I picked this up from the Gutenberg project because it seems pretty intriguing, but I read a bit of it and it was just as everybody had warned me it would be: ineffectively translated, to say the least. I think I need anything from two to three times the actual length of the content in footnotes to make head or tale of it. Does anyone know of a good free online reference source for reading this independently? Appreciated - Roughit
Beowulf
I would just push through it. It'll get easier to read as you go along.
Of course, you could just buy a more recent translation of it. Seamus Heaney, an amazing Novel Laureate from Ireland, made a translation in, I think, 2000 that made the New York Times Bestseller list.
Of course, you could just buy a more recent translation of it. Seamus Heaney, an amazing Novel Laureate from Ireland, made a translation in, I think, 2000 that made the New York Times Bestseller list.
We had to take it up in my English Lit class and it wasn't so bad actually, Star Trek even has an entire episode that we watched dedicated to Beowulf, I have to say at first it was a massive bore but with time it got better.
The Seamus Heaney translation isn't bad--what I can say I was able to read of it. I read it for class and had less time to read it than it would have really taken me, so I didn't give it the full attention it probably deserved. Had to skim a lot of the middle. The first line grabbed me--I'll never forget it...
"So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness."
"So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness."
I love Heaney. You should check out some of his poetry, or his reworking of Sophocles' Antigone, called "A Burial At Thebes." It's really beautifully written.
Actually, I took an entire class on Heaney in college. Chances are, I read it, or at least, part of it. Heaney's not my favorite, but I do enjoy his work, and I definitely enjoyed it compared to Eavan Boland (the other poet we studied in that class). I enjoyed Heaney's direct approach to the subject matter, compared to Boland, who ran circles around everything but seemed incapable of making a bold statement... drove me crazy.
Actually, Heaney's translation was the only one I could keep reading with. The other one almost had me gasping for modern English slang. Beowulf is a classic to be sure. Kind of cool to see how something that entertained and served as an allegory in medieval times still does its magic in modern day.
Yep, Heany's alright. Had to read his translation of Beowulf for my English literature course, it was included in the Norton Anthology of English Literature.
I'm going off to college in a few months. hopefully I'll be lucky enough to have a professor who is a fan of him. I know I'll encounter Beowulf again--I just hope it's Heaney's version 
As pointed out below, this WAS copied and pasted from HERE
. Quote tags added by Moderating Team.
| Quote: |
| Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem composed in the later Early Middle Ages (in the 8th, 9th or 10th century). At 3,183 lines, it is notable for its length. The poem is untitled in the manuscript, but has been known as Beowulf since the early 19th century. As the single major surviving work of Anglo-Saxon heroic poetry, the work — in spite of dealing primarily with Scandinavian matters — has risen to such prominence that it has become "England's national epic."
In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, battles three antagonists: Grendel, who is destroying Heorot and its inhabitants in Denmark, Grendel's Mother, and later in life (after he is King) a dragon. He is mortally wounded in the final battle, and after his death is buried in a barrow by his retainers. |
| gorjuve wrote: |
| Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem composed in the later Early Middle Ages (in the 8th, 9th or 10th century). At 3,183 lines, it is notable for its length. The poem is untitled in the manuscript, but has been known as Beowulf since the early 19th century. As the single major surviving work of Anglo-Saxon heroic poetry, the work — in spite of dealing primarily with Scandinavian matters — has risen to such prominence that it has become "England's national epic."
In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, battles three antagonists: Grendel, who is destroying Heorot and its inhabitants in Denmark, Grendel's Mother, and later in life (after he is King) a dragon. He is mortally wounded in the final battle, and after his death is buried in a barrow by his retainers. |
What, did you just copy/paste that from Wikipedia?
Also, for the terminally lazy, you can check out Gareth Hinds' new graphic novel retelling of the Beowulf tale.
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