tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59578404520063738912024-03-13T02:09:26.083-07:00BeowulfianFollow along with a translation of Beowulf, along with related maunderingsGarethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-50163626041389098422014-01-06T12:01:00.002-08:002014-01-06T12:04:35.782-08:00"Outlander" Movie: A very odd homage to BeowulfLast night, thanks to Netflix, I watched a 2008 film that I had never heard of, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlander_%28film%29">Outlander</a>.</i> Since I had no expectations of it or, if I did have any, they they were low, I was in the ideal frame of mind to be pleased when some aspect of the film was unexpectedly thoughtful, correct, or appropriate. Those moments came fairly often. The opinion I now hold on it is that this is the oddest homage to <i>Beowulf</i> that I have ever seen or heard of, and it was clearly written by people who knew and respected the original story.<br />
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The greatest oddness is the genre. This is a science-fiction action film with parallels with <i>Alien,</i> <i>Predator, </i><i>The Thing, </i>and even <i>Cowboys and Aliens.</i> In fact, the film could have been appropriately named <i>Vikings and Aliens. </i><br />
<br />
The story begins when a spacecraft crashes onto Earth with two survivors. One looks human and the other is, as far as humans are concerned, a monster with some dragon-like, some human-like qualities. The former alien becomes a Beowulf figure after he is captured by Scandinavians of some sort, is taken to Herot and meets king Hrothgar. He makes it his job to kill Grendel <i>mère et fils.</i><br />
<br />
Some of the actors are acclaimed at their craft. John Hurt plays Hrothgar; Ron Perlman is a rival king; the Beowulf surrogate is James Caviezel, who was Jesus in Mel Gibson's <i>The Passion of the Christ.</i><br />
<br />
The setting looks fairly realistic: some research obviously went into the helmets, buildings, ships, and language. (The alien's native language is Old Norse!) I half-expected some of the swords to have the name <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulfberht">Ulfberht</a> stamped onto the blades, but that would have been an anachronism, so perhaps they considered and rejected the idea. (I learned about the Ulfberht swords earlier this week from a Nova and National Geographic documentary. For those who are interested, here it is).<br />
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The reviews of the film are mixed, according to <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/outlander/">Rottentomatoes</a>. This is often a sign that the film is directed at a specific audience which may not be all that big. You belong to that audience if<br />
<ol>
<li>You are familiar enough with the Beowulf story to appreciate the appearance of Unferth in Hrothgar's court and to wonder if Grendel will, sooner or later, lose an arm;</li>
<li>You want to see a more believable Scandinavian kingly hall than was shown in the terrible <i>Beowulf </i>film (2007);</li>
<li>You enjoyed watching <i>Predator </i>(1987) or <i>Predators </i>(2010);</li>
<li>You are willing to enjoy a free adaptation of the source story.</li>
</ol>
It turns out that I belong to the film's target audience. Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-22862307462297271372013-10-23T13:40:00.003-07:002014-05-24T10:37:22.830-07:00Fitt 41, Part 1: The Battle of Swedes and Geats, ContinuedThis will not be (I hope) the final version, but it shows that progress is still being made in the translation. I hope you enjoy it.<br />
<br />
-----------------------------------------------------------<br />
“The bloody swathe that Swedes and Geats<br />
“cut as they charged the killing ground<br />
“could not be missed as they clashed together.<br />
“Then Ongentheow, the old fighter,<br />
“sadly retreated, taking his kin 2950<br />
“to a hillfort built on higher ground.<br />
“He had been told of Hygelac’s skill,<br />
“the proud man’s power, and put no faith<br />
“his strength could match the mariners’,<br />
“foreign invaders, and defend the hoard, 2955<br />
“women and children. He chose to withdraw,<br />
“old behind earthworks. The enemy charged<br />
“the Swedish horde. Hygelac’s banners<br />
“swept up and swarmed the Swedes' redoubt<br />
“when Hrethel’s army offered battle.” 2960<br />
<br />
“Ongentheow was, by the edges of swords,<br />
“white in his hair, held in his place,<br />
“so the folk-king was forced to submit<br />
“to Eofor’s judgement.”<br />
“Angrily he,<br />
“Wulf, Wonred’s son, wielded his sword<br />
“so streams of blood sprang from the blow<br />
“beneath the hair. Not at all frightened,<br />
“the wise Scylfing wasted no time, <br />
“but gave as good as he got and better.”<br />
<br />
“When the tribe-king turned to face him,<br />
“Wonred’s brave son was not able<br />
“to strike the old man with his arm’s full strength<br />
“whose swing, instead, sliced through his helmet<br />
“so, blood-stained, Wulf was forced to bow.<br />
“He fell on the field, not finished yet;<br />
“he recovered himself, though the cut was deep.” <br />
<br />Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-47317972889131789232013-07-27T18:18:00.000-07:002013-07-28T09:14:24.191-07:00Fitt 40: The News Comes to Camp<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }</style>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Hi, I'm back after working (yet again) on editing my book on poetry. I haven't given up this project...certainly not now when I have only 237 lines left to do!</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">An earlier version of the first lines appear in a posting below, but here's the whole fitt. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">I should explain the translation choices made in one section:</span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">He
beseiged the grove and the swords' leavings,
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">tired
from their wounds. He trumpeted threats
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">to
that wretched band the rest of the night.
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">That
morning, he said, his sword's edges
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">would
give one to the gods on the gallows tree, 2940</span></span></span></div>
</blockquote>
I'm following a particular point of view here, expressed in the notes on these lines on Ben Slade's site <a href="http://heorot.dk/">heorot.dk</a>, which say this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: black;"><b>2937] </b><i>sinherge </i>is usually rendered 'with a vast army';
Tripp (277-8 & personal communication)
recommends 'at the huge (sacred) grove', taking
<i>herge </i> as a variant of <i> hearg, hearh
</i> 'temple, altar, santuary, idol; grove' (Clark
Hall). Compare with <i> The Wife's Lament </i> (in
the Exeter Book), l. 15 'het mec hlaford min / herheard
niman' ("my lord commanded me be taken to the grove/sanctuary").
See also n. 2941-2 below.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="r2941a1"></a>
<b>[2941] </b><i>gétan </i>here could related to <i> agétan </i>
'to waste, destroy'; or a form of <i>géotan </i>
'to pour, shed, gush', here meaning 'to cause to
shed blood', or 'to sacrifice', as I translate it; or
it could be an otherwise unattested verb with the meaning
'to cut, to pierce', judging from the context (cf. <i>
Christ and Satan </i> 508b-9a (in <i> Minor Poems</i>
): 'beornas sticodon, / garum on galdum' ["the warriors
pierced, with spears on the gallows(cross)"].<br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #000066;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="r2941b1"></a>
<b>[2941-2: The Sacrifice in the Forest] </b>As North (142), Tripp (277)
and others point out, the fact that the
Geats are in a forest called 'Raven's Wood',
and especially if we take <i>sinherge </i> as 'at
the huge sacred grove', then this passage may well
allude to sacrifices to Woden.</span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">So these lines could be translated differently. Seamus Heaney writes</span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">His army surrounded the weary remnant</span></span></span><br />
where they nursed their wounds; all through the night<br />
he howled threats at those huddled survivors,<br />
promised to axe their bodies open<br />
when dawn broke, dangle them from gallows<br />
to feed the birds.</blockquote>
Burton Raffel did them like this<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
With his mass of soldiers, circled around<br />
The Geats who'd survived, who'd escaped him, calling<br />
Threats and boasts at that wretched band<br />
The whole night through. In the morning he'd hang<br />
A few, he promised, to amuse the birds,<br />
Then slaughter the rest.</blockquote>
The reference to "Othere's wise father" means Ongentheow.<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">---------------------------------------------------------------------</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">He
told them to tell the tidings of battle 2892</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">at
the clifftop camp where the company waited</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">sad
in spirit through the slow morning,
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">the
spearbearers expecting both
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">their
king was killed or would come again,
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">beloved
man. The messenger</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">left
out little that lapsed in the battle
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">but
told them all the honest truth.
