Beowulf
Beowulf. The oldest and, arguably, the greatest epic in English literature's vast history. Beowulf is an epic poem, originally written in Old English, that details the heroic exploits of the warrior, Beowulf, throughout his life. It represents the heroic ideal and the role of fate's importance to the Old English people, while also addressing politics, war, old-age, kinsmanship, and fantasy. The depth of the poem, in both its poetry and narration, is incredible, and in the original Old English the integration and weaving of meaning throughout the text is virtually unparalleled. Though Beowulf is an obvious masterpiece of English literature, its true importance in history is often understated and misrepresented. This is because the Old English that the poem is written in is very difficult and different from what most readers consider English, or even "old English". The antiquity of the text limits the poem's greatness and true understanding to a very small group of scholars, "armed" with their word-hoards and knowledge of Old English; the rest of the "unready" literary world sees a diluted representation through translation. Over time there have been large numbers of translations of Beowulf, in various forms, that have provided the
greater literary world with a common perception of the text. It is this paper's focus to examine a variety of these translations in relation to the meaning evident in the original Old English text. As it would be impossible to examine the entire poem in Old English with multiple translations, due to the depth and complexity present in the text, I have selected the following short passage from Beowulf for the analysis: Gewat da neosian, sypdan niht becom, hean huses, hu hit Hring-Dene aefter beorpege gebun haefdon. Fand pa daer inne aepelinga gedriht swefan aefter symble; sorge ne cudon, wonsceaft wera. Wiht unhaelo, grim ond graedig, gearo sona waes, reoc ond repe, ond on raeste genam pritig pegna; panon eft gewat hude hremig to ham faran, mid paere waelfylle wica neosan. (115-125) This passage, Grendel's approach and attack on the Dane's hall, was chosen because it is representative of the poetic and narrative structures that are operating throughout the poem; the recurring diction, narrative movement, internal reference and contrast, and envelope structure that are present in this short passage are echoed in all of Beowulf. Also, this passage is an important and entertaining portion of the story, providing a good reference point for the analysis of the translations. The translations I have selected are varied; from literal word- by-word translations, to more "narrative" modern verse translations, to transcriptions of the original text with glossings, and even one of my own translations. The chosen translations range fairly evenly from the years 1892 to 2001, and are all from academic sources (except for, possibly, the two Penquin translations, which I have included for added depth in analysis, giving translations that are directed at a more broad audience). This varied range of translations over time provides a good foundation to examine the content of this very important passage in translation. By examining Grendel's approach to the hall, the representation of Grendel, and the presence (or lack) of recurring diction and narrative movement providing a ring-composition, I will present an analysis of the patterns and variations found in a wide variety of Beowulf translations, spanning the last one hundred and ten years, for the selected Old English Beowulf passage (115-125). Over time the translations of Grendel's approach to the hall (115-120) form a consistent pattern of even distribution in the variations between literal and more narrative interpretations of the text. The variation within the more literal translations of the poem is based on the translator's interpretation and understanding of the individual words while trying to retain the Old English form of the text. The variation within the more narrative translations is based less on differences of interpretation between translators that on the direction they chose to represent these events, in current form and language. Both forms seem to be equally consistent over time, providing various levels of understanding of the poem in its depth. In the first line of Grendel's approach, "Gewat da neosian, sypdan niht becom," (115), half of the examined translations (A,C,E,H and L) represent Grendel as "He" in their interpretations, while the other half (B,D,F,G and K) actually provide the name "Grendel" in their texts (the transcriptions I and J do not provide any sort of glossing for Grendel). Though the differences separating "He set out then" (A.115) and "He departed then seeking" (L.115), from "Now Grendel rose up to look" (D.115) and "came Grendel also" (G.115) seem to be relatively minor, they represent the different approaches taken by the translators, which are echoed, at a much greater scale, throughout their translations. This "he/Grendel" distinction is representative of the pattern and narrative structures that are opera
Some common words found in the essay are:
English English, English Literature, Modern English, Beowulf Beowulf, English Beowulf, , Beowulf Grendel's, Michael Alexander, Gavin Bone's, Grendel English, representation grendel, recurring diction, original english, english text, grendel's approach, translations selected, envelope structure, beorpege 117, grendel's approach hall, hundred ten, fairly consistent, recurring diction narrative, diction narrative movement, representation grendel english, gearo sona waes,
Approximate Word count = 2569
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
