The Poetic Edda (Oxford World's Classics)

This is not to review the Eddic poems themselves, but Larrington's translation of them. I've given her translation five stars because it is the most accurate complete translation available in English, and as such, along with Ursula Dronke's editions, the only English translation to be recommended as an aid to the student reading the poetic Edda in Old Norse. That being said, while it is the best available, it is still not completely reliable, so be careful. For a proper study of the Poetic Edda you'll need to also consult the glossary of Lafarge and Tucker, the massive Frankfurt commentary (in German), as well as the editions of Jónas and Gísli published in Icelandic.

For the reader not intending to read the Old Norse, I would say any of the translations of the Edda from Larrington, Orchard, Crawford, or Dodd can be recommended, each for different reasons.

An excellent translation, which changes just enough to make it digestible to modern English speakers without losing the actual original meanings, as some other translations I've found have done.

Beautifully translated, and has an amazing index

I found the Larrington translation to be very readable and the introductory material and notes to be instructive and helpful.

It's concise, but informational. Thanks Snorri!

Received in excellent condition. This book is a must for anybody interested in the Norse mythology.

This is an easy to read translation. It would have been helpful to have footnotes instead of endnotes, though, as I spent a lot of time flipping between the main text and the endnotes.

A translation that is faithful to the spirit of the original.

I had the Hollander version for years and made the mistake of donating it. So I wanted to get another copy, so tried this version. It may be accurate but it's woefully unpoetic. I'm ordering the Hollander version again, but will keep the Oxford version for reference.

A little Smaller then expected, came with some sort of brown smudge on the white banner?? Wont come off. Oh well. It isnt sticky so I don't mind. Light weight, has reat information, easy to understand.