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now
the one who held the Weders’ hopes,
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">the
lord of the Geats, lies on his death-bed, 2900</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">stretched
out like the dead by the dragon's strike.
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">He
lies beside his lethal foe,
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">sick
from saxe-wounds. No sword was able
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">to
make a mark on that monstrous being
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">whatever
the way. Wiglaf was sitting,
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">Weohstan's
son, beside Beowulf,
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">a
living lord along by the dead,
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">weary
in mind, watching over
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">the
loved and the loathed. Now our land must expect 2910</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">a
time of war when the truth spreads
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">to
Frisians, Franks, and far-off lands,
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">the
king was killed. The conflict with the Hugas
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">was worked to hardness when Hygelac went
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">afloat
with his fleet to Frisian land
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">where
Hetwares warred against him.
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">There
courage came with such crushing power
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">the
armoured man was overwhelmed.
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">He
fell in the front. No further treasures
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">could
he offer his men. Ever since then, 2920</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">no
mercy for us from the Meroving.
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">And
I place no trust in peace or truce,
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">not
with the Swedes, for news has spread
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">that
Ongentheow had overthrown
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">Haethcyn
himself, who was Hrethel's son,</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">at
Ravenswood when, in their pride,
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">the
Geats first went against War Scylfings.
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">Shortly
after, Othere's wise father
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">turned
to attack, terrible and old.
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">He
ended the sea-dog, honoured his wife, 2930
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">his
ancient companion, deprived of her gold,
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">Onela's
mother and Otheres',
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">then
was hard on the heels of his hated foes
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">who
could scarcely escape from him,
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">to
Ravenswood, robbed of their lord.
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">He
beseiged the grove and the swords' leavings,
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">tired
from their wounds. He trumpeted threats
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">to
that wretched band the rest of the night.
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">That
morning, he said, his sword's edges
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">would
give one to the gods on the gallows tree, 2940</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">a
ravens' toy. Relief returned
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">to
those downcast men as day began
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">when
they heard Hygelac's horn and trumpet
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">and
knew his war-cry. That worthy came
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Goudy Bookletter 1911;"><span style="font-size: small;">"
with
seasoned soldiers swift on the path." 2945</span></span></span></div>
Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-8568294078856101222013-06-28T17:13:00.001-07:002013-06-28T17:13:09.194-07:00More Modern Verse in the Old English Style: Robert SkeltonIn a book called <a href="http://books.google.ca/books?id=EeK5UPe5i-UC&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=poetry+exercises+parallelism&source=bl&ots=dzG5sj8ofG&sig=7s9tF4y60EBt6FN2POIu581HMbw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=LSPOUb-wJKb9iQK-ooHICg&ved=0CFgQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=poetry%20exercises%20parallelism&f=false"><i>The Poetry Gymnasium</i></a> by Tom C. Hunley, I found a quotation from <i>The Love Song</i> by Robin Skelton.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>I find I am framing My thoughts in a fashion</i><br />
<i>Long-lost and alien Today's language,</i><br />
<i>Yet somehow the sense of it, Tense in each sentence,</i><br />
<i>Registers rhythms, Riding rough-shod...</i></blockquote>
<br />Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-26165052359397894582013-02-22T14:11:00.001-08:002013-02-22T14:41:50.330-08:00Better Living Through BeowulfWhile checking through Google's Image Search for a good illustration of Beowulf's death, I noticed that one image was on a site called "<a href="http://betterlivingthroughbeowulf.com/">betterlivingthroughbeowulf.com</a>". This is quirky enough to give me a quick "HAH" of pleasure and a quick check on the site.<br />
<br />
The site's tagline is "How Great Literature Can Change Your Life." Beowulf was highlighted in the site name because the author is also promoting his book, "How Beowulf Can Save America: An Epic Hero's Guide to Defeating the Politics of Rage." Here is the list of <a href="http://www.betterlivingthroughbeowulf.com/?cat=1440">Beowulf-related postings</a> on the blog. As an example of the category, here is a post called "<a href="http://www.betterlivingthroughbeowulf.com/?p=16550">Obama's Star, Beowulf's Sword</a>" on the subject of President Obama's second Inaugural Speech.<br />
<br />
I've <a href="http://garethsljones.blogspot.ca/2011/06/could-beowulf-be-role-model-to-todays.html">also wondered</a> from <a href="http://garethsljones.blogspot.ca/2012/01/beowulfs-attitude-to-crises-in-youth.html">time</a> to <a href="http://garethsljones.blogspot.ca/2012/10/the-heroic-imagination.html">time</a> what aspects of Beowulf's story are relevant these days, so full marks to Robin R. Bates for the titles of his blog and <a href="http://www.betterlivingthroughbeowulf.com/?page_id=14512">book</a>. Not being American, I am not as deeply immersed in the push and pull of American politics as Bates is.<br />
<br />
As for the illustration, there's this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUO-yXhndbzpS3bcUzf-nGTwYydSB-ofV8ZbxCvYl3mUELLykTufsoj7gyBvU0d56U5AFUjY4khDSWenINuG7n6TfVRohSNXroI4P1h6xURbTOkxU-PWoIgkUahUE2WoFDWIc1KKJQWnNF/s1600/7be60706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUO-yXhndbzpS3bcUzf-nGTwYydSB-ofV8ZbxCvYl3mUELLykTufsoj7gyBvU0d56U5AFUjY4khDSWenINuG7n6TfVRohSNXroI4P1h6xURbTOkxU-PWoIgkUahUE2WoFDWIc1KKJQWnNF/s320/7be60706.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-47206238901403303052012-12-15T17:02:00.002-08:002012-12-15T17:06:46.206-08:00Alliterative Verse Explanation<div class="tr_bq">
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Here is an introduction to the rules of Alliterative verse taken from that chapter in my book on poetry. If you are interested to see more, visit my <a href="http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/gslj">Author's Spotlight page</a> on Lulu.com and make an order.<br />
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<h3 style="margin-bottom: 0.4cm; margin-top: 0.4cm; page-break-after: avoid; page-break-before: auto;">
