented theatrically. Easily explored in a single sitting, this clever tome should be required reading for any serious explorer of mythology, real or even the realms of pure fantasy.

Highest recommendation!

Rating:
Summary: sir gawain and the green knight
Review: Merwin has risen to the challenge, and, unlike Gawain, he has prevailed triumphantly on the first stroke.

A new, exciting translation of the Arthurian legend, SIR GAWAIN & THE GREEN KNIGHT reads excitingly crisp and vibrant. A story with equal parts chivalry, temptation, redemption, and romance, Merwin's GAWAIN deserves to be read by a far wider audience or, even better, deserves a touring one-man roadshow presented theatrically. Easily explored in a single sitting, this clever tome should be required reading for any serious explorer of mythology, real or even the realms of pure fantasy.

Highest recommendation!

Rating:
Summary: Injects new life into this remarkable poem
Review: Since I suspect they will have similar audiences, I feel I should state right off the bat that W. S. Merwin's translation of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is not quite at the level of Seamus Heaney's "Beowulf". Heaney created an absolute masterpiece; the type of translation that comes along only once every few generations, and which completely redefines the view of the subject matter. The difference between the two translations lies in Heaney's ability to capture the meter and rhyme of "Beowulf" without being slavish to the original structure. Merwin has followed a similar approach in his translation, and while the language is beautiful, I didn't sense the same ancient vibrancy I got from Heaney's work.

That said, this book is more than worthy of the five-star rating that I gave it. Merwin's use of language is absolutely superb, and the resulting translation is a remarkable tapestry of images. In particular, he deftly captures the underlying tension and eroticism that forms such a key element of the story. Gawain's struggle to remain true to his code is rendered perfectly, and sets a mood of self-doubt that perfectly offsets his outward frivolity.

Since I have already mentioned "Beowulf" I might add for those unfamiliar with "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" that it is much more subtle than the former. While "Beowulf" is undeniably open to interpretation (indeed there is a wealth of fascinating scholarship surrounding it), its basic elements are much more straightforward. At its heart, as Tolkien espoused so brilliantly, "Beowulf" is a story about monsters, and what they mean in our world. On the other hand, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is more interested in exploring the ideals of chivalry and courtly love. While there is a fair bit of gore, it strikes me as being more of the hook to keep the reader engaged, rather than the core element of the story. Finally, in it's conclusion, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is far more vague than Beowulf.

Merwin has produced as a translation of the highest quality. While perhaps less "poetic" than some of its predecessors, it is written in a language that captures the full beauty and vibrancy of this remarkable poem. While a mere 84 pages in length (not including the opposing pages in Old English) this is a tale rich in metaphor that is a delight to read, and that will leave you pondering its meaning.