Beowulf BY Heaney?
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Although I should've known before buying it, the translation seems to have too much of Heaney's personality in it to be considered an honest translation (though I have of course not read the original). This is only normal when the translator is a great poet, the author anonymous and the original language dead.
In a way, this adds so much value to the text but it wasn't what I was looking for. If you want a dry, perfect translation, this is not it; but this is also not dull for a moment so it depends if you want to be a scholar or a reader when you pick it up.
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This is an excellent, inspired, suitably elemental translation.
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Seamus Heaney's Beowulf is a masterful reworking of the traditional Saxon epic. Somewhat definitively, it captures the stark elemental intimacy of an age where nature and man are as one. At the time of Beowulf the quality and power of the land itself spoke through the very being and fibre of the warrior clan, and their tales of exploits and legends were the lifeblood of a culture that sought to inspire a personal character that was firmly established as an expression of terra firma.
Seamus Heaney has re-worked this masterpiece of Saxon spirit through a contemporary language that not only transmutes the original reality, but re-energises the ancient text with renewed vigour and life. Suitably the beauty of his language is indistinguishable from its inspiration, an elegant symmetry that betokens the best of epic poetry. In such safe hands the English epic stands happily beside that of any land.
If lacking the magic and wonder of The Odyssey, Beowulf has the fire, flint and power of a rugged authenticity, and in Heaney's hands a timeless elegance.
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A hero for all times
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I read Beowulf for the first time over 25 years ago (in a different translation obviously) as a first year student of English Literature. It overwhelmed me then, and still does. Not only is the story in itself gripping, but there's a special feeling about reading a text knowing that more than a thousand years ago people were listening to that very same story.
This epic poem conveys in a masterly way a past civilization and its values (courage, honour, steadfastness), which have their relevance in our times too. A classic, and deservedly so!
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Lingers on...
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The story comes full cycle with the death of Beowulf and the homage paid to him by his people. On a grim note, the story-teller who has been reciting the saga of Beowulf also forsees the end of Beowulf's people - the Geats. The Geats were people who supposedly occupied the lower half of Sweden and were either killed or driven from their homeland by the Swedes. Many claim that the Wuffing dynasty of Denmark was set up by fleeing Geats, but nothing is known for sure.
Heaney is able to make us aware of the fickle nature of life using the stories of the rise and fall of even great, mythical warriors. He evokes wonder and pity for the same character by judicious use of imagery that will stay with us long after we have put down the book.
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A translation that fits the story
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Beowulf is an exciting tale and this fast-paced and wonderful translation allows modern readers to explore the story in all of its glory. I first had to read Beowulf as an assignment and was skeptical about reading a story written so long ago. Fortunately, I picked up this translation by Seamus Heaney. As a result I have discovered the wonderful world of medieval literature and it's all thanks to this book. Buy it and read it. Who knows, maybe you'll discover that you've been missing out on a really great thing.
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