Incredible translation. ( )

This is a modern translation of a 12th century poem. It's starts off really fun and interesting to read but about half way through it gets wrapped up in a load of Christian moralising nonsense about life after death and our 'heavenly reward'. Probably to be expected for the time (though Sir Gawain and the green knight and the Death of Arther don't get too nonsensy) but it really put me off. No surprise as I'm pissed of by Christianity most of the time. If you can cope with Jesus nonsense then you'll probably enjoy the second half more than me. The writing is lovely.

The introduction where the translator goes into the intricacies of translating the poem to modern English is fascinating. I would read a whole book on that, sadly only 6 pages. ( )

From a structure standpoint, a complex, well-written work (barring a few lines blatantly padded out for virtue of maintaining the rhyme scheme).

From a content standpoint, the divergence between the Pearl Poet's language and Chancery English makes it difficult to evaluate at times — some words have disappeared from modern English, while others are debated as to just which of several words it is. (A situation not helped by the poet's frequently varying spelling and its existence in but a single manuscript.)

Let's just say that it's both technically impressive and an important artefact of the history of English letters, even if the subject matter may not be to everyone's taste, and leave it at that. ( )

Complex but beautiful. ( )