Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A New Verse Translation

( 7 )
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up in Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Paperback (Reprint)
$10.57
BN.com price
$14.95 List Price (Save 29%)
Marketplace (New and Used)
from
$1.74
$14.95 List Price (Save 88%)
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
All (44)  
Used (23)  
New (21)  
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 5
Showing 1 – 10 of 44 (5 pages)
$1.74
(Save 88%)
Better World Books
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(50880)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

Good
Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy!

Ships from: Mishawaka, IN

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$3.87
(Save 74%)
Bookworm's Paradise
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(24)

Condition: Good
2008-11-17 Paperback Good Great condition, no pages ripped or missing, minor highlighting and underlining on text; edges and cover show normal wear from use, clean copy.

Ships from: Hialeah, FL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$3.94
(Save 74%)
Extremely_Reliable
Seller since 2007

Feedback rating:

(3184)

Condition: Good
Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.

Ships from: Richmond, TX

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$4.00
(Save 73%)
Campus_Bookstore
Seller since 2011

Feedback rating:

(307)

Condition: Good
Used - Good A New Verse Translation May contain highlighting/underlining/notes/etc. May have used stickers on cover. Ships same or next day. Expedited shipping takes 2-3 business ... days; standard shipping takes 4-14 business days. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Fayetteville, AR

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$4.17
(Save 72%)
spellbound PA
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(9713)

Condition: Like New
11/17/2008 Paperback A New Verse Translat Fine 0393334155 LIKE NEW/UNREAD! ! ! Text is Clean and Unmarked! --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before ... Purchasing--Has a small black line on bottom/exterior edge of pages. Read more Show Less

Ships from: McKeesport, PA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$5.95
(Save 60%)
Strand Bookstore
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(4781)

Condition: Very Good

Ships from: New York, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$6.01
(Save 60%)
Campus_Bookstore
Seller since 2011

Feedback rating:

(307)

Condition: Good
Used - Good A New Verse Translation May contain highlighting/underlining/notes/etc. May have used stickers on cover. Ships same or next day. Expedited shipping takes 2-3 business ... days; standard shipping takes 4-14 business days. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Fayetteville, AR

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$6.01
(Save 60%)
Campus_Bookstore
Seller since 2011

Feedback rating:

(307)

Condition: Good
Used - Good A New Verse Translation May contain highlighting/underlining/notes/etc. May have used stickers on cover. Ships same or next day. Expedited shipping takes 2-3 business ... days; standard shipping takes 4-14 business days. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Fayetteville, AR

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$6.01
(Save 60%)
Campus_Bookstore
Seller since 2011

Feedback rating:

(307)

Condition: Acceptable
Used - Acceptable A New Verse Translation Not perfect, but still usable for class. Ships same or next day. Expedited shipping takes 2-3 business days; standard shipping takes 4-14 ... business days. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Fayetteville, AR

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$6.29
(Save 58%)
Bunches of Books
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(6082)

Condition: Very Good
A New Verse Translation. 2008 Paperback. Orders usually ship on or before next business day. May have highlighting. We send best copy available.

Ships from: Murray, KY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 5
Showing 1 – 10 of 44 (5 pages)
Close
Sort by

Overview

Already a classic of modern translation, this fresh, vibrant work by dynamic British poet Simon Armitage updates the late fourteenth-century poem for a new generation. The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in its depiction of Arthurian landscapes, dreamlike castles, and violent winter journeys, demands a peerless storyteller, and, "like the Gawain poet [himself], Armitage is some storyteller" (The Guardian). The work is an unparalleled masterpiece of alliteration and rhyme, and "[Armitage's] version inventively recreates the original's gnarled, hypnotic music ... but also has a free-flowing, colloquial twang that allows the poem to partake of the energies of contemporary speech" ...

See more details below
Sending request ...

More About This Book

Overview

Already a classic of modern translation, this fresh, vibrant work by dynamic British poet Simon Armitage updates the late fourteenth-century poem for a new generation. The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in its depiction of Arthurian landscapes, dreamlike castles, and violent winter journeys, demands a peerless storyteller, and, "like the Gawain poet [himself], Armitage is some storyteller" (The Guardian). The work is an unparalleled masterpiece of alliteration and rhyme, and "[Armitage's] version inventively recreates the original's gnarled, hypnotic music ... but also has a free-flowing, colloquial twang that allows the poem to partake of the energies of contemporary speech" (Financial Times).

