An Anonymous Anglo-Saxon Poet's Classic: Beowulf (Annotated)
With a Historical Introduction, an Overview, and a Study of Themes
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An Anonymous Anglo-Saxon Poet's Classic: Beowulf (Annotated)
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Narrated by:
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Mike Carbuccia
About this listen
Unique to this title is:
- A historical introduction
- An overview of Beowulf
- A study of the themes present in Beowulf
You may of course skip all of it and go straight to the main title if you do not want any spoilers and come back later to the beginning.
The Epic of Beowulf dates back to CE 1000 and is considered the oldest surviving piece of work in English literature. Although written in Britain, the story of Beowulf is set in Scandinavia.
The epic poem is composed in Old English and consists of 3,182 lines. It is written in the alliterative verse style, which is common for Old English poetry.
The poem is about the legendary hero, Beowulf, a nobleman of the Geats. They were a North Germanic people inhabiting modern-day Gotaland in Southern Sweden.
Beowulf begins with a description of the life of Scyld Scefing, the legendary home of the Danish royal family. We learn of several descendants of Scyld before being introduced to Hrothgar, who is the current king of Danes. His "court" is the hall of Heorot. It is believed that Heorot may refer to a sixth-century hall excavated near Lejre in 2004.
King Hrothgar of Denmark, a descendant of the great king Shield Sheafson, enjoys a long and successful reign. He reigns from the mead-hall, called Heorot, where his warriors gather to drink, talk, receive gifts from the king, and listen to stories sung by the bards.
Enjoy this timeless classic!
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What listeners say about An Anonymous Anglo-Saxon Poet's Classic: Beowulf (Annotated)
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Margaret
- 03-02-20
My first listen/ read of this book
This is the thirteenth book I’ve received by Audiobook Giveaways and I would listen to more. I really like the historical insight, overview and other information they provide at the beginning of their books.
This is the first I’ve read/listened to this particular book.
It does not have the feel of a poem as I expected, but then again, it is a translation.
This is the first book I’ve listened to by this narrator ( Mike Carbuccia ) and I would listen to another. There are times he lacks the pauses or varied cadence he uses during other parts and therefore sections (often the character’s spoken words) run together and require a bit more concentration to listen to. He uses different voices for various characters. Overall, his does well narrating this book.
There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Karl hill
- 01-08-20
What a Surpise
Beowulf was a book I had to read twice in school and hated it both times. I love to give classics another try, especially when I did not like them when I was younger.
I found the annotations at the beginning of this book gave me such a good start in rereading this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, way more then I ever have. I can now see how people have loved it so much.
Mike Carbuccia has such a unique voice and was so easy to listen to. His voices were distinct as well.
I received a copy of this audiobook at my request, and I have voluntarily left this review.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- lmauer2
- 04-01-20
Better than expected.
If you enjoy old English, this is for you. I highly enjoy Beowulf and this is exactly that to a t. The narration was great, not excellent, but for what it was it was very easy to listen to. A better rendition than LibriVox. I find the cover art to be more amateurish than the actual recording. I received this copy for free without an understanding that it would be reviewed when it had been listened to.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Red-Haired Ash
- 03-22-20
1.5 stars
1.5 stars
The Epic of Beowulf is considered the oldest surviving piece of English literature. This poem is about the legendary Beowulf, a nobleman of the Geats, and his adventures.
Sadly, this book was pretty boring. I didn’t expect to love it since it's written in old english but I really didn’t enjoy it. I ended up toning some of it out. I think this is one of those books that you read for english class but never pick up again. I did like the narrator through.
Overall, I can’t recommend this book because it wasn’t a great story. I wasn’t expecting it to be mind blowing but I wasn’t expecting it to be so boring either. So unless you love old english classics I suggest skipping this one for something better.
*Audiobook provided for free for an honest review by Audiobook Boom.*
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