Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Patience; Pearl

by Unknown, Marie Borroff (Translator)

Verse translations of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience , and Pearl by Marie Borroff. "These translations by Marie Borroff not only are one of the great achievements of the translator's craft but are works of art in their own right."--Lee Patterson, Frederick W. Hilles Professor of English and Chairman of Medieval Studies, Yale University.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Medieval, Fiction, Literature, Fantasy, College

193 pages, Paperback

Published December 21, 2000

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Unknown" when the author or editor (as applicable) is not known and cannot be discovered. If at all possible, list at least one actual author or editor for a book instead of using "Unknown".

Books whose authorship is purposefully withheld should be attributed instead to Anonymous.

Reviews

[laura e · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schöne Übersetzung aber Armitage schon immernoch besser. Und na ja, eben die coolste Artus-Geschichte überhaupt ✨️

[Karl Steel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nearly done teaching it. Borroff's translation is, I guess, tied for the best available, but--and I hate to be a snob about it--there's really no substitute for the original. I doubt Borroff would disagree with me.

which isn't to say that the translation can't be improved* in places: for example, a nice short piece by R. J. Dingley in Explicator some years back suggested that the "gyn" of Patience 146 ("Hit wat3 a ioyles gyn þat Jonas wat3 inne") be glossed as "craft," while Borroff does it as...well, my Borroff's in my office. But trust me. If you're writing a paper on this, please look to the original and don't be afraid of the Middle English dictionary.

* Of course depending on what counts as an improvement: is the translator trying to capture the 'feel' of the original or the sense? Borroff's translation tends to go for the feel and is quite good at that particular task.

[Kailyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel I should add that I only read "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." I read it in a Norton anthology and was looking for the same translator on Goodreads to add; I didn't realize until later this edition included the other two poems by the same poet. Oops.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was incredibly well researched and the best part was how the rhyme was broken down at the beginning with explaining how the story would go, what that meant to listeners back then, what stories were like in that time, how incredibly rare finding a full living poem is, what rhyme and meter and cadence were like, what the status of how men and women treated each other were, etc etc

[Jalen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Third time reading it, three different translations, and this version by Borroff is excellent. Sir Gawain is lyrical and deeply affecting…one of my all-time favorite pieces of literature. New to me this time was “The Pearl” and it is also stunningly glorious. The author’s introduction in this edition is especially good for this particular poem in helping the reader understand the complex structure and numerical play of the poem. I thought the intro to Gawain poem was underwhelming, even a bit cynical in places. You must read Tolkien’s 1953 Glasgow lecture to fully appreciate what’s going on in Sir Gawain.

[Jason Farley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just lost the spine on this one. Great translation of a wonderful epic. My wife won't let me name our new son Gawain or Beowulf. Good thing she is around.

[Catchy00 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is beautifully written, it's very lyrical and poetic. However, the story and it's characters are meh, despite the fact this takes place in magical Camelot with the knights of the round table. I kept finding myself almost falling asleep trying to read this, whether that's due to my chronic fatigue or the older english which takes more brain power to absorb, or from the story being boring, we will never know. I'm glad Sir Gawain learned his lesson, and will be more humble knowing that when put to the test he falls short of the pedestal the chivalrous knights are placed on. It's also interesting that the knights of the round table take on a green sash across the chest as a part of their ensemble (but for different reasons than Sir Gawain). I wouldn't say this classic is a must read by any means, but maybe I'm just basic and mostly like modern novels. 🤔🙃🤦‍♀️

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amateur medievalists: this translation is quite good.

If you're interested in this volume at all, I'm guessing you can hack your way through Chaucer in the original but not the Gawain poet. That's my situation, anyway: The Gawain poet's Middle English is a little much for me. I found Borroff's verse elegant and highly readable, but with a broadly faithful rendering of the original alliterative and rhyming schemes.

[Christen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually listened to the audiobook translated by Simon Armitage and narrated by Bill Wallis. Although I have read the Barroff Edition as an undergrad. I recommend the audio as it contains readings of the translation nd a reading of the middle English manuscript. And really, it is meant to be listened to.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read Simon Armitage's translation of Sit Gawain last year, I was eager to read an older translation to compare. Unfortunately I found Borroffs translation quite plain and academic, her word choice most certainly authentic to the original text but loses some of the edge and elegance that Armitage's work has.

[Janel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this version for a medieval lit course, but I would definitely recommend this translation over any other I've read. Marie Borroff's translation maintains the original rhyming pattern, and it is one of the most accessible versions of Sir Gawain I've read.

[Aseem Kaul · Rating 5 out of 5]

"As it was fashioned featly / In tale of derring-do / And linked in measures meetly / by letters tried and true."

Borroff's translation of Gawain is a joy to read - a version that perfectly captures the galloping momentum of the alliterative line in the Middle English original.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was well done. However, I prefer pure translation rather than those that change things completely around. I would suggest this book to anyone who isn't a purist.

[Nicholas Zacharewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first direct encounter with Sir Gawain and The Green Knight and it left a good impression on me. After all, I came to it expecting an adventure story like Beowulf but with more overtly Christian references and themes. Although the encounters here have much more of a direct cultural bent to them than, at least on the surface, being about monsters and the warriors who face them.

