Book Cover of The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs

The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs

by William Morris

The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs is an epic poem of over 10,000 lines by William Morris that tells the tragic story, drawn from the Volsunga Saga and the Elder Edda, of the Norse hero Sigmund, his son Sigurd and Sigurd's wife Gudrun. It sprang from a fascination with the Volsung legend that extended back twenty years to the author's youth, and had already resulted in several other literary and scholarly treatments of the story. It was Morris's own favorite of his poems, and was enthusiastically praised both by contemporary critics and by such figures as T. E. Lawrence and George Bernard Shaw. In recent years it has been rated very highly by many William Morris scholars, but has never succeeded in finding a wide readership on account of its great length and archaic diction. It has been seen as an influence on such fantasy writers as Andrew Lang and J. R. R. Tolkien. The Story of Sigurd is available in modern reprints, both in its original form and in a cut-down version, but there is no critical edition.

Book Details

Language

English

Original Language

English

Published In

1876

Genre/Category

Tags/Keywords

Authors

William Morris image

William Morris was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He was a major contributor to t...

Books by William Morris

Listen/Download Audiobook

Read by:
00:00
Playback Speed 1.0
00:00
  • Select Speed

Related books

The Iliad of Homer, Rendered into English Blank Verse Cover image

The Iliad of Homer, Rendered into English Blank Verse by Homer

The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to Homer. Usually considered to have been written down circa t...

Voyage to Vinland Cover image

Voyage to Vinland by James Russell Lowell

“The Voyage to Vinland” is a portion of James Russell Lowell’s longer poem, “The Vision of Sir Launfal.” This excerpt focuses on the story of Gudrida,...

Deutschland. Ein Wintermärchen Cover image

Deutschland. Ein Wintermärchen by Heinrich Heine

„Deutschland. Ein Wintermärchen“ ist ein satirisches Versepos von Heinrich Heine, das er während einer Reise durch Deutschland im Winter 1843/44 schri...

Columbus Cover image

Columbus by Joaquin Miller

This week, to celebrate Columbus Day, LibriVox volunteers bring you six recordings of Columbus by Joaquin Miller. This was the weekly poetry project...

The Faerie Queene, Book 2 Cover image

The Faerie Queene, Book 2 by Edmund Spenser

The Second Booke of the Faerie Queene contayning The Legende of Sir Guyon or of Tempaurance. The Faerie Queene was never completed, but it continues t...

Idylls of the King Cover image

Idylls of the King by Lord Alfred Tennyson

Idylls of the King, published between 1859 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892; Poet L...

Aeneid of Virgil Cover image

Aeneid of Virgil by Virgil

The Aeneid, a twelve-book epic poem by Virgil, recounts the journey of Aeneas, a Trojan hero, after the fall of Troy. Driven by fate and the gods, Aen...

Paradis Perdu Cover image

Paradis Perdu by John Milton

Paradis Perdu, or Paradise Lost, is an epic poem by John Milton that recounts the biblical story of the Fall of Man. It explores themes of free will,...

Gudrun Cover image

Gudrun by Ferdinand Schmidt

The story of Gudrun is a classic example of medieval German epic poetry. It follows the story of a courageous and steadfast young woman who faces nume...

Song of Hiawatha Cover image

Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Song of Hiawatha is an epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that tells the story of the Ojibwe hero Hiawatha. The poem is based on Native Ameri...

Reviews for The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs

No reviews posted or approved, yet...