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Title: The Kalevala by Elias Lonnrot, Keith Bosley, Albert B. Lord ISBN: 0-19-283570-X Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr Pub. Date: 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.89 (9 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: quite interesting
Comment: I'm a big Lord of the Rings fan and I had learned that Tolkien was influenced greatly in his writing by the Kalevala legends, so I got this to learn more of that region's mythology. It's quite fascinating. I love the chants, especially the one to shut dogs up. :)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Patient Epic
Comment: In an effort to broaden my horizons in epic and mythological literature, I bought two books on a whim: The Kalevala, a Finnish epic poem with roots in prehistoric oral tradition, and Njal's Saga, the thirteenth century prose account of the lives and tribulations of a group of families and friends in late tenth and early eleventh century Iceland. After reading about 100 pages of Njal's Saga and nearly perishing from sheer tedium, I turned to The Kalevala and received a pleasant surprise.
The Kalevala is a non-rhyming poem consisting of fifty cantos ranging over about 670 pages. The cantos are meant to be sung and were collected in the nineteenth century by Finnish scholar Elias Lönnrot as he traveled around Finland listening to old men sing from memory. The actual number of such collected stories is mind boggling and only a small fraction comprise the loosely connected plot of The Kalevala. Lönnrot even modified some of the stories himself to make the poem a more satisfying piece of literature in its own right. The story follows an amazingly small number of major characters who can loosely be described as warrior-wizards: an old wise singer, a talented metal smith, a foolhardy and womanizing young man, a tragic orphan boy, and a trouble-making woman who plays the antagonist throughout. Together they can conjure up armies by singing, build boats and musical instruments out of virtually nothing, and even shape shift into giant winged creatures. In this land of long ago, ships can talk, pike grow to be the size of houses, and people can be brought back to life by stitching their body parts together! Yes, my friends, it doesn't hurt to be a little open minded with a book like this.
It's difficult to characterize or critique this book because it is so unique, so different from anything I've ever read. The poetry itself is surprisingly simple and easy to read, yet oddly satisfying. When Vainamoinen, the old singer and dominant character, finds himself in a predicament, what does he do? Does he sit down and rationalize his thoughts, plan out his course of action in detail? (I'm already speaking in paired lines!). He probably does, but that's not what is narrated to us. Instead, "He thinks, considers / how to be, which way to live." (p. 202) And these two little lines, in all of their simplicity, are more poignant and powerful than any psychological exposition could be. We picture Vainamoinen, the great warrior-poet, "thinking" and "considering" as if he is momentarily stumped. He is humbled, brought down from his usual decisive and confident self, by his own sudden realization that the complexity of the world is too much even for the mighty Vainamoinen. Then he thinks about how he should "be" and about his own life, reminding us that our own way of life--our choices and decisions--defines our being, who we are. Through these lines we relate to Vainamoinen and his struggle; we are comforted by his imperfections because they make him, a wise and gracious character, closer to us.
As a text that is meant to be sung, The Kalevala is riddled with patterns, both in the form of the poetry and in the plot itself (which Bosley calls "formulas"). One of the more obvious quirks of the poem is its tendency to rephrase the previous line in the current line, giving the work a kind of lyrical quality one would find in a musical: "'Might I say something / would I be allowed to ask / what kind of man you may be / what sort of fellow?'" (p. 73) Another is the presence of repeated identical lines, especially within the context of parallelism. When Kullervo says goodbye to his family in canto 36, he addresses his father, brother, sister, and mother one by one and in an identical fashion (parallelism): to each he asks "Will you weep for me" and is answered "I'll not weep for you", then states "And I shall not weep for you." We go through this four times. From a literary standpoint this is done (evidently) for emphasis. But because the original was sung, I think it's more likely that repeating structures would serve as a sort of chorus for the listeners. When viewed from this context of song, the poem's structure makes greater sense. However, the content of the poem-particularly the more magical parts-can be difficult to relate to.