Introduction</h3>
Alliterative Verse is the oldest form of poetry in English. It is sometimes called Anglo-Saxon Verse because of the people who first wrote it or Old English Verse because of the language it was first written in. After being forgotten for centuries, it found new popularity in the twentieth century. It offers poets and readers a middle path between the strictness of metrical poetry and the Wild West freedom of Free Verse. To appreciate or write it, you must understand the rules that govern its rhythm and its alliteration.<br />
<h3>
Normal Lines</h3>
The rhythm of any line of Alliterative Verse is governed by the number two. First, the line is divided into two half lines by a pause, called a <i>caesura</i>. Each half line, in turn, has two stressed syllables (called <i>lifts</i>). It also has two locations filled with unstressed syllables, called <i>dips</i>. You can think of the line as baskets into which the lifts and dips get tossed, like this.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzyiT4kgrzqX48ZmAlG_byAGbu3PJUMMZyVMBubuGNyrmQJRJQPsOIxoXd-vd_2v59gur65C174oaQopiv1OjyNySOvNkNiHMUo5flu3hRt6Qhmaq8b-FIkcV5ci_xpZ5dcSHnW0Bzbqs2/s1600/baskets1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzyiT4kgrzqX48ZmAlG_byAGbu3PJUMMZyVMBubuGNyrmQJRJQPsOIxoXd-vd_2v59gur65C174oaQopiv1OjyNySOvNkNiHMUo5flu3hRt6Qhmaq8b-FIkcV5ci_xpZ5dcSHnW0Bzbqs2/s320/baskets1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
The smallest basket, the one at the beginning of a line, can hold an <i>anacrusis</i>, one or two unstressed syllables. Better yet, it can be left empty. Too many lines with anacrusis will weaken the strong beat of alliterative verse. <br />
<br />
The remaining parts of a half line are the two large baskets followed by two smaller ones. Any of these baskets can take a lift or a normal, one-syllable dip. However, at least one of the big baskets must hold a lift, and a dip in one of the big baskets may hold up to five unstressed syllables instead of just one. The potential for such an extended dip is symbolized as dip(...) instead of just dip. <br />
<br />
Let us toss the syllables of a line—“Secret meetings at the slaughterhouse”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5957840452006373891#sdfootnote1sym">1</a>—into the appropriate baskets to see its rhythm at work.<br />
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<br />
The caesura is between “Secret meetings” and “at the slaughterhouse.” Neither of the half lines has an anacrucis. The first half line clearly has the rhythm <i>lift dip lift dip</i> (SEcret MEETings), and I pronounce the second half line with the rhythm <i>dip(...) lift lift dip</i> (at the SLAUGH-TER house), though <i>dip(...) lift dip lift</i> (at the SLAUGH-ter HOUSE) is possible. <br />
<br />
“Secret meetings,” then, has one of the three most common rhythms for a half line, the ones beginning with a lift. <br />
<ul>
<li> Type A: lift dip(...) lift dip </li>
<li> Type D: lift lift dip dip</li>
<li> Type E: lift dip(...) dip lift </li>
</ul>
“At the slaughterhouse” has one of the two rarer rhythms that begin with a dip. <br />
<ul>
<li> Type B: dip(...) lift dip lift </li>
<li> Type C: dip(...) lift lift dip </li>
</ul>
Specifically, “Secret meetings” is Type A, and “at the slaughterhouse” is either Type B or C. These patterns are called <i>Sievers’ Types</i>, after Eduard Sievers, who first noticed them. <br />
<br />
It is usual for a line to have half lines of different types, for variety’s sake. <br />
<h3>
Hypermetric Lines </h3>
A poet might choose to make some longer lines, called hypermetric lines. In them, the first half line is preceded by an extra<i> lift and dip(...)</i> and the second by a <i>dip(...)</i>. These lines do not occur by themselves, but in groups a few lines long, like this one from the poem Beowulf, lines 1160-1164.<br />
<blockquote>
<i> ...Béarers óffered <br /> wíne from | wóndrous contáiners. || And then | Wéaltheow éntered, <br /> góing in | a gólden tórc || to where | the twó góod ones <br /> ídled | úncle and néphew || without | émnity yét, <br /> éach one | trúe to the óther....<span style="font-family: Gentium Book Basic;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Gentium;"><a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5957840452006373891#sdfootnote2sym" name="sdfootnote2anc"><sup>2</sup></a></span></span></span></i>
</blockquote>
Why the old poets used hypermetric lines, I cannot say, but you might find a use for them to slow up the action, describe a setting, or just add a little variety. <br />
<h3>
Alliteration </h3>
In the following advice from <i>Beowulf</i>, notice that the half lines have different rhythms, as defined by Sievers’ Types, but alliterating words unite the line. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Éach óne of us || wáits for the énd </i> (Types D and E; <i>one</i> and <i>waits</i>) <br />
<i>of mórtal lífe; || mán should then stríve for</i> (Types B and A; <i>mortal</i> and <i>man</i>) <br />
<i>fáme before déath! || To a fíghter, thát,</i> (Types E and B; <i>fame</i> and <i>fighter</i>) <br />
<i>when lífe clóses, || lásts as a cómfort</i>. (Types C and A; <i>life</i> and <i>lasts</i>, <br />
<i>closes</i> and <i>comfort</i>)</blockquote>
As in these lines, one or both lifts in the first half line always alliterate with the third lift of the line, which is sometimes called the <i>pivot</i> or the <i>rhyme-giver</i>. Alliteration on the first three lifts of a line was probably considered more emphatic than alliteration on only two. The fight scenes of <i>Beowulf</i> are consistently told in three-alliteration lines. For example,<br />
<blockquote>
<i>He behéld in the háll || a hóst of soldiers, <br /> a círcled assémbly || of sléeping kin, <br /> a hórde of héroes. || His héart laughed then.</i></blockquote>
A rarer alternative is to have two pairs of alliterations binding the two half lines. For example, <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Próud and déadly, || he púshed my dóor. </i></blockquote>
has lifts that begin with <i>P</i> and <i>D</i>, then <i>P</i> and <i>D</i> again: <i>PDPD</i>. Otherwise <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Déadly and próud, || he púshed my dóor.</i></blockquote>
has lifts that begin with <i>D</i> and <i>P</i>, then <i>P</i> and <i>D</i>: <i>DPPD</i>. This is equally fine, but you would not usually find a line that alliterated all four lifts, like this: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>And how dísmal the dáy || when I dánced with my déar.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5957840452006373891#sdfootnote3sym">3</a> </i></blockquote>
By the way, the Old English poets had a slightly different definition of alliteration than we do. It would look like this:<br />
<br />
<div style="border: 1px solid #000000; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 2cm; margin-right: 2cm; padding: 0.1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Gentium Book Basic;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Alliteration means that
the same letter sound begins the <span style="font-family: Gentium;"><i>stressed
syllables</i></span> of two words, but all vowels alliterate with
each other, and some consonant clusters (<i>sc</i>, <i>sp</i>, and
<i>st</i>) only alliterate with identical consonant clusters.</span></span></div>
<br />
Since all vowels alliterated, in Old English, the <i>ea</i> in <i>eagle</i> would alliterate with the <i>ow</i> in <i>owl</i>. This makes alliterating words much easier to find. <br />
<br />
On the other hand, since some clusters of consonants alliterate only with an identical cluster, the <i>sk</i> in <i>sky</i> alliterates with the <i>sc</i> in <i>score</i>, but not the <i>st</i> in <i>stop</i> nor the <i>sp</i> in <i>spot</i>. This makes alliteration a little harder to manage. <br />
<br />
In the end, the choice is yours: alliterate in the old way or the new, or in some mixture of the two.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div id="sdfootnote1">
<div class="sdfootnote-western">
<a class="sdfootnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5957840452006373891#sdfootnote1anc" name="sdfootnote1sym">1</a>From
