Book review: Beowulf

Title: Beowulf
Translated by: Seamus Heaney

Beowulf is an ancient poem, written by an unknown author in old English, which is now unreadable by modern speakers of the language. The version I read was translated by Seamus Heaney, and on the even pages the original spellings and words have been preserved, while the translation was featured on the odd pages, side by side with the original.

It would be very difficult, for me at least, to try to give a summary of this, without a) spoiling the plot for those who haven’t read it, b) wasting my time and energy, and c) confusing everyone in the process!! ;-) Therefore I shall just stick to telling what I like best about it.

Postitive Elements:

~ Let me first say, that I thought this was wonderful. It gives the reader a rare glimpse into the world and customs of the Anglo-Saxons, or if you prefer, the inhabitants of ancient Scandinavia, since the poem is about the Danes, Geats, and Shieldings, but it has been generally attributed to a Saxon author, who in my opinion, must have been a genius! ;-)

~ Beowulf, the hero, (duh!) is a wonderful man. He is strong, heroic, brave, but he is also kind, generous, and compassionate. (It actually says “he was a compassionate man.”) One of the best references of this is when someone named Unferth (a jerk who has previously insulted Beowulf, while drunk and jealous) lends him his ancestral sword right before Beowulf is going off to fight. (Unferth himself is too much of a coward to join Beowulf) Eventually the sword fails Beowulf in his moment of need, but later, after the battle, he returns the sword to its owner, Unferth, and tells him kindly how helpful it was for him, and what a wonderful weapon it was. I don’t think Beowulf had the heart to dissapoint Unferth, even though he had no reason to be kind to him.

~ Once again, the author must have been a devout Christian, for there are many excellent quotes, some of which I have put at the end of this entry.

~ This is a must-read for any Medieval enthusiasts, reenactors, or for anyone just wishing to educate themselves on the time period.

Negative Elements:

~ I had to think hard to find something wrong with this, because there really isn’t. The only think I could think of, was that it was originally written as a poem, in the Anglo-Saxon form, which is rather complicated and very different from our ideas of what a poem should sound like. Therefore, the whole poetic nature of the wording is lost in translation, but SH has done a very good job at trying to preserve it, and he comes pretty close to the Saxon structure of groups of four words/syllables, at least in my ignorant opinion!!

~ This poem is about a warrior, and warriors fight battles. Battles mean blood, and blood means ‘delicate‘ people get light-headed and puke. (haha) While this is in no way gory or even remotely stomach-turning. It didn’t bother me at all, some squeamish readers might object to certain elements, such as (consider yourself warned!!) Beowulf ripping off Grendel’s arm, or a thane being beheaded.


Excerpts and Quotes:
( You have won renown... )