>I recommend Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf. I particularly
recommend
>the CD of Seamus Heaney reading his translation of Beowulf. Put it on in
the
>background while doing a quiet hobby or tidying the house, and have a fine
>poet and storyteller open his word-hoard for you.
I've got four translations of Beowulf, including the Heaney and Donaldson
versions. The Heaney version does have great sound, although I find prose is
always easier to read than verse. And I rarely have the time or patience to
actually speak verse.
>>* The Icelandic sagas have the
*>>* advantage in that their literary style is very approachable to a modern
*>>* reader - and they focus on broader issues than heroic actions.
*>You might want to warn your players that the sagas are a bit of an
acquired
>taste.
If they are in one of my games, they've probably been exposed pretty
heavily to saga-style. I warn them about what in my opinion is the most
interesting aspects of the style - the complete lack of internal character
dialogue and the laconic descriptions.
Jeff