W. H. Auden, “The Age of Anxiety.” In <span style="font-family: Gentium;"><i>W.H.
Auden, Collected Poems</i></span>, edited by Edward Mendelson, Faber
and Faber, London, 1976. pp. 345-371.</div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote2">
<div class="sdfootnote-western">
<a class="sdfootnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5957840452006373891#sdfootnote2anc" name="sdfootnote2sym">2</a>Translations
from <i>Beowulf </i><span style="font-style: normal;">by Gareth
Jones.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote3">
<div class="sdfootnote-western">
<a class="sdfootnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5957840452006373891#sdfootnote3anc" name="sdfootnote3sym">3</a>From
W. H. Auden, “The Age of Anxiety.” In <span style="font-family: Gentium;"><i>W.H.
Auden, Collected Poems</i></span>, edited by Edward Mendelson, Faber
and Faber, London, 1976. pp. 345-371.</div>
</div>
Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-8681061448204141702012-10-11T20:13:00.001-07:002012-10-11T20:13:13.181-07:00A Milestone Worth MentioningAt this moment, the number of page views that this site has received is 10,003. Ten thousand views is a very large number to me, especially considering the narrow focus of this site. Not only that, but the number of visitors over just the last thirty days is almost 2,000. Several days have had over a hundred visitors a day.<br />
<br />
I am surprised and gratified by the steady increase in the number of visitors. I'd like to thank all of you for your interest. If any of you are repeat visitors or even regular visitors, an especial "thank you" goes out to you.<br />
<br />
Certain posts receive more attention than others. The star draws over the life of this blog, defined as the posts that get about 200 page views or more, are<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Second half of Fitt XXXVI: Beowulf gets bitten (732 page views)</li>
<li>Smaug and the Hobbit Movie (322 page views)</li>
<li>Eowyn's Lament (572 page views)</li>
<li>Beowulf's Attitude to Crises, in Youth and Age (206 page views)</li>
<li>XXV. Hrothgar's Sermon (196 page views)</li>
<li>XXIII. Beowulf Finds Grendel's Mother (507 page views)</li>
<li>The Beowulf Rap (454 page views)</li>
<li>Sutton Hoo, Beowulf, and History (392 page views)</li>
<li>Beowulf On-Line (522 page views)</li>
</ol>
As it turns out, this is also a special day for my <a href="http://garethseducation.blogspot.ca/">other blog</a>. It is just a hair away from receiving its 3,000th visit (2,983 right now) and has had over 1,000 visitors in just the last month. Given that it is a younger blog, I find these numbers equally impressive.Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-29627312184050714632012-10-08T20:24:00.002-07:002012-10-08T20:26:37.613-07:00The Heroic ImaginationI inquired in <a href="http://garethsljones.blogspot.ca/2011/06/could-beowulf-be-role-model-to-todays.html">an earlier post</a> whether thinking about the character of Beowulf could strengthen a reader's own character. I came down on the side that it could. What brought that matter back to mind was discovering <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Zimbardo">Dr. Phil Zimbardo</a>, who has run experiments on how easily people can be induced by a situation into behaving brutally. He is now interested in <a href="http://blog.ted.com/2011/02/03/phil-zimbardo-and-the-heroic-imagination-project-ted-blog-exclusive-video/">how they can be induced</a>, when the situation calls for it, to behave heroically. He says that the way is to rehearse heroic actions in one's mind. When the moment comes, the appropriate behaviour will then come with it.<br />
<br />
If we want heroes, as I believe we do, <a href="http://www.lucifereffect.com/heroism.htm">then</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
it is vital for every society to have its institutions teach heroism,
building into such teachings the importance of mentally rehearsing
taking heroic action—thus to be ready to act when called to service for a
moral cause or just to help a victim in distress.
</blockquote>
He calls this mental rehearsing, "the heroic imagination." It needs examples of heroic behaviour, such as Beowulf, to feed on.Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-56002523945732747572012-10-08T17:08:00.001-07:002012-11-02T04:09:03.259-07:00Part I of Fitt 40: THE NEWS COMES TO CAMPHe bid them to tell the tidings of battle<br />
over the cliff, to the armsmen there<br />
sitting sadly that slow morning’s day,<br />
the spearbearers expecting both 2895<br />
their king was killed or would come again,<br />
the dearest man. <br />
The despatch rider<br />
left out little that lapsed on the headlands,<br />
but told them all the honest truth.<br />
“Now the one who held the Weders’ hopes, 2900<br />
“the lord of the Geats, lies on his death-bed,<br />
“in slaughter’s sleep from the serpent’s deed.<br />
“He lies beside his lethal foe,<br />
“weakened by saxe-blows. No sword was able<br />
“to make a mark on that monstrous being, 2905<br />
“whatever he tried. Wiglaf was sitting<br />
“beside Beowulf, Weohstan’s son,<br />
“a living lord at the lost ones' side,<br />
“weary in mind, watching the dead,<br />
“the loved and the loathed. Our land now must suffer 2910<br />
“a time of war when the truth has spread<br />
“to Franks and Frisians, unfriendly ears,<br />
“the king was killed. The conflict started...Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-22450307695378898062012-09-19T15:36:00.002-07:002012-09-19T15:36:58.180-07:00Apologies for the delay, and Hobbit Trailer 2It's been a while since I've put up a section of the translation. If anyone out there has been impatiently waiting for the ending (speak up, if you're there!), I'm sorry. I have been spending spare time on my <a href="http://garethseducation.blogspot.ca/">other blog </a>and working on getting my <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/gareth-sl-jones/the-complete-poetry-guide-and-workbook/paperback/product-20328713.html">book about poetry</a> ready to place on the Amazon market.<br />
<br />
There's a new trailer for the first movie in <i>The Hobbit</i> trilogy (which is how Peter Jackson intends to film it). Here it is<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/I832kArQM1w?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-65890342343494978782012-08-19T10:45:00.001-07:002012-08-21T13:38:37.106-07:00Fitt 39 Finishes: The cowards return, and Wiglaf criticizes themThe soldiers who had run into the forest come back to their dead king and see Wiglaf sitting, exhausted, beside him. He tells them exactly what he thinks of their cowardice. He points out all the gifts they had received from the king were not paid back by service when he needed it. He forecasts that they and their families will pay for their faithlessness by loss of land and name. Death would be kinder than that<br />
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<br />
