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Article: `Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' translated by W.S. Merwin; Knopf.(The Seattle Times)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- November 20, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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It takes courage to face death, but the true test of a man's character is _ wouldn't you know it? _ in bed.
That's the lesson of one of the great seduction scenes in literature, the culmination of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," an anonymous medieval poem now poised for a smashing popular revival.
Since Seamus Heaney's translation of "Beowulf" hit the best-seller charts a couple of years ago, publishers have been quick to take on new translations that might previously have been viewed mainly as textbook material. Last year Viking brought out an opulent new two-volume set of the 11th-century Japanese classic "Tales of Genji." Now Knopf has released ...