Welcome to Litsy!

It was interesting to read Tolkien‘s translations of these three medieval poems, but it‘s been a long time since my medieval literature classes in college, and that area of my reading skills is a bit rusty! I enjoyed the narrative of Sir Gawain (especially with my recent read of Once & Future King) and Sir Orfeo, but found Pearl a bit more of a slog. Overall it was fascinating to read a different side of Tolkien‘s work. May #DoubleSpin complete!

I‘m continuing to enjoy the annotations in this edition… the previous reader seems to have written a little comment/title at the beginning of each section. I‘ve seen “Warning,” “Symbolic setting,” “Irony in parting,” etc. Here, as Gawain‘s companion urges him to flee and Gawain insists he will face the Green Knight, said comment/title is “See ya! Whatever!” 😂😂

This secondhand copy of Gawain & the Green Knight seems to have been used for a high school English class (it has a name and “Period 6” written on the first page). It‘s thoroughly annotated in not-very-legible, lightly-penciled-in writing. I‘ve been overlooking most of the notes, but this caught my eye: next to “…so loved he the less/ either long to be lying or long to be seated,” the reader marked “ADHD.” 😂

I love this book!!!! Tolkien is one of my favorite authors of all times!!! I love the way it was done. It was great and beautiful!!! I rated the book a 4 out of 5 stars!!!

In the end I just couldn‘t get through it. I was able to finish Sir Gawain but stopped in Pearl. The rest of my book club spoke highly of the short poem Sir Orfeo but I couldn‘t get through Pearl to get there. Shoulda skipped it but hindsight is 20/20. Onto Emma! #bookclubbooks

Oh. My. God. This book is so... meh😩 I would have bailed so so long ago if this wasn‘t for a book club. I am really not one for poetry and I am struuggglinnggggg. #sendhelp

Catching up on my book club book with this gem😍 I‘m not allowed to sit by myself EVER😂 were bundled up and ready for the incoming weather in Portland, OR! How‘s the weather where everyone else is?❄️❄️ #finankitten #catsoflitsy #snuggles

A less impulsive purchase: reading an early 20th century translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight last week reminded me that I didn't have this slightly later 20th century translation by Tolkien. Now I do have it!
Pearl and Sir Orfeo I've never read, and they sound interesting, so (hopefully) I'll enjoy this one.

I‘ll be the first to admit I don‘t generally read Medieval English poetry, but I really enjoyed these translations by Tolkien, well at least 2 of the 3. I find it incredibly interesting to see more details of his personal interests and how they may have inspired his created world and writing style. The more of his original poetry I‘ve read, the more I‘ve appreciated it, and this added yet another layer.

#FellowshipofTolkien #poetry #translated

I definitely did not enjoy “Pearl” as much as the other two poems, but the description of the form of the poem does give me a much greater appreciation for the writing and translation. I completely missed this detail in my casual reading.

#poetry

I found the information at the end of the book about the verse forms in these poems surprisingly interesting as I don‘t tend to read a lot of poetry. This bit explains the bob and wheel at the end of each stanza of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.”

#poetry

I enjoyed the third translated poem. This first section caught my attention and seems a fairly true statement about what authors often create. I also felt there might have been bits of inspiration for Aragorn in the character of the King.

#FellowshipofTolkien #poetry

According to Tolkien‘s introductory notes, there is debate about the layers of symbolism and allegory in this poem. No matter how you look at it, it is full of Biblical references and Christian theology about death and salvation. I guess that makes it an appropriate poem for Easter, but I enjoyed the first poem much more.

#FellowshipofTolkien #poetry

Over the course of today I read Tolkien‘s translation of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” I read at least part of this story in a different translation in high school, but I remembered very little of it. It was an interesting story of King Arthur‘s England, and I appreciated all the little descriptive details of the poem.

#poetry #FellowshipofTolkien

Over the last couple of years, a standard part of my daily routine has been to read some pages of Tolkien and often more when I‘m home for a few days. Now, we‘re between books in our readalong while we wait for everyone, myself included, to get the next book. Since I‘m teaching from home and I have more Tolkien reading material, I think I‘m going to try some pages of one of these while waiting.

#FellowshipofTolkien

This was so good. The alliteration was fun. The plot was a ride. Before this Arthurian Legends class, I *thought* I knew Arthur. I was Jon Snow. I knew nothing. I‘m keeping this forever and always & I will read it to my students!

The more I read these old English poems the more I understand the professor. 😍😍

@BethM I don‘t know where to start! I absolutely love everything; I find it awesome we got each other Sir Gawain 🤗😂 I‘m so excited to try the different teas in the best tumbler ever! Sweets are my weakness. The beautiful wooden magnets will be the first on my fridge in my new place when I finish moving. And I‘m super excited to read A Darker Shade of Magic and The Lost Book of Tales - I‘ve been eyeing both for some time now!! Thank you so much!

So I'm thinking about adding ALL of my Tolkien to the #lotrchapteraday Besides the children of hurin, I'm adding The Book of Lost Tales (1), The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

This week's bookshop buy 😍

Finished this today and man, I'm just always in awe of Tolkien's skill as a translator. Listening to the audiobook brought this home even more, because it allows you to truly experience the musicality of the words! Also we can't forget that Pearl and Sir Orfeo are included in this edition. I think Sir Orfeo is one of my favs... I'm glad the ending is different than the Greek version. 😉
#tolkien #sirgawain #tolkientribe #jrrtolkien #sirorfeo