Beowulf, with the Finnsburg fragment vs Gilgamesh: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Epic poetry, Poetry
Beowulf, with the Finnsburg fragment
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Presents a new translation of the Anglo-Saxon epic chronicling the heroic adventures of Beowulf, the Scandinavian warrior who saves his people from the ravages of the monster Grendel and Grendel's mother.
Gilgamesh
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"Gilgamesh dates from as early as 1700 BCE - a thousand years before the Iliad. Lost for almost two millennia, the eleven clay tablets on which the epic was inscribed were discovered in 1853 in the ruins of Nineveh, and…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Beowulf, with the Finnsburg fragment has the widest readership — 3331 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Beowulf, with the Finnsburg fragment | Gilgamesh | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (3331) | — |
| Hardcover | 3.5 (477) | 4.0 (2) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.0 (64) |
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Reception
| Beowulf, with the Finnsburg fragment | Gilgamesh | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 3331 | 64 |
| Editions | 10 | 11 |
| Film adaptations | — | 1 |
| Want to read | 1141 | — |
| Reading it now | 12 | — |
| Written reviews | 24 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | — | 47756 |
| Pages | 255 | 304 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Beowulf, with the Finnsburg fragment or Gilgamesh?
Gilgamesh has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Gilgamesh 4.0/5, Beowulf, with the Finnsburg fragment 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: Beowulf, with the Finnsburg fragment or Gilgamesh?
Beowulf, with the Finnsburg fragment is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Beowulf, with the Finnsburg fragment (255 pages, ≈ 4 h 43 m); Gilgamesh (304 pages, ≈ 5 h 38 m).
Which is harder to read: Beowulf, with the Finnsburg fragment or Gilgamesh?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Beowulf, with the Finnsburg fragment: Challenging; Gilgamesh: Moderate.