{"product_id":"beowulf-for-fireside-and-schoolroom-paperback","title":"Beowulf: For Fireside and Schoolroom - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDonald Mace Williams\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis new translation of the oldest narrative poem in English has three qualities that set it apart from the many previous translations. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e First, it has cut the scholarly touches to a minimum, using only eight end notes to clarify certain passages. Notes in the margin often amount to a single word to explain some word or phrase. The introduction, too, is designed for easy, pleasant reading. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The second quality that makes this translation distinctive is that it is written in iambic meter, familiar to readers of more than six centuries of poetry in modern English. The translation uses almost always four stresses per line, the same as in the Anglo-Saxon, though the alliterative formula of the ancient text is not a part of Williams's scheme. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The third distinctive feature of the translation is that it keeps the kennings that are such an important characteristic of the original. When the \u003ci\u003eBeowulf \u003c\/i\u003epoet (or poets) calls the sea the \"whale paths,\" Williams does the same. To translate the phrase as the \"sea,\" to Williams's mind, would take away much of the Anglo-Saxon charm and would deprive the reader of an image. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eDonald Mace Williams\u003c\/b\u003e has approached his translation as both a published writer of modern metrical poems and a scholar in the verse structure of \u003ci\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/i\u003e. His Ph.D. in that subject was done at the University of Texas under the direction of the noted prosodist and philologist Thomas M. Cable. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDONALD MACE WILLIAMS is a former writing coach for \u003ci\u003eThe Wichita Eagle\u003c\/i\u003e and reporter and editor for papers that include \u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eFort Worth Star-Telegram\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \u003ci\u003eAmarillo Globe-News\u003c\/i\u003e. He has taught English and journalism at West Texas State and Baylor Universities. Williams holds a doctorate in English from the University of Texas. He lives in Austin, Texas, and his poetry has been published widely in journals in the U.S. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eInterlude in Umbarger: Italian POWs and a Texas Church\u003c\/i\u003e, and the novels \u003ci\u003eBlack Tuesday's Child\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Sparrow and the Hall\u003c\/i\u003e. His epic poem \u003ci\u003eWolfe\u003c\/i\u003e and his memoir \u003ci\u003eBeing Ninety\u003c\/i\u003e were published as a single edition in February 2023.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 108\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.3 x 8.5 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 23, 2024\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42153071378567,"sku":"9798987900277","price":18.31,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/a537a97ae4b9dc298a6a51d98639447d.webp?v=1733218751","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/beowulf-for-fireside-and-schoolroom-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}