Week 1: Beginnings

[Tamara]

Damien wrote: "Sorry I’m a bit late. I only just started.

There too much discussion for me to read, but I skimmed over much of it. I’d like to respond to Rogers’s comment that Beowulf isn’t at Heorot to help Hro..."

Damien, no apologies necessary. Our threads always remain open so you're not late. Respond whenever you feel like it.

Damien wrote: "This is, at least, why I think the story is telling the tale of Beowulf fighting Grendel not for glory, but for Hrothgar."

It may not be an either/or situation. He could be fighting for glory and Hrothgar.

Like you, I enjoy sounding out the words. But in my case, I enjoy reading it aloud, especially at night when there's a storm raging outside. The sounds of thunder and lightning and howling winds make the reading experience all the more thrilling for me.

[Monica]

Tamara wrote: "... I enjoy reading it aloud, especially at night when there's a storm raging outside. The sounds of thunder and lightning and howling winds make the reading experience all the more thrilling for me..."

Me too! I like to read some passages aloud and sometimes I also like to listen to music related to the theme of the book. For Beowulf, I have found some playlists in Spotify to play while I am reading or studying some passages.

[Tamara]

Monica wrote: "Me too! I like to read some passages aloud and sometimes I also like to listen to music related to the theme of the book. For Beowulf, I have found some playlists in Spotify to play while I am reading or studying some passages..."

That must be wonderful. I have a hard time listening to music when I'm reading. I find it too distracting. But if I had to choose, I'd probably go with something classical--maybe Tchaikovsky's 1812. The ebb and flow movements might go well with the ebb and flow of the poem. But maybe not, especially since the endings wouldn't jibe :)

[Ian]

There is actually a symphonic "Lament for Beowulf," by the early twentieth-century American composer Howard Hanson, based on the William Morris verse translation, a small part of which is included.*

There is a rundown, including period background and a biography of the composer, at https://www.academia.edu/19672324/How...
(You will need a free account with academia.edu).

It has been recorded, and there is a performance available on YouTube.

*This rendering seems an odd choice, but it may have been Hanson's first exposure to the poem, which was not really well-known in the nineteenth-century, when Hanson was growing up. Being out of copyright, it is widely available in digital formats, including at least one with the Old English included in the package. But I don't suggest rushing to check it out.

Morris's earlier works, e.g, "The Earthly Paradise," were extremely popular with the Victorian public, and are smooth reading. He was regarded as the natural successor to Tennyson, and was offered the position of Poet Laureate at Tennyson's death. (He turned it down as unsuitable for a socialist like himself.)

In the case of "Beowulf," Morris worked with the distinguished Anglo-Saxonist A.J. Wyatt as a source for a literal translation. Wyatt expected a Modern English adaptation. But Morris apparently thought that the many Old English words which had made it into Middle English would be intelligible to the ordinary Victorian reader if put in their later spellings.

Wyatt reportedly became quite alarmed at what Morris was doing with his literal prose version, and was upset by the finished product.

So some of the translation really needs a glossary, and still is not significantly more accurate than others. Already knowing Old English may help understand parts of it!

Morris also used some (genuine) Middle English vocabulary (e.g., "handsel," and "leeds") in his fantasy prose romances, which were revived in the wake of the success of The Lord of the Rings, so readers who come to his translation with that as a background might find it easier going.

[Lily]

Monica wrote: "...I like to read some passages aloud and sometimes I also like to listen to music related to the theme of the book.

After listening yet another time this week, I finally decided to pay no more fines and returned Benjamin Bagby's voice and Anglo-Saxon harp performance (lines 1-1062) to my library system. I had found it very enjoyable listening.