Audio only
Length1h 35m
About this audiobook
Simon Armitage narrates a complete verse translation of this spirited and humorous medieval English poem
The Owl and the Nightingale, one of the earliest literary works in Middle English, is a lively, anonymous comic poem about two birds who embark on a war of words in a wood, with a nearby poet reporting their argument in rhyming couplets, line by line and blow by blow. In this engaging and energetic verse translation, Simon Armitage captures the verve and humor of this dramatic tale with all the cut and thrust of the original.
In an agile iambic tetrameter that skillfully amplifies the prosody and rhythm of the original, Armitage's translation moves entertainingly from the eloquent and philosophical to the ribald and ridiculous. Sounding at times like antagonists in a Twitter feud, the owl and the nightingale quarrel about a host of subjects that still resonate today—including love, marriage, identity, cultural background, class distinctions, and the right to be heard. Adding to the playful, raucous mood of the barb-trading birds is Armitage, who at one point inserts himself into the poem as a "magistrate . . . to adjudicate"—one who is "skilled with words & worldly wise / & frowns on every form of vice."
Featuring the Middle English text on facing pages and an introduction by Armitage, this volume will delight readers of all ages.
Audiobook details
GenrePoetry, Literary Classics
Length1 hr 35 mins
Narrated bySimon Armitage
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateMay 24, 2022
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Opening Anno, Introduction, The Owl and the Nightingale
4Acknowledgments
2The Owl and the Nightingale
5Closing Anno
3The Owl and the Nightingale
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