The Poetic Edda

She sees, coming up a second time,earth from the ocean, eternally green;the waterfalls plunge, an eagle soars above them,over the mountain hunting fish.After the terrible conflagration of Ragnarok, the earth rises serenely again from the ocean, and life is renewed. The Poetic Edda begins with The Seeress’s Prophecy which recounts the creation of the world, and looks forward to its destruction and rebirth. In this great collection of Norse-Icelandic mythological and heroic poetry, the exploits of gods and humans are related. The one-eyed Odin, red-bearded Thor, Loki the trickster, the lovely goddesses, and the giants who are their enemies walk beside the heroic Helgi, Sigurd the Dragon-Slayer, Brynhild the shield-maiden, and the implacable Gudrun. This translation also features the quest-poem The Lay of Svipdag and The Waking of Angantyr, in which a girl faces down her dead father to retrieve his sword.Comic, tragic, instructive, grandiose, witty, and profound, the poems of the Edda have influenced artists from Wagner to Tolkien and speak to us as freely as when they were first written down seven hundred and fifty years ago.FeaturesAn original translation of the famous collection of Norse-Icelandic mythological and heroic poetry known as the Poetic EddaThe introduction provides an informative overview of the poems and an outline of Norse myth and heroic legend, as well as the poems’ later reception and influence on writers such as J. R. R. Tolkien and Alan Garner, and on popular culture, including film and televisionAppendix includes an alternative version of ‘The Seeress’s Prophecy’Genealogies of gods, giants, and heroes, and an annoted Index of NamesABOUT THE SERIESFor over 100 years Oxford World’s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford’s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.