Beowulf

By: Stephen Mitchell

Narrated by: Stephen Mitchell

Stephen Mitchell's marvelously clear and vivid rendering recreates 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.

©2017 Stephen Mitchell (P)2017 Recorded Books

Poor Performance

The reading could not keep my interest; the monotone was weak and difficult to continue listening to. I kept rewinding but found myself far ahead without having captured what had happened before. I will just read a hard copy.

Delightful and insightful

Though narration a bit too quiet and dry for my liking, it was clear and well-paced for the story. No awkward bad acting, which is good. The story is one I’d studied in college and actually listened to by another narrator in 2020. I was once again astonished at the compelling nature of the story and how detailed the sheer sensitivity that the inner thoughts of various characters brought to bear on the humanity of this historically significant piece of poetic literature. Very glad for the experience!

Well written

For some reason the audio is very quiet and it makes it hard to hear

A classic well done.

The story is timeless and sad in what it says about our love of war. I disagreed with the criticism of the narrator. It was presented as a very old text, not a dramatic, enactment, and I think Mitchell did extremely well in both the translation and the narration. I listen to the sample to make sure you agree.

Classic

The foreword had me hooked! The style and storytelling is historic and expands the taste pallet for a well rounded reader