Sir Gawain & the Green Knight cover art

Sir Gawain & the Green Knight

New Verse Translation

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Sir Gawain & the Green Knight

By: Naxos AudioBooks, Benedict Flynn - translator
Narrated by: Jasper Britton
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About this listen

A mysterious knight all in green arrives at King Arthur's court and issues a bizarre challenge. Gawain answers the knight - but at what cost? This new translation keeps all the poetic power of the original's extraordinary alliteration. One of the greatest stories of English literature from any period, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a magical, medieval combination of the epic and the uncanny.

A new verse translation by Benedict Flynn.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2008 Benedict Flynn (P)2008 Naxos Rights International Ancient, Classical & Medieval Literature Poetry

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Editor reviews

Narrator Jasper Britton handles Benedict Flynn's new verse translation with ease, never allowing the rhymes to call attention to themselves. He draws clear portraits of King Arthur, Gawain, the mysterious Green Knight, and the many others who populate this literary classic, from Guinevere to Morgan le Fay. Britton's intensity and pacing make the magical saga live and breathe. From the charger's hooves to the clash of swords, it's all completely believable. Britton is sincere and convincing when Gawain encounters severe hardships and desperation in his quest to find the Green Knight. His performance is fully engaging as this medieval legend unfolds.
All stars
Most relevant  
An entertaining little story.

Sir Garwain & the Green Knight

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I enjoyed this reading very much and I'm sure I will do so quite a few more times at least. It is a first-class old English poem, finely translated, and finely read. The poetry comes over fresh and strong, with the rhythm, alliteration, and occasional rhyme apparently well preserved by the translation. It is also a jolly good story.

First-class

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"Gawain" is probably the most powerful, most perfectly executed poem in English.. It combines the passionate thrust of post Anglo Saxon alliterative verse with a thoroughly European, sophisticated sensibility. The poem celebrates the very best in human nature- heroic, decent, courteous and magnanimous. It is a world in which men and women interact on equal terms with wit, vigour, kindness and integrity. There is not a wasted word in the riveting tale, every descriptive detail contributes to the power and delight of the whole. Two hours have never passed so quickly! The poem is a masterpiece of organisation yet feels driven by an urgent narrative imperative. The poet has absolute control of his rich material, whether it is describing Gawain's testing Winter Journey, fighting dragons and trolls as well as the weather, the intricacies of butchering a deer's carcase or the delightful mock seduction of our admirable hero by his lovely hostess.

This recording is outstanding, superior in every way to the wretched version from Simon Armitage with its self-conscious poetic effects and lugubrious delivery. Jasper Britton is a superb narrator and Benedict Flynn's modernisation marvellously captures the energy and texture of the alliterative verse with very few awkward moments - the story is gripping and aesthetically pleasing from the first word to the last. Perhaps Gawain's uncharacteristic lapse into conventional anti-feminist rhetoric when really he is embarrassed by his own, thoroughly forgivable moment of weakness, might have been exaggerated to emphasise it's not the view of the poet, the view any fair minded reader would take.

Hopefully this wonderful audiobook will help to re-establish the Gawain poet's claim to be seen as the equal of his great contemporaries, Chaucer and Langland. Certainly every school in England should have this magnificent text on its syllabus!

Magnificent!

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I was looking forward to listening to this, but was surprised by how much I loved it. Excellent translation and outstanding narration! Britton has a talent for getting the rhythm of a line across without over egging it and conveys the subtilise and whit of the writing wonderfully well.

Superb

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This fine translation of the ancient epic brings a gritty yet gentle authenticity from a distant time. A matchless narration augements the poem that places you the traveller within the fireside gathering listening to the bard.
Enobarbus describes perfectly the strength of this work.


Sir Gawain & the Green Knight at its best.

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