Alas, my dream of reading Beowulf for the first time in it’s original Old English form doesn’t look like it’s going to come about, because I’m too impatient to read it to wait until I’ve mastered the language.
So I’m knocking around trying to find out which is the best translation of this old epic. Figured some of you might know.
Would appreciate imput.
(btw, to the member who recommended Orrin W. Robinson’s book on Old English & its closest relatives- I found it at my library and have really enjoyed it! Thanks for the recommendation!)
I have only read the graphic novel version of Beowulf (gorgeous illustrations…) so I can’t really tell you much of anything about good translations.
I saw a cheap copy of a dual language (old & modern English) edition of Beowulf with the translation by Howell Chickering, which includes copious commentary and certain passages fully parsed out. I too would like to read it in the original Old English some day, though not for a few years yet, and it looked like it was a good edition, so I bought it.
I have also heard of George Jack’s “Beowulf : A Student Edition”. It has Beowulf in OE fully glossed out. I have never touched a physical copy, so I cannot vouch for it, but if you already know some Old English I would expect that you could get that edition and be able to read Beowulf in Old English now.
EDIT : I do strongly urge that, if you absolutely must cave in now, that you get a dual language edition of some sort, preferably one where the Modern English follows fairly litteraly to the OE. You save yourself a purchase later, and can at least start working in OE Beowulf, if not comfortably. However, I think the best scenario is that where you do not cave and save Beowulf when you are ready for the OE.
I know that Seamus Heany’s translation has the original text on facing pages
I’ve heard good things about it. He creates the translation in the same style as the orig., with alliteration and whatnot, whenever possible. and there’s some cool stuff about anglo-saxon metre in the front.
on a related topic I have an anglo-saxon grammar book printed c. 18something. as soon as I figure out a quick way to make an electronic copy of it, i’ll email it to you, Fabiola, si lo quieres, that is.
Heaney’s translation tries to preserve the poetic style (as Deudeditus mentioned) with alliteration and meter. This comes at the expense of a close to literal interpretation thus Heaney doesn’t make a good crib for the OE text. His translation is, however, superb.
If you are planning to read the Old English and want to use the Modern English facing-page as a crib to the text, try Chickering. It is not perfect but much truer to the original than Heaney.