I enjoyed Borroff's choices when it came to translation and her explanations for them in her introduction to the work. I am not a scholar of this particular area of Medieval Studies, but these choices and explanations made sense to me given the context of the research that she presented. And where she noted differences in her translation, they seemed like reasonable differences.

Patience and Pearl were (as much as poetry that's more religious can be) mostly icing. Pearl in particular was fascinating as yet another medieval dream vision.

Definitely seek this edition out for a fantastic triptych of medieval storytelling.

[MattLoading... · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps saving the best for last would have helped this trio of poems, as The Green Knight is by far the greatest of the three.

Visceral, surprisingly contemporary in its drama, scandalous and well written is The Green Knight. I am curious to see how this poem is presented in the upcoming film of the same name. I felt this style of fiction (medieval fantasy) presents itself in media such as Game of Thrones and Lord of The Rings. Yet we cannot ignore this poem was written in the 14th Century! Incredible!

The following two poems are fine, Patience being the better of those.

These two poems are more fascinating for their historical context. Learning about the pervasiveness of christianity in medieval society is thought provoking when contrasted with contemporary post modernist/ secular social systems. Also interesting are the residuals of christian morality present today expressed in these poems.

Although the final poem was a bit of a drag, and strict school teaching on christian dogma, this book is worth reading for The Green Knight alone.

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazingly modernly-told story (reads almost like a screenplay!) of a tale-of-the-unexpected in which Sir Gawain (ill-advisedly!) accepts the Green Knight's Xmas/New Year game challenge. Amazingly-well-translated into modern English by Marie Borroff, with alliterative lines (why did these ever go out of fashion!?) and helpful (but not overly numerous) notes. A true Classic.

(N.B. will update this review after I've read Patience and Pearl...)

[sk · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read Patience, but there’s no Goodreads edition of just Patience so I’m using this edition.

All I have to say is that Jonah is an idiot.. but I kind of like him. Even if it is an obviously losing battle, I respect the fact that he tries not to let God push him around. I also like that he’s always sleeping in extremely chaotic and pinnacle moments.

[Heather Forensky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though it has been a while since I read medieval poetry, it was easy to get the general gist of the story.

[Magpie6493 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely worth reading if you're interested in Arthurian stories even from a pure entertainment standpoint like I did.

[maddie ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, my brit lit class brought me here, but i actually liked this one. The ending was slightly frustrating and deus ex machina-y but i liked the poetic rhythm a lot

[Sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm gonna count this as 1 book because I reread parts of Gawain and read patience and pearl in their entireties for class! and damn it if I don't use my class reading for Goodreads points

[Maia Matson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, it makes me want to re-read Legendborn. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an English classic with a fantastic finale with a plot twist that I found rather exciting. I enjoyed this read more than I thought I would.

[ashlyn ☽ · Rating 3 out of 5]

the green knight was suuuch a bitch for the fakeout like 3 times in a row wtf man 😭

[Abby]

One of the wonderful things about Medieval literature is that its tools and templates are quite strict and often familiar, and I still don't know how it's going to end. I was pulled through this poem on the basis of sheer anticipation. The ending still threw me for a loop.

Lately I want books about heroes: people who do the hard thing even when they don't have to, who suffer discomfort without complaint, who rely on their wits and strength and "curteisye" toward others. I don't really want to be Gawain, sleeping in armor in the freezing rain and creeping loneliness of the Welsh countryside. I don't want to find myself in that moment when he lies awake, listening to the furious wind outside and contemplating his guilty conscience and his own impending death. I want to read about people whose shoes I would never want to fill, but always wonder if I could. And Gawain is exactly the kind of hero who, if he were here, would tell you it's hard but he believes you could do it.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed finally being able to finish Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. My english lit. book in highschool had told the first part, but did not finish it. So for about 2 years I was doomed to wondering how Gawain got out of it alive-or if he even did. I was therefore please when I found a copy in my university library. I enjoyed these translations very much, and the notes for the text were helpful and informative.

[Mark Adderley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It reads very smoothly, and is quite accurate to the original Middle English.

[Jennifer James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of my favorite poems. I've struggled through it in the original for English class, but this translation was much easier and therefore more fun to read. She did a great job with all the alliteration. On a related note, I really like Heather Dale's song The Green Knight which makes the pagan imagery much more explicit and reveals the Green Knight to be the Green Man, a pagan god.

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sure I would have liked it better if I understood it. It did help that I had to read it for a class so my professor could help us explore the value of it. Literature like this is hard because there is usually one surviving copy that all translations are based on. Even so, I generally enjoy any story that deals with the Knights of the Round Table, so that was enough to hold my attention even though a lot of it was lost on me.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The technical and poetic skill of the Pearl Poet, combined with the technical and poetic skill of translator Marie Borroff=magnificence!

All the introductory essays help tremendously with cultural context and what to look for.

Gawain remains one of my favorite tales of all time. So many books lose their luster upon rereading, but this one gains in power and beauty with each read-through.

[The Scarlet Pervygirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pearl is not only astonishingly skilfully crafted for maximum beauty and limpidity; it is also the most feminine erotic poem I have ever read.

[This review is of Pearl only. The other two works in the collection are translated by Borroff and are entirely separate entities from Pearl.]