Sir Gawain And The Green Knight/Pearl/Cleanness/Patience (Everyman's Library) Paperback – 3 Jun. 1996

Absolute must buy for students and readers alike. Really the only good study edition of Gawain that I can find.

Wonderful book.

This edition is what I wanted but it took a lot of searching. Most editions now are translated for the modern reader, which misses the beauty of the original. This appears to be an authoritative edition which superseded the one (Tolkein) which I studied in college. It is well supported with notes and glosses and I like them on the page rather than having to turn to the end. The design is well done, so if you want to read just the poem and not be distracted by the transcriptions, you can just put a piece of paper over them, or just ignore them. You have the sense of the original plus support if you need it. This is a much better method than the Worlds Classics editions which drive one distracted with numbers in the text referring to notes at the back of the edition.I was really pleased to see that the first poem is "Pearl" as it is this I bought it for, having, in my retirement a hankering to read it again. I just took off one star because the paper quality is a bit rough. However I am very pleased with it. Thank you Amazon.

This review is concerns the quality of the physical book - not the text!Everyman used to produce books that were good quality and a pleasure to hold and read - this book is printed on paper which approximates to newsprint! This kind of thing will hasten the end of books as we know them - why would anyone prefer such an unpleasant book to the e-book? Shameful!

I don't have the technical expertise of previous reviewers to comment on the quality of the critical apparatus of this edition; however I would point out that its double page layout worked well for me as a fourteen year old reader - the glosses given enabled me to read most of the poem without reference to the footnotes, but when I struggled, the fact that they were in verse meant that I didn't find the interruption to the flow of the poem so jarring. Substituting modern poetry (however imperfect) for the original is still less of a contrast than dry, factual, prose.However, athough "Gawain and the Green Knight" takes up over half the book, it is not the only poem considered. The other two are very different. Whereas 'Gawain' has a Christianised setting into which pagan, mythological elements repeatedly intrude, "Pearl" is an extended Christian allegory meditating on love and mourning. The soul of the dead child is "the pearl of great price" from the New Testament parable, for which the grieving father would give all that he had. The last of the three is an explicit meditation on the Christian virtue. ("Cleanliness" should be thought of as 'purity' in this context.)The complex imagery and lack of narrative structure make these other two poems much harder work to read. The "glossary & free composition" approach of this edition serves these poems less well; one does feel the need of a more detailed textual analysis.For me, the particular merit of this edition lies in the juxtaposition of the three poems. I would probably never have bought the other two poems if they had been published seperately; yet together the three poems together complement each other. They demonstrate the range of styles and diversity of subject matter and genre available to Middle English audiences.

This is a must for all lovers of medieval literature. Clearly written and understandable, it transports you back to a time when psychological allegory was important in explaining the mood of love.

The works in this book are widely acknowledged of one of the most beautiful verse in Middle English. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl, in particular, share beautiful ornate language that paints vivid pictures of the scenery. Pearl, moreover, contains one of the most sentimental portrayals of grief and is heart-breaking at points. It is certainly worth reading in the original.This particular edition was recommended to me by my tutor at university and I found it especially helpful. The editor, J. J. Anderson, has added useful notes to help you understand the text better than you would yourself at first glance.Moreover, it is one of the few versions which provide all the works by the Gawain-poet (or Pearl-poet) together.It is a real shame the book is out of print and only available second hand, given that it is such a widely used and recommended text for students.(Another great edition for Pearl, is that by E. V. Gordon.)

This edition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has possibly the worst critical apparatus that I have ever seen in any supposedly scholarly text - it is quite simple: do not buy this edition if you want more than a condescending, sloppy, infuriating quasi-translation of one of the greatest poems that this language has ever produced. Where to start? Well, to begin with, J.J.Anderson has seen fit to omit any form of glossary - a fairly important addition you might think to a poem that is full of archaic and obscure language; the marginal glosses are simply too few and far between to be anything more than a minor annoyance. Infact, make that a major annoyance seeing as Anderson seems content to ignore some of the more challenging words in favour of glossing those words which are more or less obvious from their context and pronunciation. But, not to worry - Anderson has come up with a brilliant solution to the 'complexities' of the poem. Simple. Just translate it by stealth in a series of footnotes written in size 6 font to emphasise how unassuming and humble our exalted editor actually is. But really - come on - who actually wants to read the poem in its original form and understand the subtleties and nuances of what it has to say when we have 'scholars' such as J.J.Anderson to improve on the text and bring it up to standard for this discerning age? If your want to experience and enjoy this poem in its original form - and, believe me, it will be worth the effort - invest in a better edition; preferably one edited by someone who actually respects the text - and his readers.