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LEGEND SIGURD GUDRUN DELUXE HB ed TOLKIEN JRR TOLKIEN C 9780007317257 Books

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LEGEND SIGURD GUDRUN DELUXE HB ed TOLKIEN JRR TOLKIEN C 9780007317257 Books

So you liked THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE HOBBIT, and now you want another great reading of Tolkien fantasy? Be careful of THE LEGEND OF SIGURD AND GUDRON. It is a scholarly work. If you are interested in Norse mythology, though, and enjoy reading a good translation of Beowulf (which although not Norse mythology has a lot in common with Old Norse poetry) you will love this book. The tales of Odin and company were told and retold by many poets and saga writers, working hundreds of years apart. Many of their tellings are often contradictory. What Tolkien has done is to recreate a unified Norse mythology and given us new lays, written in English, but following the classic 8 line stanzaic style of the Elder Eddas, the Old Norse poetry form. This also means that there is none of the end rhyming we usually associate with poetry. No, these new lays use alliteration, just as in the Old English Beowulf. It really is a treat to get that style of poetry rendered in English. ( Imagine yourself in an old mead hall, while a gifted bard recites in this long-ago verse form. Better yet, read it out loud and become the bard.)

J.R.R. Tolkien's son, Christopher, has provided fascinating introductory information and explanatory notes that really make the reader feel like a serious student of Norse mythology and Old Norse poetry. This material occupies at least as many pages as the poems themselves. Without this extra material, much of the impact and complexity of the poems would be lost.

If you are serious about understanding the life's work of perhaps the greatest author of the 20th Century and the influences that helped lead him to Middle Earth, take a chance on THE LEGEND OF SIGURD AND GUDRUN.


Tags : LEGEND SIGURD GUDRUN DELUXE HB [ed. TOLKIEN (J.R.R). TOLKIEN (C)] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, by J.R.R. Tolkien, published in the UK in 2009 by Harper Collins, the first publication of a previously unknown work by J.R.R. Tolkien,ed. TOLKIEN (J.R.R). TOLKIEN (C),LEGEND SIGURD GUDRUN DELUXE HB,HarperCollins Publishers Ltd,0007317255

LEGEND SIGURD GUDRUN DELUXE HB ed TOLKIEN JRR TOLKIEN C 9780007317257 Books Reviews

J. R. R. Tolkien's description of Norse poetry is that it "aims at seizing a situation, striking a blow that will be remembered, illuminating a moment with a flash of lightning..." In this retelling of the tragic Volsung legends Tolkien's terse, alliterative Norse style poetry does just that. He interweaves strands from "The Elder (Poetic) Edda", "The Prose Edda", "The Volsung Saga", and "The Nibelungenlied" while adding a few elements of his own invention. Tolkien's most interesting innovation is providing Sigurd with a "special function." For all of Tolkien's insistence that he prefers the pagan, pre-Christian version of the story, he gives Sigurd some elements of a Christ character that are not present in the original

"If in the day of Doom
one deathless stand
who death hath tasted
and dies no more
the serpent-slayer
seed of Odin
then all shall not end
nor earth perish."

The explanatory notes by Christopher Tolkien are a badly organized jumble that cover vocabulary, use of various sources, differences between this version and the sources, and possible historical origins of the legends. If you are already acquainted with the Volsung stories these notes are mostly tedious, but they might be of some use for someone new to the Volsung legend.

Despite Christopher's rambling notes, this is one of my favorite books. This tragic tale of heroism, greed, and betrayal illuminated by the flashing lightning of Tolkien's poetry takes the reader on an intense journey back to the heroic age.
This is a top-notch read if you like vikings and Norse culture or if you like Tolkien. However, before you begin, you should note This is a translation of real skaldic poetry as best JRRT was able to manage. If the characters are flat, that's because the legend describes them that way. If the plot is predictable, same thing. However, those two things don't detract from the story but aid it! It is a story of people, real or mythological, and their destinies, and their struggles with their destinies. It is epic in scale, brilliant in prose, and really all around a solid read. To get the most enjoyment out of it, take the time to read the preamble about the rigid form for this kind of poem. It will really highlight how difficult a translation this is and how well Tolkien pulled it off.
So you liked THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE HOBBIT, and now you want another great reading of Tolkien fantasy? Be careful of THE LEGEND OF SIGURD AND GUDRON. It is a scholarly work. If you are interested in Norse mythology, though, and enjoy reading a good translation of Beowulf (which although not Norse mythology has a lot in common with Old Norse poetry) you will love this book. The tales of Odin and company were told and retold by many poets and saga writers, working hundreds of years apart. Many of their tellings are often contradictory. What Tolkien has done is to recreate a unified Norse mythology and given us new lays, written in English, but following the classic 8 line stanzaic style of the Elder Eddas, the Old Norse poetry form. This also means that there is none of the end rhyming we usually associate with poetry. No, these new lays use alliteration, just as in the Old English Beowulf. It really is a treat to get that style of poetry rendered in English. ( Imagine yourself in an old mead hall, while a gifted bard recites in this long-ago verse form. Better yet, read it out loud and become the bard.)

J.R.R. Tolkien's son, Christopher, has provided fascinating introductory information and explanatory notes that really make the reader feel like a serious student of Norse mythology and Old Norse poetry. This material occupies at least as many pages as the poems themselves. Without this extra material, much of the impact and complexity of the poems would be lost.

If you are serious about understanding the life's work of perhaps the greatest author of the 20th Century and the influences that helped lead him to Middle Earth, take a chance on THE LEGEND OF SIGURD AND GUDRUN.