Beowulf: The Complete Story: A Drama (an audio book)

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About Beowulf: The Complete Story: A Drama

Product Description This dramatization of a bold new version of the complete thousand-year-old text features actors from Wisconsin Public Radio, the American Players Theatre, and the Guthrie Theatre, supported by music and sound effects. The translation, by Professor Dick Ringler of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, evokes the original spoken delivery of the Old English masterpiece. Cast in Order of AppearanceNarrator, Dick Ringler; Danish Coast Guard, Nathan Sorseth; Beowulf, Stephen Pelinski; Sentry at Heorot, Jim DeVita; Hrothgar, King of the Danes, Karl Schmidt; Unferth, Craig Johnson; Wealhtheow, Susan Sweeney; Hygelac, L.J. Janowski; Last Survivor, Jonathan Smoots; Wiglaf, Jason Bradley; Messenger, Jason O’ConnellDistributed for NEMO Productions, Madison, Wisconsin. Review “Like many high school students, I suffered as my English teacher pounded ‘Beowulf’ into my head.         “But a funny thing happened while I was listening to the new Beowulf CD produced by Norman Gilliland's NEMO Productions. It turns out "Beowulf" is a lot more entertaining when it's translated into a language familiar to the modern ear and the epic poem's original meter is preserved.” -- Heather Lee Schroeder, The Capital Times About the Author Dick Ringler is professor emeritus of English and Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is author of Bard of Iceland and coauthor, with Frederick Cassidy, of Bright's Old English Grammar and Reader. Norman Gilliland has hosted weekday classical music broadcasts since 1977. He is the creator of Grace Notes, which has become a daily feature on many public radio stations nationwide, and is author of the historical novel, Sand Mansions. He lives in Madison. From AudioFile Though the publisher calls this production a drama, it is, rather, a recital of the complete text by multiple readers, with sound effects and music. As such, it is one of the most accessible and listenable audio versions of this tenth-century epic, originally written in Old English. The poem sings of the title hero's youthful victory over Danish monsters and his last fatal battle with a dragon. The crisp translation is tensely narrated by Richard Ringer, the University of Wisconsin professor who wrote it, with the characters performed by uniformly capable actors. Producer Norman Gilliland, a WHA Madison program host, has judiciously selected and mixed the sound and music to contribute atmosphere and help drive the action forward. Y.R. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine