Beowulf in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

Apr 26, 2021 Bryn Hammond added it · review of another edition

Shelves: epic-and-romance

[the Maria Dahvana Headley version]

Not so much a translation as a satire. Headley has a perfect right to write satire -- but kids, don't believe it's Beowulf.

I must comment: having spent years beseeching (in my own head at least) authors of historical fiction set in early medieval England not to project our 20th/21st century masculinities onto them -- look at the Old English poems!! -- I'm crawling under a rock after this: the 'bro' translation has permissioned whatever they can do in that line ...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Bryn Hammond rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: epic-and-romance

I have... at a quick count, 13 translations, and I'm not happy with any of them. How can you be? I'm driven to puddle along in the original text, which isn't too hard to do. Consult translations while you go. The translations simplify or are faulty on the culture or ignore the poetry. I adore Seamus Heaney, or thought I did - his bog poems are wonderful, and when I heard he was at work on a Beowulf, I thought he might be the perfect translator. But to me, he didn't put the oomph of his original ...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Lee Broderick rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: myths-legends, poetry

Beowulf is strong, brave, generous and loyal. Family is important. Honour and reputation are paramount. These are the things that the legend, like the Icelandic Sagas, teach us of the Norse/Germanic world-view. Generosity in some can lead to greed in others though and so ultimately, like the Germanic/Norse gods, Beowulf, the Wægmunding and the Geats are undone by the enemy within.

The themes of light and dark run through this tale too - the bright, safe feasting hall contrasts with the same hall Beowulf is strong, brave, generous and loyal. Family is important. Honour and reputation are paramount. These are the things that the legend, like the Icelandic Sagas, teach us of the Norse/Germanic world-view. Generosity in some can lead to greed in others though and so ultimately, like the Germanic/Norse gods, Beowulf, the Wægmunding and the Geats are undone by the enemy within.

The themes of light and dark run through this tale too - the bright, safe feasting hall contrasts with the same hall at night, with the murky waters and the burial mound. The three tests form the basic structure of the narrative - a device similar to oral tales from other cultures around the world; tests which are both physical and, in the case of the last one, moral. Beofwulf fights that fight not for glory but because it is the 'right' thing to do, an older, wiser head. Like other oral tales, too, it exhibits symmetry - beginning and ending with a funeral, a ship hoarded with treasure and burned.

It's as fascinating for it's portrayal of a world in flux - the Christian committing an essentially Germanic tale to the written record is both representative and explanatory for this theme - as it is melancholy of loss. There is at once a pride here in deeds and ancestors past as well as a defensive criticism born from the new world order. Above all though, the tale is as proud and exciting as 'Wolf-hero' (I make no claims for being an OE scholar so anyone can feel free to correct me on that) himself. It's astounding that so much can be crammed into so few words.

A familiarity with other material is far from necessary to enjoy this epic but I'm glad to have had a passing understanding of both Germanic and Biblical (Hebrew?) mythology for this reading. I feel it gave me a deeper understanding of the narrative and its world-view, similar to how 'Middle-Earth' or even 'Hollywood' are such clear cultural references today, encapsulating big ideas. As an aside, I also (wishfully?) thought I recognised some of the modern Northern European culture in the tale - proud, loud and stubborn but self-deprecating and ironic, Beowulf could be a modern-day Brit or Swede.

Finally, a quick note on this edition: Seamus Heaney's translation may be loose but it captures the essence of the epic - surely of far more concern to the reader than literal translation. The binding here, meanwhile, is as beautiful as the words it contains; this is immediately one of my most treasured books. ...more

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