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Seth T.'s Reviews > Beowulf
Beowulf
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I've just finished reading Beowulf for the third time! But lo, this reading was in the bold and exciting Beowulf: a New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney! And what a difference a day makes - Heaney is unstoppable! Rather, he makes Beowulf unstoppable. Unstoppable in his ability to pound you in the face with his manliness and leave you bleeding-but-strangely-desiring-more.
As I said, I've read the epic Anglo-Saxon poem several times now, but usually, I'm trudging through to get to the "good parts" (i.e., Beowulf's three notable feats), but this time, I was taken aback! The whole durned thing was the good parts! What luck! I read it over the space of three days and boy is my voice tired (I have a distinct inability when it comes to facing these sorts of tales - I have to read aloud. And with an accent. And with bluster).
One of the coolest things spicing up this reading (besides Heaney's great translation) was the juxtaposition of the Old English to the translation. As you may know, the only surviving copy of anything close to an original Beowulf is written in Old English (or Anglo-Saxon) from 'tween AD 700 and 1000. Now Old English isn't just archaic some King James English with lotsa thees, thous, and forsooths, as many people seem to think. It's the illegitimate birth father of Middle English (which I believe came about sometime after AD 1066) which in turn spawned Modern English. Modern English includes the English used in both Shakespeare and the King James Bible as well as the haphazard trash we sprechen today. In truth, Old English is nearly indecipherable. Below, I've included the first three lines of Beowulf, which are not only a great example of what I'm talking about, but strangely fitting for who I am:
Hwæt wê Gâr-dena in geâr-dagum
Þêod-cyninga Þrym gefrûnon,
hû ðâ æÞelingas ellen fremedon.
Fun, no? Well... so you know, that translates as:
So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by
and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.
We have heard of those princes' heroic campaigns.
Hoorah! Hoorah for the Spear-Danes! And...*ahem* ..who cares if by the time Beowulf comes around their busy getting their butts eaten off by Grendel. Hoorah for the Spear-Danes! Hoorah for Gâr-dena (and doesn't that sound like a wonderful name for a city?).
In any case, it was fun to look over at the Anglo-Saxon to see if I could decipher any of it. Alas, my attention was so rapt upon the tale that I didn't take as much time to peruse the original as I would have liked. But since I bought it, I should be afforded plenty of time for such trivialities.
As I said, I've read the epic Anglo-Saxon poem several times now, but usually, I'm trudging through to get to the "good parts" (i.e., Beowulf's three notable feats), but this time, I was taken aback! The whole durned thing was the good parts! What luck! I read it over the space of three days and boy is my voice tired (I have a distinct inability when it comes to facing these sorts of tales - I have to read aloud. And with an accent. And with bluster).
One of the coolest things spicing up this reading (besides Heaney's great translation) was the juxtaposition of the Old English to the translation. As you may know, the only surviving copy of anything close to an original Beowulf is written in Old English (or Anglo-Saxon) from 'tween AD 700 and 1000. Now Old English isn't just archaic some King James English with lotsa thees, thous, and forsooths, as many people seem to think. It's the illegitimate birth father of Middle English (which I believe came about sometime after AD 1066) which in turn spawned Modern English. Modern English includes the English used in both Shakespeare and the King James Bible as well as the haphazard trash we sprechen today. In truth, Old English is nearly indecipherable. Below, I've included the first three lines of Beowulf, which are not only a great example of what I'm talking about, but strangely fitting for who I am:
Hwæt wê Gâr-dena in geâr-dagum
Þêod-cyninga Þrym gefrûnon,
hû ðâ æÞelingas ellen fremedon.
Fun, no? Well... so you know, that translates as:
So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by
and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.
We have heard of those princes' heroic campaigns.
Hoorah! Hoorah for the Spear-Danes! And...*ahem* ..who cares if by the time Beowulf comes around their busy getting their butts eaten off by Grendel. Hoorah for the Spear-Danes! Hoorah for Gâr-dena (and doesn't that sound like a wonderful name for a city?).
In any case, it was fun to look over at the Anglo-Saxon to see if I could decipher any of it. Alas, my attention was so rapt upon the tale that I didn't take as much time to peruse the original as I would have liked. But since I bought it, I should be afforded plenty of time for such trivialities.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
February 1, 2002
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Finished Reading
June 29, 2007
– Shelved
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Allison
(last edited Feb 11, 2009 12:33AM)
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rated it 3 stars
Feb 11, 2009 12:31AM
A terrific review! I'm so glad this is the version that I was handed, because it seems so much more interesting than I've been told it was- probably a consequence of Heaney's fantastic translation! The way he tells it, actually makes me care about parts I would normally skim (such as the song of Beowulf's triumph over Grundel, or the entire introduction!)