Beowulf paid<br />
by losing his life for lordly treasures.<br />
Each of the pair* passed to the end<br />
of his lease on life. Not long after,<br />
the battle shirkers abandoned the woods—<br />
gutless traitors, ten together—<br />
who lacked the heart to heft their spears<br />
when the lord they followed faced great danger.<br />
Now, caught in shame, they carried shields,<br />
battle armour where the old man lay.<br />
<br />
They saw Wiglaf, sitting weary,<br />
the shieldbearer by his baron’s shoulder,<br />
He could not wake his king with water.<br />
No way in the world, though he wished it, existed,<br />
to lengthen the life of his leader in war,<br />
to let or hinder Heaven’s servant.<br />
The judgement of God would govern the deeds<br />
of every man, as it still does.<br />
<br />
Then the young man gave a grim answer<br />
that came quickly for those whose courage fled.<br />
Wiglaf spoke out, Weohstan’s son,<br />
a sorehearted swordsman, on seeing the outcasts.<br />
<br />
“What one would say, who wants the truth,<br />
“is that the great lord gave you treasures,<br />
“the horseman’s gear and garb you stand in,<br />
“when he often, on the ale bench, gave<br />
“helmet and byrnie to the hall sitters,<br />
“the Lord to his followers, the finest ones<br />
“that could be found, close by or far,<br />
“this one who discarded his war clothing.<br />
“How can you boast, his brothers in arms,<br />
“of your glorious king? Yet God allowed him,<br />
“Triumph's Master, to take his revenge<br />
“alone with a sword when spirit was needed."<br />
<br />
“I had small power to save his life<br />
“to bring to battle, but I began<br />
“to better my best, backing my kinsman.<br />
“With every stroke its strength diminished,<br />
“the lethal foe. The fire lessened<br />
“that flowed from its head. Too few heroes<br />
“came to the king in his cusp of need."<br />
<br />
“Now gifts of treasure and tendered swords<br />
“will come to a close, accustomed delights;<br />
“your clan will lose their claim to land,<br />
“each man among them, the moment earls,<br />
“however far, hear how you ran,<br />
“dead to glory. Death is better<br />
“to any earl than an empty life.”<br />
<br />
<br />
*Beowulf and the dragon. Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-73736011492864083672012-08-07T15:51:00.003-07:002012-08-07T15:51:53.921-07:00Hypermetric LinesI promised long ago to explain Hypermetric Lines. The following explanation is from my book, <i>The Complete Poetry Guide and Workbook</i>: <br />
<br />
A poet might choose to make some longer lines, called hypermetric lines. In them, the first half-line is preceded by an extra lift and dip(...) and the second by a dip(...). These lines do not occur by themselves, but in groups a few lines long, like this one from the poem <i>Beowulf</i>, lines 1160-1164.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>...Bearers offered<br />wíne from | wóndrous containers. || And then | Wealtheow entered,<br />góing in | a gólden tórc || to where | the twó góod ones<br />ídled | úncle and néphew || without | émnity yét,<br />éach one | trúe to the óther....</i></blockquote>
Why the old poets used hypermetric lines, I cannot say, but you might find a use for them to slow up the action or add a little variety.<br />Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-58123932036249203122012-08-07T15:46:00.003-07:002012-08-07T17:23:10.367-07:00My Poetry Workbook is on Sale!I've been away from this site for over a month now, but I have an excuse. I was editing a book for publication. The book is <i>The Complete Poetry Guide and Workbook. </i>It represents two years of research and writing plus I don't know how much editing. You should be able to order a copy on Amazon, but I will get a larger
share of the purchase cost if you buy it direct from Lulu.com on <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/gareth-sl-jones/the-complete-poetry-guide-and-workbook/paperback/product-20306012.html">this page</a>. The cost to you is the same either way. Let me tell you about it, though. Here's the cover:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLlxHBU8MDwMX-MHK0oA8hvoFltOmQI35lPCo_gHN9-D5kVeRG24bSQVMFNyTDE-PXfFi-9H-K-kw-uYQcLp7fNdq8LhEsa9NznGMkiT5QNmUMHoHkoqXvW81_TmYAAP-L1BOAD2QPV-J3/s1600/Cover+Sheet+mini+version.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLlxHBU8MDwMX-MHK0oA8hvoFltOmQI35lPCo_gHN9-D5kVeRG24bSQVMFNyTDE-PXfFi-9H-K-kw-uYQcLp7fNdq8LhEsa9NznGMkiT5QNmUMHoHkoqXvW81_TmYAAP-L1BOAD2QPV-J3/s320/Cover+Sheet+mini+version.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
<br />
Here is the Table of Contents for the first half of the book, including the page numbers:<br />
<br />
Introduction 10 <br />
<ul>
<li>Poetry in General 11 </li>
<li> What is Poetry? 11</li>
<li> Poetry Came From Music 13</li>
<li>A Working Definition of Poetry 14</li>
<li>Barriers to Poetry 15 </li>
</ul>
Poetic Devices 17 <br />
<ul>
<li> Poetic Devices of Timing and Stress 19</li>
<ul>
<li>Lines 19</li>
<li>Rhythm 25</li>
<li>Metre 29</li>
</ul>
<li>Poetic Devices that Repeat Sounds 38</li>
<ul>
<li> Alliteration 39</li>
<li>Assonance 45</li>
<li>Consonance 48</li>
<li>Rhyme 51</li>
<li>Repetition 59</li>
<li>Onomatopoeia 61</li>
</ul>
<li> Poetic Devices of Meaning 64</li>
<ul>
<li>Simile, Metaphor, and Personification 64</li>
<li>Imagery 69</li>
<li>Symbolism 73</li>
<li>Allusion 81 </li>
</ul>
<li>Poetic Forms 87 </li>
<ul>
<li>Introduction 87</li>
<li>Non-Metric Forms 88</li>
<ul>
<li>Prose Poetry 88</li>
<li>Free verse 98</li>
<li>Alliterative Verse 107</li>
<li>Japanese Forms: Haiku, Senryu, Tanka 116</li>
</ul>
<li>Metric, Unrhymed Forms 131</li>
<ul>
<li>Cinquains 131</li>
<li>Blank Verse 133</li>
</ul>
<li>Metric, Rhymed Forms 140</li>
<ul>
<li>Couplets and Heroic Couplets 140</li>
<li>Tercets 143</li>
<li>Quatrains 149</li>
<li>Quintains, Especially Limericks 159</li>
<li>Sonnets 161</li>
</ul>
<li>Typographic Forms 170</li>
<ul>
<li>Acrostics and Acronyms 170</li>
<li>Calligrams and Concrete poetry 177 </li>
</ul>
<li>Translation 184 </li>
<ul>
<li>What is a Good Translation? 184</li>
<li>Why Translate? 186</li>
<li>How to Translate 187</li>
</ul>
<li>Sharing Your Work 194 </li>
</ul>
<li>Glossaries 199 </li>
<ul>
<li>Poetic Terminology 199</li>
<li>Examples of Poetic Forms and Subjects 208</li>
</ul>
</ul>
Each of the chapters is followed by exercises, graded into three levels of difficulty. The second half of the book is an anthology of over 150 classic poems. They serve as examples of forms as well as inspiration for poets and just plain enjoyable reading for everyone else. <br />
<br />
I really believe in this project. I hope you'll consider buying it and that you let me know what you think. The next challenge is to distribute it as an e-book.Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-5803316706792579552012-06-14T12:51:00.001-07:002012-08-07T15:53:29.034-07:00Fitt 39, Part 1: The Dragon and Beowulf PraisedWiglaf has heard Beowulf's last request. Now the poet contrasts the dead dragon with the power and pride it had in life. Beowulf is praised for his rare courage in killing the beast. (89% of the translation's done).<br />
