20 Dec 21 Beowulf – Ancient Epic: #5

Beowulf & Seamus Heaney Translation

Heroic epics like Beowulf, almost always have a broad and lengthy cast of characters, for how can a hero exist if there is no one to save, destroy, form alliances with or against; perhaps who would there be to cheer or boo the hero.  Since we are about to introduce many more characters let’s pause to have a look at a few who have already stepped upon the stage of this ancient story.

Beowulf

The protagonist of the epic, Beowulf is a Geatish hero who fights the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. Beowulf’s boasts and encounters reveal him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around. In his youth, he personifies all of the best values of the heroic culture. In his old age, he proves a wise and effective ruler.

King Hrothgar

The king of the Danes. Hrothgar enjoys military success and prosperity until Grendel terrorizes his realm. A wise and aged ruler, Hrothgar represents a different kind of leadership from that exhibited by the youthful warrior Beowulf. He is a father figure to Beowulf and a model for the kind of king that Beowulf becomes.

Grendel

A demon descended from Cain, Grendel preys on Hrothgar’s warriors in the king’s mead-hall, Heorot. Because his ruthless and miserable existence is part of the retribution exacted by God for Cain’s murder of Abel, Grendel fits solidly within the ethos of vengeance that governs the world of the poem.

Seamus Heaney – Translator of Beowulf - 2001

With this fifth section of Beowulf, we are changing translators to my aforementioned favorite, Seamus Heaney (1939 – 2013), an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Heaney was first and foremost a poet, not a specialist in the Old English language. He was, quite naturally, basing his translation upon decades of scholarship that agreed that hwaet “functions as an exclamation calling for immediate attention”, and in that respect his translation is very clever.

Old English poetry, including Beowulf, did not rhyme, but instead had an alliterative structure, with each line split into two halves, with two metrical stresses per half. Heaney's translation reflects this, reproducing the strong rhythm and alliteration of the original poem.

Seamus Heaney hoped that translating Beowulf would result in "a kind of aural antidote," and a "linguistic anchor would stay lodged on the Anglo-Saxon sea-floor." Heaney began work on the translation while teaching at Harvard, but a lack of connection to the source material caused him to take a break from the effort. The translation was reinvigorated once he realized connections between the form and manner of the original poem and his own early poetic work, including how his early poems diverted from the conventional English pentameter line and "conformed to the requirements of Anglo-Saxon metrics." 

Beowulf and the Geats Arrive

So they duly arrived  

In their grim war-graith and gear at the hall,

And, weary from the sea, stacked wide shields 

Of the toughest hardwood against the wall, 

Then collapsed on the benches; battle-dress 

And weapons clashed. They collected their spears

 In a seafarer’s stook, a stand of grayish

 Tapering ash. And the troops themselves

 330 Were as good as their weapons. Then a proud warrior 

Questioned the men concerning their origins:

 “Where do you come from, carrying these Decorated shields

 and shirts of mail,

These cheek-hinged helmets and javelins? 

I am Hrothgar’s herald and officer.

 I have never seen so impressive or large

 An assembly of strangers. Stoutness of heart,

Bravery not banishment, must have brought you to Hrothgar.” 

The man whose name was known for courage, 

340 The Geat leader, resolute in his helmet, 

Answered in return: “We are retainers 

From Hygelac’s band. Beowulf is my name.

 If your lord and master, the most renowned 

Son of Halfdane, will hear me out 

And graciously allow me to greet him in person, 

I am ready and willing to report my errand.” 

Wulfgar replied, a Wendel chief 

Renowned as a warrior, well known for his wisdom

 And the temper of his mind: “I will take this message, 

350 In accordance with your wish, to our noble king,

Our dear lord, friend of the Danes, 

The giver of rings. I will go and ask him 

About your coming here, then hurry back

 With whatever reply it pleases him to give.” 

