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alisarae 's review for:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Gawain Poet
This is a really fun book to listen to. I believe all poetry needs to be spoken, all the more so when so much care was taken with the translation.
I listened to the version translated from middle English by Simon Armitage, who explains in the introduction that when making the choice between a literal translation and a completely different word that rhymes or alliterates, he would choose a different word. So the nuts and bolts of the story are the same, but the details can be quite different. Personally, I'm glad this version exists because it really adds to the fun of the story.
That said, I noticed that Armitage was very careful with his word choice, as very few words in the poem were Latin-based (possible none). That was an extra delectable treat for me. Because I am an English teacher in Brazil, at times I get so irritated at the amount of people who claim to be advanced English speakers yet don't understand/recognize non-Latin-based words. It pisses me off because the source of this problem is laziness. Students don't read books (any books, even in Portuguese), they don't sit down and study, and then they whine and complain that "this is old fashioned no one talks like this". WRONG. Sorry about the rant, but I get seriously exhausted hearing only half the language all the time and arguing with students over whether or not a term is "used" and the frequency of its use and what generation of people say the word instead of them just accepting that English has roughly double the amount of available vocabulary as Portuguese. SO, going back to this translation.... Armitage renders the poem into completely modern and contemporary English (fight me on this one, just try) yet keeps it free of Latin seepage. Just listening to it put a smile on my face. I need more books like this in my life.
Besides that, there is a plot twist, sexy times, and blood and guts. What more do you want in a story?
PS the audiobook has both the modern and middle English versions if you get curious about cross-checking the translation, hehehe.
I listened to the version translated from middle English by Simon Armitage, who explains in the introduction that when making the choice between a literal translation and a completely different word that rhymes or alliterates, he would choose a different word. So the nuts and bolts of the story are the same, but the details can be quite different. Personally, I'm glad this version exists because it really adds to the fun of the story.
That said, I noticed that Armitage was very careful with his word choice, as very few words in the poem were Latin-based (possible none). That was an extra delectable treat for me. Because I am an English teacher in Brazil, at times I get so irritated at the amount of people who claim to be advanced English speakers yet don't understand/recognize non-Latin-based words. It pisses me off because the source of this problem is laziness. Students don't read books (any books, even in Portuguese), they don't sit down and study, and then they whine and complain that "this is old fashioned no one talks like this". WRONG. Sorry about the rant, but I get seriously exhausted hearing only half the language all the time and arguing with students over whether or not a term is "used" and the frequency of its use and what generation of people say the word instead of them just accepting that English has roughly double the amount of available vocabulary as Portuguese. SO, going back to this translation.... Armitage renders the poem into completely modern and contemporary English (fight me on this one, just try) yet keeps it free of Latin seepage. Just listening to it put a smile on my face. I need more books like this in my life.
Besides that, there is a plot twist, sexy times, and blood and guts. What more do you want in a story?
PS the audiobook has both the modern and middle English versions if you get curious about cross-checking the translation, hehehe.