Keely's review of Beowulf: A New Verse Translation

Beowulf: A New Verse Translation Beowulf: A New Verse Translation
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Keely's review
rating: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
bookshelves: epic-poetry, poetry
status: Read in October, 2005

Usually I like to keep my translators and authors separate, but I will make an exception for Heaney. The problem is that most creative authors have such a strong voice and sense of story that they will overwhelm the original author's intent. As Bentley wrote of Pope's Iliad: "It is a pretty poem, Mr. Pope, but you must not call it Homer".

Now, sometimes this sort of indirect translation is just what one needs, such as during the transition of the Renaissance from Italy to Britain. Many of the British poets rewrote Italian sonnets into English, and though the line of descent was unquestionable, the progeny was it's own work. Another example might be the digestion of Wuxia and Anime into films such as Tarantino's or The Matrix (though Tarantino's sense of propriety is often suspect).

However, in these cases, we can hardly call the new work a translation of the old. You are not experiencing the old work but the inspiration it has wrought. Beowulf, however, is one of those ...more
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