Customer Reviews

Beowulf: A Verse Translation

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Frederick Rebsamen has created a translation that holds true to the alliterative nature of Old English poetry. His verse translation captures the feel of the ancient poem, and Rebsamen presents his modern audince with a lively and artful portrayal of Beowulf's adventures. This translation's verse form takes its readers back to the days of scops and bards. Frederick Rebsamen's internal commentary provides readers with insight into the tradition and history behind the myth. Rebswamen's translation is perfect for students and readers who cannot read Old English, yet want to experience Beowulf as it was meant to be experience.

This translation attempts to reproduce the alliterative and metric structure of the original Old English work.

Each line in this version is divided into half-lines, which are separated by whitespace. Each half-line contains two beats. The first beat in the second half-line must alliterate with at least one of the two beats in the first half-line. The two beats in the second half-line cannot alliterate.

Reading this translation I enjoyed picking out the alliterations and the beats. Eventually the poem appeared to flow into a rhythm, unlike prose translations and unlike my reading of Heaney's Beowulf.

I would say that this translation is not a good one for understanding the meaning of the poem. But once one has read one or two other translations and understands what is going on in the poem, this is a great version to read. It enabled me to experience a Beowulf whose sounds are based upon alliteration and meter, much like the poem sounded to its original audience in those mead-halls a millenia ago.

I remember reading Beowulf in school, and although the story was cool, the translation came across as dull as dishwater. Now that my tastes have matured somewhat I've gotten interested in Medeival legendry and epic poems. The Rebsamen translation is a good choice - it has an authentic rythm to it and begs to be read aloud. The translator has made up odd compound words to convey the meaning and the flavor of the Old English original ("woodsong" for the sound of a harp is a good example.) Following the form of Old English poetry, lines are divided into somewhat disjointed phrases presenting a series of vivid, tersely described images rather than a coherent narrative flow. Nevertheless, the poem rolls right along and I was delighted by the aptness of the language at times: wierd off-kilter phrases that somehow perfectly convey the action in tiny glimpses. This is powerful epic poetry.
Beowulf purists will be upset because Rebsamen drifts quite a bit from the Old English original (he admits in the Introduction that he had to move phrases around, sometimes placing a half-line 4 or 6 lines away from where it was, and swapping pieces here and there in order to accomplish the proper alliteration and still retain some logical sense.) He has taken liberties with the poem, but I think that's forgivable considering the results. This translation is not for academics and Beowulf scholars. It's for everyday shmoes like you and me who want something exciting to read.

Normally, I am not a big fan of epic poetry. This particular book was mandatory reading for a British Literature class and I can be honest about dreading the moment I would have to begin it. Much of the reading in this class was in Middle English and near impossible to decipher so I thought this would be no different. I was sorely mistaken.
First of all, this version is left in poetic form which allows for more authenticity to the original. Many prose versions are off in left field somewhere (I know because I looked through a bunch before buying Rebsamen's version).
Another surprise for me was that because I am a (contemporary)literary fiction reader I thought I would be repelled by the Herculean Masters of the Universe type stuff I thought I was sure to find. This is simply a good story. The poem is packed full of metaphors. Grendel represents society's mortal threat by "the other" and his vengeful mother represents a contrast between matriarchal and patriarchal society.And though I can't be sure, I believe Beowulf's ultimate fight with the Dragon represents himself and his fifty years as king. Beowulf: always the hero for others with no time for his own fulfillment.
On another note, the language and imagery are very vivid, if not supernaturally exaggerated, and full of adventure. It is a one or two day read at most.
If you are one of those people, like myself, that likes to pick up a classic every once in a while for your own edification, try this one out. It's quite the fun read.

Mr. Rebsamen has provided a beautifully translated rendition of the Beowulf epic. The translation itself stands as a masterful work of art in its own rite. The "feel" of the original comes through the translation. Mr. Rebsamen's translation is a "must read" for any student of Beowulf, and of Anglo-Saxon literature.

This is one of the greatest translations I have ever read next to Gawain and the Green Knight by J.R.R. Tolkien. The story is ancient but it was better then most novels I have read. The author kept the verse form which can be annoying at first but after you get used to it it complitments the whole story.

Rebsamen fails J.R.R. Tolkien's basic test of "offering an harmonious choice of modern English words" ("On Translating Beowulf). It is not as dreadful as some other translations of Beowulf, still it is still a dismal read. When reading Rebsamen, I was struck many times by the lack of correspondence to the original poem. This ranges from strange language choice (Rebsamen made up the word "deemer," for the Old English word for judge) to complete deviance from content of the poem. On the first page of the translation, Rebsamen has Scyld "floating with gifts/a strange king-child." Bad poetry, worse translation. The line Rebsamen is translating means, "found destitute, he experienced consolation for that." Tolkien used J.J. Earle's 19th century translation as an example of a failed translation of Beowulf. I've read Earle; his translation is bad enough to be funny. Rebsamen doesn't even attain that.