<br />
---------------------------------<br />
<br />
Then everything took a turn for the youth<br />
towards the worse. There was, on the ground,<br />
his beloved lord, his life at its end,<br />
still suffering. The slayer, too,<br />
the dreadful earth dragon, was dead himself, 2825<br />
badly beaten. The bounty of rings<br />
could not be kept by the coiling wyrm.<br />
Instead, the stroke of steel took him,<br />
the hard, war-dented hammers' leavings,<br />
so the far-flier, transfixed by wounds, 2830<br />
fell to the earth not far from his hoard,<br />
no longer lithe, aloft in the air<br />
in deep darkness, drunk with treasure,<br />
displaying himself, but sank to earth,<br />
which was the work of the war-leader's hands. 2835<br />
<br />
I find there are few fighters on earth,<br />
however strong, as I hear tell,<br />
and daring in every act of valour, <br />
to brave a dragon's deadly breath<br />
or disturb with hands his hall of rings 2840<br />
if a warden, watching, were discovered<br />
denned in the barrow.Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-48305081894026549772012-06-05T14:55:00.004-07:002012-06-05T15:00:15.543-07:00Poetry Praising ObjectsThe Beowulf poet cannot seem to mention the tools of a warrior's trade without giving them a physical description, sometimes its history, and usually its fine protective or offensive qualities. He sometimes does this for swords and helmets but always, it seems, for shirts of mail. For example, Beowulf tells Hrothgar, <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“But if I sink in death, send Hygelac 452<br />
“the wonderful armour worn over my breast,<br />
“the best of hauberks that Hrethel left me,<br />
“Wayland's handwork."</blockquote>
and<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“An aid against foes, my armoured shirt 550<br />
“strong and hand-linked, helped me withstand,<br />
“safeguarding my breast, my braided sark<br />
“adorned with gold."</blockquote>
The modern reader might wonder why so much attention goes to an item of protective clothing, but the listeners apparently never tired of hearing such details. Perhaps we can understand them by describing other items that are of narrow but deep interest to particular groups. For example, passages like this would interest one segment of society:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
His vehicle waited, a V-8 turbo<br />
with twin overhead cams that came from his father<br />
an avid collector. The Camaro was painted<br />
in metallic red. A racing stripe<br />
adorned its length and leather seats,<br />
factory-fresh, in front and back.<br />
An over six-thousand cc engine<br />
carefully tuned by qualified techs<br />
zoomed in three seconds from zero to sixty.</blockquote>
If you are aware that Camaros did not have 6000 cc V-8 engines, you are a perfect audience for this type of description. Other people would pay attention to<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A chinois Chanel shaped to perfection...</blockquote>
or<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A Mac computer from Cupertino...</blockquote>Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-87960579781958692052012-05-31T15:27:00.003-07:002012-06-01T13:41:48.094-07:00Fitt 38, Part 2, Beowulf Dies<style type="text/css">
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<br />
There is little to say about this posting. At Beowulf's dying request, Wiglaf brings him a sample of the dragon's wealth. Beowulf is still alive when he returns, but still bleeding. Beowulf thanks God that he has won a treasure that would be of use to his people after he is dead. He gives instructions about how he is to be buried: burned and then his remains placed in a tower, near the sea, so that sailors would see it and remember his name. He wills his golden necklace, coat of chain mail, and gold-decorated helmet to Wiglaf, then dies.<br />
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
He filled his arms with flagons and plates 2775<br />
and chose to bring the banner, too,<br />
the brightest beacon. The blade of his old lord--<br />
its edge was iron-- had earlier wounded<br />
the one who had guarded the wealth of treasures. <br />
down through the ages. It endured blazing flames, 2780<br />
hot, for the hoard's sake, a hostile upwelling<br />
late in the night, till he lost the struggle.<br />
<br />
The herald hurried, hoping to return,<br />
goaded by goldwork, greedy to learn<br />
if the iron-willed would find him alive,<br />
where he waited, the Wedera lord,<br />
his power failing, in the place he was left.<br />
<br />
So he fetched treasures to his famous lord,<br />
the one he followed, and found him bleeding<br />
in his last moments. He must again 2790<br />
wash him with water, till the word's thrusting point<br />
broke through the breast hoard.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5957840452006373891#sdfootnote1sym">1</a><br />
The elder saw gold in the arms of the youth.<br />
"I give thanks for this gold to God Almighty,<br />
"have words of praise for Heaven's King,<br />
"the Lord of Life for letting me see<br />
"what I have won of worth to my people,<br />
"before my death to find such riches.<br />
"For the treasure hoard I have now tendered<br />
"the last of my life. Then look after 2800<br />
"the country's needs. I cannot remain."<br />
<br />
"Make veteran men mound up my barrow<br />
"to shine after the fire, facing the sea<br />
"to bring me back to my people's minds<br />
"as it watches from high on the Whales’ Headland,<br />
"so that sailors will say it is<br />
"Beowulf's Barrow, aboard their ships,<br />
"the men who sail through mists at sea."<br />
<br />
He took from his neck the torc of gold,<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5957840452006373891#sdfootnote2sym">2</a><br />
the glorious king, to give to his thane,<br />
the young hero, and a helmet with gold<br />
with the torc and sark, and he said, “Use them well.<br />
“You are the last one alive of our clan,<br />
“the Waegmundings. Wyrd swept them off,<br />
“all my family to their fated deaths,<br />
“earls in their might. I must follow.”<br />
<br />
The old man spoke no other word<br />
before accepting the seething blaze,<br />
the funeral fire, then, flying outward<br />
his soul set off to seek true judgement.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5957840452006373891#sdfootnote1anc">1</a>It seems like only half a line.<br />
<div id="sdfootnote2">
<div class="sdfootnote-western">
<a class="sdfootnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5957840452006373891#sdfootnote2anc" name="sdfootnote2sym">2</a>Possibly
the one that Queen Wealhtheow had given to Beowulf and that he, in
turn, had given to Queen Hygd.
