Great article. I love Beowulf, and I hope to one day, as King Hrothgar put it, "winter into wisdom". Do you have a recommended translation? I've only read the Seamus Heaney version.
Thank you, Ryan. And you picked a good phrase. "Wintered into wisdom" is a lovely rendering, so you started in a strong place.
Fair warning: I am no scholar or linguist here. I read the poem for the history and the weight, and I have found the real fun is reading a favorite passage across several translations and watching what each one hears.
A few doors worth trying. I think Heaney is the modern standard: muscular, readable, built to be spoken. Tolkien's prose translation is deliberately old-fashioned, like reading the poem through stained glass. Fun, though not my favorite. The illuminated edition I photographed for this piece uses Gummere, which is actually one of the old ones and it keeps the alliterative drumbeat of the original better than most. I think Liuzza is faithful and clear.
My honest advice: take Hrothgar's sermon and read it in two or three of them. The differences will teach you more than any single version. That is how I read it now. It’s worth it.
“Glory is a loan” is a line worth sitting with.
Thanks! Even the gold on the pyre will melt.
Thank you for the articulate response, it's much appreciated. Time to try out a few different versions.
Great article. I love Beowulf, and I hope to one day, as King Hrothgar put it, "winter into wisdom". Do you have a recommended translation? I've only read the Seamus Heaney version.
Thank you, Ryan. And you picked a good phrase. "Wintered into wisdom" is a lovely rendering, so you started in a strong place.
Fair warning: I am no scholar or linguist here. I read the poem for the history and the weight, and I have found the real fun is reading a favorite passage across several translations and watching what each one hears.
A few doors worth trying. I think Heaney is the modern standard: muscular, readable, built to be spoken. Tolkien's prose translation is deliberately old-fashioned, like reading the poem through stained glass. Fun, though not my favorite. The illuminated edition I photographed for this piece uses Gummere, which is actually one of the old ones and it keeps the alliterative drumbeat of the original better than most. I think Liuzza is faithful and clear.
My honest advice: take Hrothgar's sermon and read it in two or three of them. The differences will teach you more than any single version. That is how I read it now. It’s worth it.
Moving article with timeless insights, and that rendition of his sermon was amazing! Reminded me of something that would emanate from Khazad-dûm ⛏️
High praise, thank you.
Yep!
🙏