J.R.R.Tolkien: "Beowulf"
I guess everyone with a more than passing interest in Tolkien has to read this sooner or later, not only because it was so central to his life and work, but also because of its influence on the writing we know and love, most obviously in the Smaug- Bilbo interaction. So, I'm grateful to his son Christopher for constructing this translation out of his father's manuscripts and lecture notes. In addition, Tolkien's commentary on the poem is fascinating, not just for his depth of philological and historical expertise (most of it, however, well over my head or level of interest), but also because it must give a flavour of his discussion in tutorials with his students.
In some ways it is disappointing in that I had hoped Tolkien would use the structure of Old English alliterative verse which I find very powerful, and which I'm sure he could have managed effectively, but in using prose form he was able to, as he saw it, make as exact a translation as possible of the original poem. This in itself must have a certain value, and the prose does have a certain deep rhythm and power embedded in it.
Here are a few lines of Tolkien's alliterative verse:
Time passed away. On the tide floated
under bank their boat. In her bows mounted
brave men blithely. Breakers turning
spurned the shingle. splendid armour
they bore aboard, in her bosom piling
well-forged weapons, then away thrust her
to voyage gladly valiant timbered.
and here is his prose version:
Time passed on. Afloat upon the waves was the boat beneath the cliffs. Eagerly the warriors mounted the prow, and the streaming sea swirled upon the sand. Men-at arms bore to the bosom of the ship their bright harness, their cunning gear of war; they then, men on glad voyage, thrust her forth with her well-joined timbers.
and here's
Seamus Heaney's version of the same passage:
Time went by, the boat was on water,
in close under the cliffs.
Men climbed eagerly up the gangplank,
sand churned in surf, warriors loaded
a cargo of weapons, shining war-gear
in the vessels hold, then heaved out,
away with a will in their wood-wreathed ship.
I find Heaney an easier read than Tolkien's prose, but nonetheless Tolkien's has a certain majesty, and of course is probably a more exact translation.
A couple of minor points:
I felt a sudden unexpected sympathy for Grendel:
Then the fierce spirit that abode in darkness grievously endured a time of torment, in that day after day he heard the din of revelry echoing in the hall.
Who'd want a bunch of Danes moving into the neighborhood and feasting through the night, disturbing what had been a nice peaceful neighborhood? I have some sympathy with him storming up there and creating mayhem.
And some of the etymology on the meaning of words in the commentary is very interesting. For instance the Old English
Wrecca means 'exile', a man driven out from the land of his home, which could imply (more usually) a wretched existence, but also an adventurer. Today in English this has metamorphosed into '
wretch', while in German '
Rocke', valiant knight or hero.
For those interested,
@Extollager started a thread with a number of excellent reviews:
Some of us should be getting copies in the mail or picking them up at a bookstore soon. Here's a place to discuss the book for those who are interested. I'm particularly interested in "Sellic Spell," a creative effort from Tolkien -- a short story retelling of the poem, or so I expect!
www.sffchronicles.com