</div>
</div>Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-56068468359877537192012-05-28T15:18:00.002-07:002012-05-28T15:19:03.332-07:00My New Blog on Almost EverythingMaking this blog has been a good experience. I've liked having my material on-line and seeing how many people want to share it. So far, that's over five thousand visits. However, this is a very specialized blog, and I am not, shall we say, very narrow in my interests. So, for everything except Beowulf, have a look at the "<a href="http://garethseducation.blogspot.com/">My Continuing Education</a>" blog.Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-58227591536584721132012-05-23T12:50:00.000-07:002012-06-19T08:54:03.707-07:00Fitt 38, Part 1: Wiglaf takes treasure to BeowulfWe are certainly progressing through the poem. And so we should be, considering that it has been a year and a half since I started the translation! My request a few posts back that visitors leave a comment on the work, whether positive or helpful (that is, negative), went without response, I'm sad to say. I'll continue the translation, nevertheless. This post makes it over 87% complete.<br />
<br />
Since Beowulf's dying request was to see the dragon's hoard, Wiglaf enters the old barrow to fetch it. He sees old armour, a wonderful golden "standard," and a heap of treasure. He fills up his arms and exits the chamber.<br />
<br />
The standard, flag, or banner referred to interests me. It is a counterpart to the standard that was mentioned at the poem's start, which was raised on the boat that brought the baby Scyld to the Danes. What would it have looked like?<br />
<br />
The Bayeux tapestry shows the Anglo-Saxons with dragon-shaped windsock banners. One is upright, the other has fallen.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6wPh_7ZsTrJ8ceTZbFTFsDw9mQ5Rr4alzYzz7QKbncmsoZOHHfk3YCFzO0LvH39gfkrad4XQ-fxspGCwvfk9ailcf6fTtB4qHzRLU101D2tgTsiU1h8AYk1sFtvs-A15DjhUcpo5uE_eO/s1600/windsocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6wPh_7ZsTrJ8ceTZbFTFsDw9mQ5Rr4alzYzz7QKbncmsoZOHHfk3YCFzO0LvH39gfkrad4XQ-fxspGCwvfk9ailcf6fTtB4qHzRLU101D2tgTsiU1h8AYk1sFtvs-A15DjhUcpo5uE_eO/s1600/windsocks.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
More information is available <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/mb2/battle_hastings_1066/bayeux_tapestry/sect49_51.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
The tapestry also shows triangular flags that may be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven_banner">raven banners</a>, like those of the vikings.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Raven_banner_%28Bayeux_Tapestry%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Raven_banner_%28Bayeux_Tapestry%29.jpg" width="294" /></a></div>
<br />
My imagination pictures it as a Roman-style vexillum, like this.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.caerleon.net/history/army/centstandard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.caerleon.net/history/army/centstandard.jpg" width="161" /></a></div>
That, however, is pure speculation.<br />
<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
At once, I heard, Weohstan's son,<br />
after the words of the wounded king,<br />
obeyed the injured man, bore the ring net,<br />
the woven war-shirt, within the barrow. 2755<br />
Verging the seat the victor saw,<br />
the spirited youth, a splendour of jewels,<br />
glittering gold on the ground itself,<br />
wonders on the wall; and the worm's sleeping place--<br />
the old twilight flyer. And flagons stood 2760<br />
of bygone nobles--no burnishers there--<br />
stripped of their riches; a store of helmets,<br />
rusted relics; rings for the arm,<br />
cleverly clasped.<br />
It can easily,<br />
such gold in the ground, grab hold of a man 2765<br />
and, whoever hides it, it will have its way.<br />
<br />
A golden standard also struck his eye,<br />
high over the hoard, a handmade wonder,<br />
carefully crafted. It cast a light<br />
that let the man look from the ground; 2770<br />
it drew his eyes. Of the dragon itself,<br />
he saw no sign. The sword's edge took him.<br />
<br />
Then the heaped-up hoard, I heard, was plundered;<br />
the old work of giants, by just one man.<br />
He filled his arms with flagons and plates 2775<br />
and chose to bring the banner, too,<br />
the brightest beacon. The blade of his old lord--<br />
its edge was iron-- had earlier wounded<br />
the one who had guarded the wealth of treasures.Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-62142361947811683582012-05-16T14:22:00.001-07:002012-05-20T15:47:49.268-07:00Fitt XXXVII, Part II. Beowulf asks to see the Dragon's treasureBeowulf regrets that he has no son to succeed him. He asks Wiglaf to bring the dragon's gold outside, where he can see it. He knows this is his last request. He says that he is dying with a clear conscience, having ruled for a long time, protected his people, told the truth, and never having killed a member of his own family.<br />
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
“This is when I would have wished on my son<br />
“body armour, had I been given 2730<br />
“one who would watch the wealth I leave<br />
“when I am gone. I governed the people<br />
“fifty winters. Not one of the folk-kings<br />
“in neighbouring lands, no living soul,<br />
“wished to meet me with weapons bared,<br />
“bringing terror. I abided my fate<br />
“here on the earth, helped my people,<br />
“sought no deceit and seldom made<br />
“an oath without right. In all these things<br />
“though fatally wounded, I find some comfort 2740<br />
“that man’s Maker may not condemn me<br />
“for kinslaughter when I cannot hold<br />
“life in my body. Now, be away!<br />
“Take stock of the gold under grey pale stone<br />
“my dear Wiglaf, now the worm lies dead,<br />
“sore-wounded, asleep, and stripped of treasure,<br />
“and waste no time. I want to see<br />
“the wealth I have won, old wonders of gold,<br />
“facetted gems, and find my rest<br />
“with an easier heart, the hoard in sight, 2750<br />
“and leave my life and long dominion.”Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-56291786159224301042012-05-11T15:38:00.001-07:002012-05-23T12:55:16.528-07:00Fitt 37: A Dragon Dies, Beowulf is DyingI've been away from the translation for a while now. Consider it a holiday after about a long haul. However, I'm back on the job, and here is the first part of Fitt 37.<br />
<br />
Wiglaf stabs the dragon and Beowulf, despite his wound, kills it. Beowulf recognizes that his time has come, so sits by the rock wall of the tomb and Wiglaf washes the blood off him.<br />
<br />
I look forward to polishing some of the lines here before I'm done, but first I want to push on toward completing the poem, then toward a more polished version.<br />
<br />
-------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
I heard that then, to help his king,<br />
the earl at his side summoned up courage,<br />
power and nerve, all part of his nature.<br />
He scorned its head; though his hand was scorched,<br />
the man helped his kin with mind and strength.<br />
<br />
A little lower on the outlandish foe<br />
the armored soldier sank his weapon 2700<br />
bright and golden, so the blaze began<br />
to lose its light. <br />
At last the king<br />
gathered his wits, got out his war-knife<br />
bitter and sharp, sheathed on his byrnie.<br />
The Weders' helm then halved the worm,<br />
their fierce courage felled their rival<br />
and it took those two together to kill it,<br />
lordly kinsmen. Likewise men ought<br />
to be loyal when needed. <br />
For the lord that was<br />
the last of his deeds that led to success. 2710<br />
his work in the world. The wound started<br />
that the earth dragon earlier made<br />
to swell and fester. He soon discovered<br />
a deadly evil deepened in his breast,<br />
poison inside. The prince then went<br />
by the wall of rock, wise in his thinking,<br />
and seated himself. He saw the Giants' work<br />
how stone arches on strong pillars<br />
held up forever the hall in the earth.<br />
<br />
With hands that were bloody from battle then 2720<br />
the famous lord, the faultless thane,<br />
cleansed with water his king and friend,<br />
exhausted from battle, and unbuckled his helmet.<br />
<br />
Beowulf spoke, despite his hurt,<br />
his awful wound. He understood <br />
his days of life were done at last,<br />
the pleasures of the earth, that all had passed<br />
of his numbered days, death very near.Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-90628606457337594512012-03-31T09:13:00.005-07:002012-04-06T11:18:20.402-07:00Second half of Fitt XXXVI: Beowulf gets bitten!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Beowulf_and_the_dragon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Beowulf_and_the_dragon.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
