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bluestarfish's review against another edition
4.0
This is an incomplete section of Tolkien's retelling of a portion of the Arthurian legend in a very specific poetic metre. I enjoyed it loads more than I thought (should I admit to that?). It is an absorbing retelling.
Christopher Tolkien takes up the baton after the cantos and gives a detailed explanation of how this fits with other versions of the Arthurian poems, the Silmarillion, and the evolution of the poem. There's also a small fraction of a talk JRRTolkien gave on the alliterative verse - I could have done with more of an explanation on that though as I'm not still sure I quite understand it. But what he does say is intriguing about the richness of sound in these poems.
Christopher Tolkien takes up the baton after the cantos and gives a detailed explanation of how this fits with other versions of the Arthurian poems, the Silmarillion, and the evolution of the poem. There's also a small fraction of a talk JRRTolkien gave on the alliterative verse - I could have done with more of an explanation on that though as I'm not still sure I quite understand it. But what he does say is intriguing about the richness of sound in these poems.
zare_i's review against another edition
4.0
In all honesty this is 3.5 stars for me but due to things I learned about the Arthur's myth I gave it additional 0.5 star.
Book was not what I expected. Actual poem (or better said finished parts of it) make maybe 20 percent of the book. Rest is more academic discussion about the actual myth, variations (and evolution) of it and the way it affected Tolkien's stories from the Lord of the Ring world. I enjoyed these sections, especially parts about old epics in old English. Considering I know some German I enjoyed reading these verses (and figuring the meanings phonetically - some words were really ... strange until you read them out loud) and then checking the footnotes for any meanings that I missed - which was almost always related to the words no longer in use:)
While these parts of the book were great last part is something that only hard-core student of literature can enjoy. I don't shrink from reading materials I am not well versed in but this was too .... academic I guess for me to fully comprehend it. After reading this part I read a few similar analysis (related to my mother tongue) and I have to say I was happy - literature academics talk in their own codes (like every profession I guess) and can be equally impenetrable no matter the language or culture :)
If you aim only to read the poem book is somewhat of an overkill. If you want to learn some more about roots of Arthurian myth and how it evolved and influenced Tolkien's works (I especially liked the idea of the story very similar to Cloud Atlas) then do read the book - I enjoyed this part very much, it got me interested in re-reading some of the books related to the subject. And if you are literature analysis aficionado then this book is definitely for you. You will enjoy the last part of the book.
Book was not what I expected. Actual poem (or better said finished parts of it) make maybe 20 percent of the book. Rest is more academic discussion about the actual myth, variations (and evolution) of it and the way it affected Tolkien's stories from the Lord of the Ring world. I enjoyed these sections, especially parts about old epics in old English. Considering I know some German I enjoyed reading these verses (and figuring the meanings phonetically - some words were really ... strange until you read them out loud) and then checking the footnotes for any meanings that I missed - which was almost always related to the words no longer in use:)
While these parts of the book were great last part is something that only hard-core student of literature can enjoy. I don't shrink from reading materials I am not well versed in but this was too .... academic I guess for me to fully comprehend it. After reading this part I read a few similar analysis (related to my mother tongue) and I have to say I was happy - literature academics talk in their own codes (like every profession I guess) and can be equally impenetrable no matter the language or culture :)
If you aim only to read the poem book is somewhat of an overkill. If you want to learn some more about roots of Arthurian myth and how it evolved and influenced Tolkien's works (I especially liked the idea of the story very similar to Cloud Atlas) then do read the book - I enjoyed this part very much, it got me interested in re-reading some of the books related to the subject. And if you are literature analysis aficionado then this book is definitely for you. You will enjoy the last part of the book.
pachypedia's review against another edition
3.0
Las 30 páginas (aprox.) que son el poema de Tolkien sobre la caída del rey Arturo me han gustado mucho. Si me dijeran que es un poema del siglo XII me lo creería. Lo malo es que son eso, unas 30 páginas (y eso que el texto está en los dos idiomas, inglés en las carillas pares y castellano en las impares). El resto es un mini resumen de la leyenda artúrica revisando sus diferentes fuentes y algo más de paja.
susani_'s review against another edition
3.0
Well, I didn't finish my assignment that is due in two days but I did finish this book in one day :D
and I do not regret it at all!
and I do not regret it at all!
taxideadaisy's review against another edition
ended up skimming it. maybe another time.
twhitehead's review against another edition
Really great poetry. Fun to read out loud.
onemonday's review against another edition
2.0
Read the poem but didn't have the energy to read all the Christopher Tolkien's analysis so thoroughly. Maybe later.
greglhoward's review against another edition
3.0
Obviously, this would have been better if he had finished it. But not bad for what it is.
elfianna's review against another edition
4.0
I still love Professor Tolkien's poetry and even better I am fascinated by the Arthurian legend. Seems like this book was a win-win-situation from the start :)
bdamokos's review against another edition
4.0
The Fall of Arthur is a beautiful alliterative poem, that shows how beautiful and expressive the English language can be (especially if it is not constrained by a fixed word order and modern word). The poem itself is unfortunately unfinished after the first five cantos (~50 pages), the rest of the book is notes by Christopher Tolkien, at times a bit boring, but personal and scholarly - it must be strange for Christopher to spend his life analyzing every scrap of paper his father left behind trying to make sense of it.