Beowulf

Stephen Mitchell's marvelously clear and vivid rendering re-creates the robust masculine music of the original. It both hews closely to the Old English and captures its wild energy and vitality, not just as a deep “work of literature” but also as a rousing entertainment that can still stir our feelings and rivet our attention today, after more than a thousand years. This new translation, spare, sinuous, vigorous in its narration, and translucent in its poetry, makes a masterpiece accessible to everyone.