Pearl: A New Verse Translation Simon Armitage Complements His Historic Translation of Sir Gawain and

It was written by someone well-versed in theology but not likely a priest, Armitage says in the introduction to his translation of the poem, published early this year and recently named the winner of the PEN Award for poetry in translation.

Simon Armitage represents another take on Sir Gawain -- yet another attempt to translate the poem. Some have not tried to replicate the alliterative verse. Armitage does. The effect ranges from powerful to somewhat forced; noteworthy is his consistency in following an alliterative form (though unlike the original, he alliterates frequently on the final beat of the line.) The following passage from his translation provides a good picture of both his strengths and his limitations:

Pearl: A New Verse Translation Simon Armitage

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In 2010, Seeing Stars was published - described as a "collection of dramatic monologues, allegories, parables and tall tales" - and shortlisted for the 2010 T.S. Eliot Prize. In the same year he was awarded a CBE for services to poetry. He published verse translations of The Death of King Arthur in 2012 and Pearl in 2017, and a new collection of poems, The Unaccompanied, in 2017. Flit (2018) is a collection of poems written in response to Armitage's residency at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. 2ff7e9595c