Beowulf: what’s your opinion?

[Finchbearer]

Those of you who have read it, what are you thoughts? What translation/s have you read?

 

[Ned Marcus]

I've read a few translations but don't remember which. It's been a few years so I can't offer a detailed analysis. I've been thinking about rereading it recently. I've enjoyed it each time I've read it.

 

[Genly]

I read it a long time ago and enjoyed it, although you have to be in the mood. A few years ago I was at a college dinner where part of the "entertainment" was a professor declaiming ten minutes of Beowulf in the original Anglo-Saxon. Funny, it seemed like longer than that...

 

[Finchbearer]

I considered reading Tolkien’s translation, but that is essentially an unfinished work, or an imperfect work. Seamus Heaney’s translation is meant to capture more of what the Anglo-Saxons wanted to convey with the poem. Problem is, they are all wildly different, and I want to understand the ‘essence’ of the Anglo-Saxon way of thinking.

Any scholars here to weigh in too?

 

[CupofJoe]

The BBC did an audio version from the Seamus Heaney translation. It was mesmeric to listen to. It might have been Heaney reading it.

 

[Finchbearer]

The BBC did an audio version from the Seamus Heaney translation. It was mesmeric to listen to. It might have been Heaney reading it.

It was probably meant to be listened to rather than read?

 

[CupofJoe]

It was probably meant to be listened to rather than read?

It definitely felt that way. And I think having the author narrate meant that you got those subtle pauses in the reading that he knew should be there. I don't remember it too clearly as it was over 20 years ago but I do have the sensations.

 

[pmmg]

Sadly, I cant claim to have read this. and looking at it, it seems like a lot of work

I do know the story, but I don't think that counts.

Maybe as an audiobook, but not right away.

From just what I know, I always felt this story was kind of un-epic and disjointed. For as big a hero as Beowulf seemed to be, he did not really do that much compared to some other heroes I could name. I do however like the scale of it. The idea of his Hall, as a large building of its time, but not actually that big, is sneaking its way into my story even as I type this.


My suspicion, and that somewhere behind the epic poem, is a true story about someone who actually lived and cut off some other dudes arm.

 

[Rexenm]

I haven’t read the poem, but I have watched the movie, and I have to say it reminds me of an epic ballad. It has that resonance, that makes you say, hey maybe I’ll do that again. It puts me in the mind of Le Morte De Arthur, which is obviously the Merlin saga - but that is like a religious text, rather than Homers Iliad or Odyssey, which is meant to be a poem, or an epic ballad. I wonder, as I sit here, typing away, how long Beowulf is, and wonder if that disfigured dude, is who the tall or short of it represents. I shall get back to you all on that.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I enjoyed it, but... that was a really long time ago. It's high on my need-to-read list, along with Snorri's Edda.

 

[Finchbearer]

I started listening to Beowulf last night as read by Seamus Heaney for his own translation (as suggested by CupofJoe), because, well, I wanted to feel like an Anglo-Saxon sitting around a crackling fire and listening to the local storyteller, although I have a feeling I’d probably be able to read it quicker than listen to it. It was evocative and interesting but I’d have to see the words I think to get a full sense of its meaning.

 

[Finchbearer]

I somewhat randomly found Benjamin Bagby and Sequentia on YouTube. His solo performance of Beowulf is highly entertaining, combining music, commanding spoken word and evocative singing.

 

[Mad Swede]

I enjoyed it, although it took me ages to read it. There are several bits which relate to the history of the area where my family homw lies, and there are also some links to some of the Icelandic sagas. I read Björn Collinders translation into Swedish.

 

[Finchbearer]

I have since tried to scratch the surface of Beowulf in an attempt to understand the poem, along with the wider Anglo-Saxon culture, and here are a few concise thoughts;

In the understanding that Beowulf comprises of a very small amount of Anglo-Saxon written word, transcribed during the tenth century by at least two monks, is therefore astounding that it exists at all.