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thank you for sharing that bit of Old English - it has such a lyrical feel to it - I miss it
Love this review! I often get the "Shakespeare is Old English...yuck!" comments all the time, and I usually just shake my head and roll my eyes. So thank you! Thank you for that wonderful review. And I agree, this version was a terrific one!
Francine wrote: "Love this review! I often get the "Shakespeare is Old English...yuck!" comments all the time, and I usually just shake my head and roll my eyes. So thank you! Thank you for that wonderful review..."I hear those comments too and am foolish enough to try to correct people on it - doesn't usually go over well... maybe I should memorize part of Beowulf and maybe that would convince them... maybe I should memorize part of Beowulf just because :)
Trice wrote: "I hear those comments too and am foolish enough to try to correct people on it - doesn't usually go over well... maybe I should memorize part of Beowulf and maybe that would convince them... maybe I should memorize part of Beowulf just because :) "There are worse things to memorize! I remember having to memorize a paragraph from Bede in both Old English and Latin. It's always a wonder when you actually recite something in OE and people say it's not even English. :-)
The introduction to Heaney's translation is wonderful. He talks about the translation process and it is excellent. Heaney's translation is the hands down the best.
I really need to try this translation...should be interesting to see how a Celt tackles the great Anglo-Saxon epic. I personally love Rebsamen's translation of Beowulf.
I picked of Rebsamen's translation for my wife last Christmas, but I have gotten to it yet. Just for fun, here's the opener across several translators._______________________
Heaney’s begins: “So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness. We have heard of these princes� heroic campaigns.�
Rebsamen’s begins: “Yes! We have heard of years long vanished, how Spear-danes struck, sang victory songs, raised from a wasteland walls of glory!�
Raffel’s begins: “Hear me! We’ve heard of Danish heroes, Ancient kings and the glory they cut for themselves, swinging mighty swords!�
Liuzza begins: “Listen! We have heard of the glory in bygone days of the folk-kings of the spear-Danes, how those noble lords did lofty deeds.�
Alexander begins: “Attend! We have heard of the thriving of the throne of Denmark, how the folk-kings flourished in former days, how those royal athelings earned that glory.�
_________________________
I don’t know how these guys are pulling their translations out, but Rebsamen’s is easily the most dramatic here. Compare with Heaney:
“Spear-danes struck, sang victory songs, raised from a wasteland walls of glory!�
vs.
“The Spear-Danes in days gone by…had courage and greatness. We have heard of these princes� heroic campaigns.�
The one is showy, the other is telly. Again, I don’t know how two so different translations could arise, but regardless of accuracy, I like the way Rebsamen reads here. Still, I do enjoy Heaney’s “So.� Very matter-of-fact. Rebsamen’s “Yes!� is very adulatory, but I prefer Heaney’s deadpan here.
Yes, I think Heaney's "So" is now famous in the world of Anglo-Saxon scholarship. I listened to a podcast of Michael Drout speaking at a school and mentioning that when Heaney's translation first came out the Old english newsgroup spent like 3 weeks or something discussing his use of that word.I like Rebsamen since he seems to have found a nice line between remaining true to the meaning/content of the text, but also expressing it poetically...even going so far as to coin a few of his own kennings.
as I understand it, Rebsamen also seems to be following OE poetic patterns, with his use of alliteration in the translation. the differences in the languages leaves lots of space for difference when trying to put it into a form that is understandable in ModE
This is the first version of Beowulf I have read and I'm so glad it was. Heaney's introduction on how he approached the translation is as interesting as the read itself. Would now like to give it a try in OE.
Try Ruth Lehmann's translation; in my opinion, it's a much better translation, keeping the alliterative verse and meter of the original manuscript that Heaney dropped. It's not as simple as Heaney's but it's more rewarding.
Agreed Heaney's translation is the best I've read.
Roman wrote: "Try Ruth Lehmann's translation; in my opinion, it's a much better translation, keeping the alliterative verse and meter of the original manuscript that Heaney dropped. It's not as simple as Heaney'..."
Thanks Roman. Will take a peek!
Thanks Roman. Will take a peek!
I also recommend Liuzza's translation as a comparison - more simple less poetic, but captures some of the Old English more elegantly.
