First off I am going to disagree with some of the commenters here who complain that Dr. Crawford "oversimplifies" the texts. I disagree. Writing clearly and elegantly is not oversimplification. It is accuracy. His translations are accurate, clear, and convey the full meaning. I have a Classical Greek and Latin M.A. and I can tell you that we do exactly what he has done in order to truly translate classical works into modern English. This has to happen. I don't read Old Norse, but I have other translations of the Poetic Edda and I honestly don't see much difference at all in terms of content - only in terms of clarity! Some other translations are more wordy, and if you like simply having more words in a line, then by all means, enjoy those translations! Old Norse poetry isn't wordy though. It's terse, tight, tough. Dr. Crawford's translations here are exactly that.
I think the problem is more that people come to these texts expecting to find something that they are not. This stuff is not Homer, and it is not Beowulf either, nor is it Ovid nor Shakespeare nor Milton. Like I wrote above, it's terse, tight, tough. It is not something you read or hear (if we're thinking of how these poems were enjoyed back when they were actually performed around the fire) only once. Oral poetry is songs without melodies. It's something you recite again and again, you hear again and again. It has lots of hidden gems that only come out the more you go over it and the more you think about it, and the more you absorb it into your own being.
When we read Norse poetry, we have to come to it with a Norse frame of mind. This is dense, compact stuff, to be unpacked the more often you read and ponder it. It's meant to be memorized.
Now, having got all that off my chest, it's time to make a comment about what the Poetic Edda is. If you don't already know, it's about the closest thing to a Norse Pagan "Bible" as there can be. Half of it is the tales of the creation of the world, its end, and the deeds of the gods, and the other half is tales of the best examples of mankind (alright, "humankind" if you're sensitive) from the Norse perspective, with Sigurth as the main lynchpin. While the ostensible tales the poems tell are something like "snap-shots" of different parts of Norse Lore, actually they tell a rather complete story when put altogether. Why is this? Because, just like in Ancient Greek mythic literature, the rest of the tale is told by means of prophecy and back-story telling. This makes for more interesting and involved story telling than just starting at A and working to Z. Along the way are lots of details of Norse culture, philosophy, material life and attitudes that come up, again making this work a lot more useful for us who want to see into the Viking soul than just a plot line.
I'll also add that the collection comes across at least to me as "complete". Do not fear that there was a whole lot more stuff like this that didn't make it through the years. What we have here tells the whole tale. In fact we have even "more than enough" if you like. We have some variant tellings even recorded here. There is if anything a superabundance of material. The poems are linked together with prose writing to connect them. It's complete and it's long. Given that this stuff was meant to be recited and repeated, if you think about it in terms of the time investment expected of you, this is actually a pretty huge work of literature! Frankly speaking, it does not make much sense read only once or twice. It takes several times reading it over again before it really starts to mean something meaningful. This is when your mind starts making all the connections across it to all the other parts of it and you start to develop a wisdom web of a pagan Viking (I'm using the term to mean Norse - this is an acceptable use of the term "Viking".) I think this stuff can generate in us common sense, courage, and a feeling of connectedness with the natural world. The many impossible scenes like playing the harp with your toes as snakes are eating you, understanding birds talking, hibernating surrounded by a ring of red and white shields surrounded yet again with a circle of fire... all these impossible images are the key points of the Edda. These things which are absolutely impossible are the memorable things that stick in our minds. They are the images we see carved on runic rocks all through the North. These impossible images are what define the Edda and make it unique.
I'd also like to say that as someone descended from Northern Europeans, I'm gratified that I can enjoy a text like this that connects me to their spiritual beliefs. I feel it's my birthright. No one can accuse me of "cultural appropriation" or the like here. This is the aboriginal lore of who I descend from. I think this carries meaning too.
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Plotinus
The Pagan Norse "Bible" in Clear Modern English
Reviewed in Canada on October 18, 2020Verified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Simplified for beginners
Reviewed in Canada on April 5, 2020Verified Purchase
Petra S
Excellent translation.
Reviewed in Canada on September 11, 2018Verified Purchase
nicholas r.
one of the best translations ive seen soo far
Reviewed in Canada on June 12, 2019Verified Purchase
Amazon Customer
A most readable translation
Reviewed in Canada on July 21, 2018Verified Purchase
Brett
Best translation so far.
Reviewed in Canada on October 23, 2018Verified Purchase
Amazon Customer
You need to buy this book, what a great read!
Reviewed in Canada on August 27, 2017Verified Purchase
michael wilford
BEST read for any new Pegan
Reviewed in Canada on April 19, 2021Verified Purchase
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limner
I expected this to be better than it was.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2018Verified Purchase
Felix
A brilliant read so far.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 20, 2020Verified Purchase
Jon White
The defacto translation
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 25, 2017Verified Purchase
Rob Harrison
A must own if you shout Skôl every time you chug a horn of mead, or just like the Viking Age
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 20, 2021Verified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Heed my words all classes of men!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 17, 2018Verified Purchase