Rating: 
Summary: What a Waste of Time!
Review: I consider myself a literarily open minded person. But this book I found to be the ultimate cure for insomnia. The English used then is very different from today's. It's not that I didn't understand it, because I did. But this novel carries no real plot, the entire dialogue throughout is robotic and monotone, and the descriptions are either overly simplistic or too "Hemmingway"...on and on and on....Yes I suppose some would argue that this novel carries much culture and tradition with it, but give me a break! Jazz up the translation a bit and use language that REAL people can understand!!!!! Or don't waste your time!!!! Unless you suffer from an extreme case of insomnia, suicidal depression, or sheer boredom, don't come anywhere near this book!
Rating: 
Summary: None better.
Review: The bilingual edition shows us the wonder of the old language, and Heaney's interpretation is top-notch. This is the most enjoyable way to get to know the greatest epic of the English language. Heaney does a fine job balancing the pagan and Christian overtones, and captures characterizations concisely with marvelous insight. Knights and monsters abound, and the story is fascinating.
Rating: 
Summary: I never realized...
Review: I have tried to read Beowulf a few times in a few different translations. Since 11th grade (I won't say how long ago that was), I had been looking for someone to give it the oomph that my English teacher had in reading it to us and helping us to understand it. Mr. Heaney has done just that. I'm not a scholar of the poem, so I don't know how closely it resembles the original, but I can tell you that I understood it and enjoyed it more than I have in years. To ... a tired old quote "If you read only one translation of Beowulf this year, this is it!"
Rating:
Summary: My first time reading Beowulf
Review: and Im glad I picked this translation. It is not terribly hard to read, but it is also quite eloquent and engaging. Even though there are parts where the story suddenly shifts to another time, as history or analogy, I didnt mind so much. It is a great epic poem telling mythology in a way most fitting. It is also one that I will read again in years to come. A story pure in heroes and villains, good and evil, darkness and light. It stands as a precursor to the great works of JRR Tolkein. Im glad that I read it and hope that this is used in literature classes. It is a great adventure for one and all.
Rating:
Summary: It's nice poetry, but it's not Beowulf!
Review: Heaney's "translation" is really an adaptation of the original Anglo-Saxon poem. Heaney stylistic choices and vocabulary are, often truly bizarre and bear no relationship at all to the Old English. What is most ironic is that the hardback version that I have offers the original Old English version in one column and Heaney's bastardization in the other--yet, if you will read the preface, you'll find that Heaney cannot even read Old English! I know that what is here appears to be "readable," but it's so inaccurate as to be useless. For a much cheaper, and much more authentic translation, try the Burton Raffel version. If you're willing to spend a bit more, try "A Readable Beowulf" by Greenfield--a noted scholar. The Greenfield version is quite simply the most accurate and elegant translation available, but it is a bit pricy.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful accomplishment
Review: More than a new translation, Seamus Heaney's Beowolf is a transformation. I read Beowolf many years ago, inspired by John Gardener's Grendel. No, I never 'had' to read it in college. I liked it then, but I loved Heaney's gift of a verse translation accessible to the modern reader. This was a poem Heaney was born to write, less a translation than a collaboration with the long-gone Poet who gave us Beowolf.
Rating:
Summary: Totally accessible
Review: Though not a scholar, I enjoyed this work immensely. The translation is lyrical, clear and immediate in recreating a time and place. The side by side text brings home what a scholarly challenge it must have been to translate this work so beautifully--one fact not mentioned in the introduction is that there are over 200 words in the original poem that appear nowhere else in the fragments of literature that remain from the period. Much later works--Eliot, Gerard Manley Hopkins--echo in these lines--or rather it's the reverse, as I now realize. I hope this is the version that now becomes standard in schools--the author is a poet in his own right, and that sensibility pervades this work.
Rating:
Summary: Beowulf
Review: A true landmark. Written by a fine poet, it brings the saga to real life. Fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: Finally an accessible translation
Review: Years ago I read this wonderful epic for the first time and was enthralled with its terrific characters. Unfortunately the translation I read was very difficult to understand and I had problems trying to match characters with pronouns among other things. This translation has no such problems. It is very readable. The readability of the text obviously enhances the experience since one can concentrate on the content and not on the difficult language. Another nice feature is the inclusion of the original text. While I can not read it, it is certainly very interesting to compare. The actually epic of Beowulf is a great knights tale that has been revived as a result of Tolkein's interest in the work. In my opinion it is the greatest epic ever written. While it is much shorter than say the Iliad, I certainly found it more entertaining. Beowulf's adventure's with Grendal and his mother(thank goodness none of our mother-in-laws were like this) can not be beat. Don't miss this enchanting tell. I also highly recommend this book on tape read by Heaney. His Irish accent gives the story a dark ages feeling that really enhances the experience.
Rating:
Summary: Beowulf With A Vengeance
Review: Seamus Heaney's "Beowulf" has been so widely praised and admired, even in the short time period in which it has (as of this writing) been available, that it seems the chorus of approval needs no more amplification. What is often lost in the cavalcade of positivity that accompanies all mention of this translation is the visceral experience one receives while reading it. In the introduction Heaney writes about classical works being written on a seeming "official paper", that stands in the way of the work's full enjoyment in the modern era (this could just be my reading of it). With this translation Heaney has done away with said "official paper" and we are left with a rousing adventure that taps into our very real notions of heroism. It is not terribly unlikely that since Seamus Heaney is an "official poet", his "official translation" might turn a few lay readers off before they've even tried reading it. That is unfortunate. Heaney's Beowulf is as inspiring as any truly great poem, and as exciting and pulse-quickening as any blockbuster.
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