With that he turned to where Hrothgar sat, 

An old man among retainers; 

The valiant follower stood four-square

 In front of his king: he knew the courtesies. 

Wulfgar addressed his dear lord:

360 “People from Geatland have put ashore. 

They have sailed far over the wide sea.

 They call the chief in charge of their band 

By the name of Beowulf. They beg, my lord,

 An audience with you, exchange of words 

And formal greeting. Most gracious Hrothgar, 

Do not refuse them, but grant them a reply.

 From their arms and appointment, they appear well-born

 And worthy of respect, especially the one 

Who has led them this far: he is formidable indeed.”

 

370 Hrothgar, protector of Shieldings, replied:

 “I used to know him when I was a young boy. 

His father before him was called Ecgtheow. 

Hrethel the Greath gave Ecgtheow 

His daughter in marriage. This man is their son, 

Here to follow up an old friendship.

 A crew of seamen who sailed for me once 

With a gift-cargo across to Geatland

 Returned with marvelous tales about him:

 A thane, they declared, with the strength of thirty 

380 In the grip of each hand. Now Holy God 

Has, in His Goodness, guided him here

To the West-Danes, to defend us from Grendel. 

This is my hope; and for his heroism 

I will recompense him with a rich treasure. 

Go immediately, bid him and the Geats

 He has is attendance to assemble and enter.

 Say, moreover, when you speak to them,

That they are welcome in Denmark.” 

Hrothgar Welcomes Beowulf

At the door of the hall, Wulfgar 

duly delivered the message: 

390 “My lord, the conquering king of the Danes, 

Bids me announce that he knows your ancestry; 

Also that he welcomes you here to Heorot 

And salutes your arrival from across the sea. 

You are free now to move forward 

To meet Hrothgar, in helmets and armor, 

But shields must stay here and spears be stacked

 Until the outcome of the audience is clear.” 

The hero arose, surrounded closely 

By his powerful thanes. A party remained

 400 Under orders to keep watch on the arms; 

The rest proceeded, lead by their prince 

Under Heorot’s roof. And standing on the hearth 

In webbed links that the smith had woven, 

The fine-forged mesh of his gleaming mail shirt, 

Resolute in his helmet, Beowulf spoke:

 “Greetings to Hrothgar. I am Hygelac’s kinsman, 

One of his hall-troop. When I was younger,

 I had great triumphs. Then news of Grendel, 

Hard to ignore, reached me at home: 

410 Sailors brought stories of the plight you suffer

 In this legendary hall, how it lies deserted,

 Empty and useless once the evening light

 Hides itself under Heaven’s dome.

 So every elder and experience councilman 

Among my people supported my resolve 

To come here to you, King Hrothgar,

 Because all knew of my awesome strength.

 They had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies 

When I battled and bound five beasts, 

420 Raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea 

Slaughtered sea-brutes. I have suffered extremes

 And avenged the Geats (their enemies brought it 

Upon themselves, I devastated them). 

Now I mean to be a match for Grendel, 

Settle the outcome in a single combat.

Background

To be clear, Beowulf was originally written in West Saxon dialect of Old English. [Old English was followed by Middle English.] The date it was written is disputed, but generally agreed between 700 and 1000 AD. Other scholars place the writing between 975 and 1025. One original manuscript still exists, and was damaged by fire in 1731. It is about 3200 lines.

Exploration 1: What is the warning that Hrothgar gives Beowulf, and what is Hrothgar’s motivation in doing so? Are there any clues in what Hrothgar goes on to say, i.e. that death and defeat are inevitable, pride or no pride: “death will arrive, ‘ dear warrior, to sweep you away.”

Exploration 2: How do you feel about Grendel’s impending appearance? Some analysts suggest that Grendel is the most memorable character in the poem. What do you think? Or is it too early to say?

Exploration 3: Beowulf is a young warrior in this early part of the epic. In what ways do you think Hrothgar might help him to mature? What do you think of his maturity at this beginning point of the story?