Beowulf, along with other texts such as The Mere Wife, Nine Herbs Charm and the Exeter Riddles, are thought to have been a mixture of common knowledge and well known stories told in the oral tradition, and have their roots in pre-Christianity. Many of the collections of texts were Christianised, considering they were written by monks, but scratch the surface, and pre-Christian beliefs and traditions are still present.

It has long been speculated that Beowulf was already a popular story, told in the Anglo Saxon poetic tradition via scops (bards / poets) who would go to mead halls or the like to perform. Benjamin Bagby, as I mentioned earlier, uses a delightful combination of music, spoken word and singing to emulate what an Anglo Saxon scop could have sounded like.

To get a feel for what Beowulf is actually trying to convey, I wanted to try and find its essence, which I am still exploring. First of all, if I do a bit more scratching at the surface, Beowulf is not really ‘hero’s journey’ in the way it is often considered to be. It’s not as simple as that. There is a wider view on warriorhood, interconnectedness and wyrd. It is esoteric and evocative of a culture we can only try to understand.

I have found that Kennings offer me an easily accessible way to better understand Anglo Saxon culture. For one, they had great humour, and Beowulf is also laced with wry humour throughout. One perfect example of a Kenning is; battle sweat, meaning blood. There are many Kennings for gold, sex, swords and blood. What more could you want?

What MadSwede has touched on is that Beowulf is exclusively set in Scandinavia - and this puzzled me at first as to why it is considered an Anglo Saxon work at all.

First of all, it is transcribed in Old English, the language the Anglo Saxons spoke. It also adheres to Anglo Saxon poetic conventions. Many Anglo Saxon stories are set in Scandinavia, and there was also a crossover of cultures and traditions.

 

[MasterofRevels]

I love Beowulf and I'd echo all the recommendations of the Heaney translation. I've read through a few (as well as the Old English original in a uni class) and Heaney's version is pretty unparalleled in my opinion. It's great poetry in its own right

 

[Mad Swede]

What MadSwede has touched on is that Beowulf is exclusively set in Scandinavia - and this puzzled me at first as to why it is considered an Anglo Saxon work at all.

First of all, it is transcribed in Old English, the language the Anglo Saxons spoke. It also adheres to Anglo Saxon poetic conventions. Many Anglo Saxon stories are set in Scandinavia, and there was also a crossover of cultures and traditions.

I would just point out that Beowulf as we know it today is based on a written document from the late Anglo-Saxon period in England. It isn't known if there are other Scandinavian versions of the story which have been lost, but reseach suggests that, given that the story refers to several real rulers in Scandinavia, the story itself probably first came into existence about 450 years before the copy we now have was written.

 

[Finchbearer]

It’s logical to me that Beowulf was created by someone not yet evangelised into the Christian faith. It’s also plausible to me that it was actually created either in Scandinavia, or by a Scandinavian migrant to the British isles, or otherwise someone of Scandinavian heritage who was in fact Anglo Saxon, or in other words, an earlier migrant from Denmark or Sweden. Wherever the poem originated, I think it probably captivated those Anglo Saxons who heard it being told and became popular among storytellers and performers. Popular enough to be transcribed by some monks.

 

[pmmg]

I always assumed it was Scandinavian. I was not aware it was thought to be otherwise. He was a Geat, wasn't he?

 

[Finchbearer]

I always assumed it was Scandinavian. I was not aware it was thought to be otherwise. He was a Geat, wasn't he?

It’s set in Sweden and Denmark, but is an Anglo Saxon text, and uses Anglo Saxon conventions of storytelling, so far as I’ve researched - I don’t claim to be an expert here but as I said above, from what I understand, there were many earlier migrants from these lands to the British Isles, long before what we refer to as the Viking Age. There’s no old Norse in the poem. Tolkien was a professor of Anglo Saxon at Oxford and worked on Beowulf for a long time.

 

[Finchbearer]

I love Beowulf and I'd echo all the recommendations of the Heaney translation. I've read through a few (as well as the Old English original in a uni class) and Heaney's version is pretty unparalleled in my opinion. It's great poetry in its own right

Out of curiosity, what do you love about it? Thanks for the insights.