As with any work that is archaic to begin with and a translation, the reader will here occasionally feel as thought there is a major disconnect between his own purpose for reading and the purpose for which the story was originally intended. As a modern young American male with no connection whatsoever to Finland and very little knowledge of formal epic storytelling, I approached The Kalevala as if it were, at the least, a good opportunity to broaden my conception of epic literature and, at the most, an entertaining story. I say this because any work like The Kalevala will be at least a good experience if taken seriously. The question is: is it really entertaining to a modern audience? (a much greater--and probably unrealistic--expectation). Now I know that a scholar would scoff at the question, but it is a legitimate one from the standpoint of the individual who comes to the work purely out of curiosity. Setting oral tradition aside and viewing the poem as free-standing literature in the context of non-Finnish culture (I can't comment on the work's appeal in such an environment), I would say that there are parts of the poem that are entertaining. But I caution the eager adventure-seeking reader: patience is a prerequisite here. But, more often than not, this is a sign that something greater than the memory of a few hours of entertainment awaits you at the other side of the rainbow.
Rating: 5
Summary: Ian Myles Slater on A Reliable Version in Paperback
Comment: If this is appearing with the Magoun translation: This is a welcome paperback incarnation of a solid, reliable, standard translation, originally published four decades ago. I have reviewed the hardcover edition of this translation, and of the similar rendering of the epic's first version, "The Old Kalevala," and will summarize my views here. However, you may be seeing with the paperback of the Bosley verse translation of the (New) "Kalevala," another reputable version , to which some of my comments apply equally well.
"Kalevala," variously translated as "Kaleva District" or "Land of Heroes," is a nineteenth-century compilation, revision, and expansion of narratives, spells and charms, and proverbial wisdom collected from the Finnish-speaking peasants and fisherman of areas of modern Finland and Russia. It is made up largely, but not entirely, of "runos," narrative songs when even then survived in isolated, "fringe" areas; ballads with clear connections with other cultures also make an appearance. The material is, for the most part, clearly pagan in origin, with hints of roots in the Viking Age, if not earlier, but processed through centuries of Christianity, Catholic and Lutheran in Finland proper, Russian Orthodox in the Karelia district. Fortunately, Elias Lonnrot, the main collector, and the man responsible for this literary version, was also engaged in laying the foundations of the scientific study of folk traditions, and the collections he made or sponsored formed the basis of a major archive, the publication of which was only recently completed. In the meantime, his popularization had become a part of the world's culture, as well as that of Finland.
The contents are various, but the main themes are the military and romantic adventures and misadventures of a handful of warrior-magicians, as quite with an incantation as with a sword. Vainamoinen, "the Eternal Sage," and a kind of demiurge who sings the Finnish homeland into being, is born old, and his attempts to find a wife lead to the creation of the mysterious and wonderful "Sampo" by the smith Ilmarinen, as a kind of bride-price. These two great heroes share the stage with the irresponsible Lemminkainen, a kind of combined Don Juan and Achilles, and the hapless Kullervo. His story, presented as a cantata by Sibelius, is one of the underpinnings of Tolkien's "Silmarillion." (When the latter first appeared, it seemed obvious that the Quest for the Sampo, and its ultimate fate, was a major inspiration for Tolkien; publication of his early versions show that most of the resemblances emerged over time, in the course of endless reworkings.)
There have been a number of abridged or retold versions of "The Kalevala" in English, and two early complete versions in verse, by Crawford (from a German translation; available on-line), and the Kirby translation (Tolkien's introduction to the work). Magoun's translation filled a need for a more literal treatment, with more supporting information. There have been two later translations of the "New Kalevala" into English verse, by Eino Friberg (1988) and Keith Bosley (1989), which many will find more appealing. But for those who want both the story and all of the details, and either don't care about, or don't care for, such things as meter and rhyme, Magoun's translation remains a first choice. For those who know the epic through other translations, it is still worth consulting. I hold it in high regard.
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Title: The Key to the Kalevala by Pekka Ervast, Tapio Joensuu, John Major Jenkins ISBN: 1577330218 Publisher: Blue Dolphin Publishing Pub. Date: January, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Saga of the Volsungs: The Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer (Penguin Classics) by Jesse L. Byock ISBN: 0140447385 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: January, 2000 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Poetic Edda : Second Edition, Revised by Lee M. Hollander ISBN: 0292764995 Publisher: Univ of Texas Press Pub. Date: 1986 List Price(USD): $13.45 |
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Title: Edda (Everyman Paperback Classics) by Snorri Sturluson, Anthony Faulkes ISBN: 0460876163 Publisher: Everymans Library List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: Kalevala Mythology (Folklore Studies in Translation) by Juha Pentikainen, Ritva Poom ISBN: 0253213525 Publisher: Indiana University Press Pub. Date: August, 1999 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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