Philip Edward Phillips

Twelve Old English Poems

Arts & Literature

“Like his masterful translation of Beowulf (Cascade, 2017), Sung-Il Lee’s renderings in Twelve Old English Poems are both powerful and eloquent, resonating with the sounds and cadences of the Old English lines. Lee’s elegant translations are faithful to the originals and highly accessible to readers approaching these remarkable poems for the first time, whether in Old English, modern English, or both. The culmination of a lifetime of study and appreciation of Old English literature, Lee’s translations of ‘The Wanderer’ and ‘The Seafarer,’ to name only two, are without peer. Lee renders each of the poems in this collection with appropriate reverence, gravity, and sensitivity to style. Especially for the student, graduate or undergraduate, who wants to get as close to the sounds and sense of the original poems as possible, Lee’s parallel text edition is indispensable. For a lover of Old English poetry, it is a tour de force.”