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an Arthurian fable penned by an anonymous bard in the early 1400s, remained hidden for most of English history; the sole remaining copy of the manuscript wasn't discovered until Victorian times. Since then, it's become something of a Christmas classic: Written in a distinctive alliterative style that harkens to the earliest forms of English poetry, it meanders through dangerous castles and visits enchanted creatures on quests of honor. The story goes like this: In the middle of Christmas revelry, as everyone's about to eat the roast, an enormous green giant party-crashes Arthur's court. He challenges startled onlookers to a game: Let someone deal a blow to the Green Knight's bare neck, then offer his own bare neck in return, a year hence. Not surprisingly, this invitation gets few takers -- until Arthur's cousin, Gawain, noted for honor, rises. Unfortunately, when he lops off the giant's head, the green beast picks it up and rides out the door, all the while instructing Gawain to come find him next New Year's. Fast-forward: In the waxen light of the following Christmas, Gawain sets out to complete his mission -- and perhaps to meet his doom. In the meantime, he's waylaid by a tempting queen, offered protection by a mysterious lord, and led to his final showdown. It's an unforgettable story, and now it's been lit again with the lamp of keen language. The rich tapestry of sporting, courting, hunting and wooing -- of verbal sparring and physical spearing -- is available anew in an energetic verse translation by noted British poet Simon Armitage. Among the joys of rediscovering Gawain is one this edition offers: the chance to look across the page and feel the violent strife and courtly play roiling beneath the old English. It's hard not to be moved by lines like these, where Gawain takes a swing at the beast's green head: "Let hit doun lightly on the naked, / That the scharp of the schalk schyndered on the bones, / And schrank thrugh the schiyire grece, and scade hit in twynne, / That the bit of the broun stel bot on the ground." Once we've reveled in the rich sounds, we can see that Armitage has parsed them as "(he) sings (the axe) swiftly towards the bare skin. / The cleanness of the strike cleaved the spinal cord / and parted the fat and the flesh so far / that the bright steel blade took a bite from the floor." It's not all so gory as this, but what delicious-sounding gore it is. Equally rich are capturings of deer skinning, winter feasting, and fair ladies. The story that kilters along could be alternative to any Christmas movie -- and it's a tribute to this translation that it seems to demand a wintry day or fireside evening to read the words aloud to family or friends. The tale, with all its verbal jousting, gathers us in. --Tess Taylor
Edward Hirsch
Armitage, an English poet from West Yorkshire, clearly feels a special kinship with the Gawain poet. He captures his dialect and his landscape and takes great pains to render the tale's alliterative texture and drive …His vernacular translation isn't literal—sometimes he alliterates different letters, sometimes he foreshortens the number of alliterations in a line, sometimes he changes lines altogether and so forth—but his imitation is rich and various and recreates the gnarled verbal texture of the Middle English original, which is presented in a parallel text…Armitage has given us an energetic, free-flowing, high-spirited version.
—The New York Times
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
Publishers Weekly

Composed in medieval England by an unknown poet and set in what were (even then) the old days of King Arthur, the tale of Sir Gawain begins when a magical warrior with green skin and green hair interrupts the Christmas party at Camelot with a bizarre challenge: "If a person here present, within these premises,/ is big or bold or red blooded enough/ to strike me one stroke and be struck in return" in once year's time, says the knight, "I shall give him as a gift this gigantic cleaver." Pure, loyal Sir Gawain accepts the agreement: the adventures that ensue include a boar hunt, a deer hunt, and an extended flirtation with a noble lady, designed to test Sir Gawain's bravery, fidelity and chastity, and to explore-with some supernatural help-the true meaning of virtue. The Gawain-poet, as he is known to scholars, wrote in Middle English (reproduced here); though it is slightly harder to read than Chaucer, the grammar is more or less our own. Armitage (The Shout), one of England's most popular poets, brings an attractive contemporary fluency to the Gawain-poet's accentual, alliterative verse: We hear the knights of Round Table "chatting away charmingly, exchanging views." This is a compelling new version of a classic. (Oct.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780393334159
  • Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
  • Publication date: 11/3/2008
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 198
  • Sales rank: 199,560
  • Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 8.20 (h) x 0.60 (d)

Meet the Author

Simon Armitage is an award-winning poet who has published ten volumes of poetry and translations of both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Death of King Arthur. He is professor of poetry at the University of Sheffield, England.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 7 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(7)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by: Showing all of 7 Customer Reviews

  • Posted June 14, 2009

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

    This is a legendary story with a world of meaning applicable to any generation. As in any knightly adventure, there is a challenge and a quest, and in that, there is suspense to spare. Foremost, however, among the strengths of this story is the allegory of life. Gawain, the young nephew of King Arthur, takes on a quest, knowing that his only right to do so is that he is a relative of the king. In his own strength, he faces death, knowing that he, unlike his opponent, the Green Knight, will not pick up his head from the ground and walk away. Yet, his sense of honor to his king will not allow him to miss his pledged meeting with the Green Knight. While his moment of encounter is admirable, he has, at this point, kept a magic girdle, given to him by the wife of a kind lord who allows Gawain to stay at his castle while he is on his quest. The girdle has the power to save Gawain's life. This added element brings his honor into question, but, thankfully, the story does not end there. The confrontation with the Green Knight is a lesson learned in confession, repentance, and restoration as Gawain is faced with the reality of who he is and who he can be. The green girdle, at the end, is no longer a mark of shame, but a mark of honor. Readers will surely identify with the young Gawain, who faces a grave sin for a knight, but in facing it, moves beyond it to a life of true honor.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 13, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 9, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted September 13, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 6, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 1, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 7 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit