Faber & Faber Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

igual que la descripción y foto

Excellente transaction

Ksiażka przyszła przybrudzona i została zapakowana tylko w karton

Like The Iliad, which I have also read recently, this work is timeless. Or at least, it is when translated into modern idiom as well as Simon Armitage has done here.The story is surprisingly subtle. Gawain is a “Master of the Universe” in the same sense as Sherman McCoy was in 1980s New York. Related by blood to King Arthur himself, he is physically strong and beautiful. He has all the knightly virtues. Fearless on the jousting field with courtly manners, he prides himself on his ease and learned conversation with the court ladies. He is held in high regard at Camelot and clearly holds himself in high regard.Just as Sherman was taken out of his comfort zone, so is Gawain. The mysterious Green Knight crashes into the Round Table’s new year’s eve celebrations and Gawain finds himself entangled in an impossible duel.Gawain does not shirk. He intends to meet his obligations, even though they can only lead to his death. He enters into bargain with another man he meets on his quest, but this bargain he does not keep to the letter. Offered a token that will save his life in the upcoming meeting with the Green Knight, he takes it and keeps it, even though this is owed, under the terms of the bargain he made, to the other man.The Green Knight spares Gawain, leaving him with a scar on his neck to remind him of his insincerity. It is all done in good humour, but Gawain knows that his knightly honour has been compromised. He returns to Camelot a diminished man and his scar is a further symbol of the corruption that is at the heart of Camelot and will eventually bring it down.The beauty of the poem is in its humour and understatement. Gawain is not a bad man. He is proud and unthinking, and he is trying to live to an honour code that is almost impossible to keep. He takes the chance to save his skin. Who wouldn’t in his position? The author does not condemn him and nor should we, but it is the beginning of the end of Arthurian golden age.Of course, it is the Green Knight who is the instrument of his downfall. Green Knight/Green Man, symbol of the unstoppable thrust of nature. When Camelot falls, it will be overgrown by vegetation until it eventually disappears into the forest. This is the fate of us all. Master of the universe or not.The poem is magical and Armitage brings out the best in it. He has a lightness of touch that makes it an easy read. He wisely keeps the alliteration from the original, thereby retaining the poetry and the other-worldliness. My only complaint is that, in the dialogue especially, he tries too hard to render the modern vernacular. This is doomed to failure, because phrases like “Who is governor of this gaggle?” already sound more dated than the original.Note to Faber. Have you considered a parallel text? Armitage side by side with the original. I for one would appreciate it.

First of all, note the five stars and don't read too much negativity into this review. It's just that I like the translation very much and a few missteps (as they appear to me) make me want to speak out.It has been said elsewhere that in some places Armitage chose to stray from the original even where the original is quite natural to the modern ear and, in rare cases, he used language which is jarring and discordant. I agree.Here is an example which, for me, was the most discordant ...Original:But in his honde he hade a holyn bobbe,That is grattest in grene when greves ar bare,And an ax in his other, a hoge and unmete,A spetos sparthe to expoun in spelle, quo-so myght.Translation:but held in his hand a sprig of holly---of all the evergreens the greenest ever---and in the other hand held the mother of all axes,a cruel piece of kit I kid you notThose last two lines made me blink. This is early in the poem and I almost gave up on the translation right there but am glad I did not. Other than a few rare examples like that (and none other so glaring) I enjoyed it immensely. This is a "five star" translation. What Armitage has done in this translation is not easy and deserves respect. He manages more than mere "accessibility" for the modern reader but also maintains a natural sense of speaking along with alliteration like the "percussive hoof beats" mentioned in another review. As they say, pure poetry.Anyway, here is my attempt at a translation of the above:but in his hand he had a holly sprig,that is greenest of green when groves are bare,and an ax in his other, huge to excess,a wicked war-ax to put into words, if one could.Note that the first two of those lines are nearly unchanged from the original, an example of where the (almost) original reads quite naturally. I'm still not satisfied with that last line but have had my nose so close to it I can no longer see the forest for the trees so will let it stand as it is (for now).