<br />
Above is a picture, courtesy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%A6gling">Wikipedia</a>, of white-bearded Beowulf with his iron shield directly facing the dragon's fire. You might want to compare it with a scene from Disney's <i>Sleeping Beauty</i> that terrified me as a young boy.<br />
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Wiglaf finishes his exhortation to the other troops to enter the fight to support Beowulf, who is outmatched by the dragon. He receives no response, so rushes out himself and encourages the king with a few words. The dragon then burns Wiglaf's wooden shield "to the boss." That is the metal centre to the Viking shield. Again, Wikipedia shows a clear picture of what is meant.<br />
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So Wiglaf shelters behind his king's iron shield, which was made not to burn. Beowulf's sticks his sword in the dragon's head, but it breaks. We are specifically told that the "bursting" of the sword is not the sword's fault, nor the dragon's victory, but was due to Beowulf's strength. Apparently, he was always doing that to swords.<br />
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His sword, Naegling, is pronounced like "nailing" and means either "the Nailer" "the Nailed One."<br />
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In the dragon's third rush, he bites Beowulf in the neck. Blood spurts over him.<br />
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"As God is my witness:<br />
"I would rather surrender my body<br />
"and benefactor to the fire's embrace.<br />
"It cannot be right that we carry shields<br />
"back to our land unless we first<br />
"have felled the foe, defended the life<br />
"of the Weders' lord. Well do I know:<br />
"the deeds that he did do not deserve<br />
"that, out of our army, only he suffers<br />
"and sinks in struggle. My sword and helmet,<br />
"byrnie and shroud will be his too."<br />
<br />
Through the reek of war he waded in helmet<br />
to support his lord, and spoke a few words.<br />
"Dear Beowulf, be brave in your actions,<br />
"as you told us in the time of your youth,<br />
"you would not allow, while you still lived,<br />
"your fame to fade. Now, fight boldly,<br />
"a strong-minded noble, with nothing reserved;<br />
"defend yourself! I stand with you."<br />
<br />
After these words, the worm came in anger,<br />
the awful affliction another time<br />
to wash his foes in flaming waves,<br />
the hated humans. The heat-waves burned<br />
his shield to the boss. His byrnie failed<br />
to aid the young hero in any way,<br />
but the young man kept behind his kinsman's shield<br />
advancing bravely, when his own had been<br />
fuel for the fire. <br />
The fighting king<br />
remembered his strength and struck mightily<br />
so that his sword stood from the head,<br />
narrowly driven, and Naegling burst.<br />
Beowulf's sword broke in the fight,<br />
old and grey-streaked. Not granted to him<br />
that iron edges ever provided<br />
help in the fight. His hand was too strong,<br />
so each of his swords, or so I have heard,<br />
was destroyed by the strength of his stroke in battle.<br />
Even wound-tempered weapons were no better.<br />
<br />
Then, for the third time, the threat to the people,<br />
the fire dragon, vindictive and fierce,<br />
rushed at the warrior when there was room,<br />
a burning terror, and took the whole neck<br />
between his teeth. A torrent of blood<br />
Spread over him, spurting in waves.Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-42472668850829546232012-03-26T12:33:00.001-07:002012-03-27T06:00:29.812-07:00First Half of Fitt XXXVI: Wiglaf to the rescue!Here we begin a new chapter in the story by introducing Wiglaf, one
of the dozen men Beowulf had taken with him to the dragon's den. When
he sees that Beowulf is struggling against the greater power of the
dragon, Wiglaf is filled with memories of gifts and favours his family
had received, and feels bound by duty and love to take support him.<br />
<br />
We
learn a little of Wiglaf's background then: his father is Weohstan, a
Scylfing (Swede). Weohstan had slain Eanmund, the son of Ohthere, who
was himself the brother of King Onela. However, Onela did not pursue
revenge on Weohstan, but allowed him to keep Eanmund's armour and
weapons. Weohstan held onto them for many years, until he passed them
on, in some form of public ceremony, to Wiglaf himself.<br />
<br />
Wiglaf is, at this time, an untested fighter. However, the poem makes clear that he is brave and loyal.<br />
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Wiglaf
begins a speech to the other men, reminding them of their oaths and
urging them to join him in an attack on the dragon. The rest of the
speech will be in the next posting.<br />
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He was called Wiglaf, Weohstan's son,<br />
a shieldbearing friend of the Scylfing folk,<br />
Aelfhere's kinsman. His king, he saw,<br />
hurt from the heat under the helmet's mask.<br />
His mind remembered many favours,<br />
the wealthy estate of the Waegmundings,<br />
and each one's folk rights, as his father had held,<br />
then could not hold back. His hand seized the shield<br />
of yellow linden. He lifted his old sword<br />
that all recognize as Eanmund's,<br />
Ohthere's son, slain in battle,<br />
unwanted, an exile, by Weohstan's hand<br />
and a broadsword's blade. He brought to his kin<br />
a bright bronze helm, a byrnie of rings,<br />
an old sword of the Ettins. Onela returned<br />
the war clothing that his kinsman wore.<br />
He made no mention of manslaughter<br />
though a blow brought down a brother's son.<br />
<br />
He minded the treasures for many seasons,<br />
sword and byrnie, till his son was able<br />
to fight a good fight, as his father had done.<br />
Then, with Geats watching, he gave equipment,<br />
countless, all kinds, then came to his end,<br />
wise as he parted.<br />
This was the first time<br />
the young champion charged into battle<br />
to act as he ought for his honoured lord.<br />
Neither unmelted mettle nor remaining strength<br />
would fail the fighter, as his foe discovered.<br />
when each would face the other in combat.<br />
<br />
Then Wiglaf spoke inspiring words.<br />
Sad to his soul, he said to his friends:<br />
"I remember a time of taking mead,<br />
"when we swore to save our sovereign lord,<br />
"there, in the beer hall, to our breaker of rings,<br />
"we would pay him back for our battle gear<br />
"if need for our aid ever arose<br />
"for helms and hard swords. Hence he chose us.<br />
"out of the army of his own free will<br />
"as fit to earn fame, and found me these treasures<br />
"because he counted us as keen spearmen<br />
"helm-bearers with heart, though he had intended<br />
"that the lord take on this task alone,<br />
"the folk's defender perform this deed<br />
"because out of all men he has earned most fame<br />
"for daring deeds."<br />
"The day has now come!<br />
"Our noble master has need of the might<br />
"of loyal fighters. Let us go forward<br />
"and help our leader while heat surrounds him<br />
"aggressive and grim. God is my witness,(...)"Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-57011534688250428742012-03-19T11:13:00.003-07:002012-03-24T17:40:30.737-07:00Fifth Chunk of Fitt XXXV: The battle against the dragon continuesOnce again, here it is in first draft. This brings the translation to 80% complete. The battle of Beowulf and the dragon is in full swing here.<br />
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The serpent came--coiling, burning--<br />
rushing to its fate. The famous ruler<br />
had body and soul safe for a while<br />
in the shield's shelter, though a shorter time<br />
than he had wished, when it was tested<br />
that first trial. But fate withheld<br />
glory in battle. The Geats' leader<br />
lifted his hand to the loathesomely-hued <br />
with his heirloom sword so the edge weakened,<br />
bright on the bone. It bit less fiercely<br />
than men's master demanded of it,<br />
goaded by need. The guard of the barrow,<br />
after the battle-blow, was bloody-minded,<br />
He spewed deadly fire that spread out far,<br />
a battle light. No boast was made<br />
by the Geats' gold-friend. His good sword failed<br />
naked in battle, as it never should,<br />
that wonderful weapon. Nor was it easy <br />
for the honoured son of Ecgtheow<br />
to willingly hazard the whole world.<br />
Against his will, he would soon enter<br />
a distant dwelling, as does each man<br />
when his loaned days end. Not long after,<br />
the fierce fighters faced each other.<br />
The hoard-guard took heart, heaved in a breath<br />
another time. He knew torture, <br />
folded in flames, who formerly ruled.<br />
Not in the least did his loyal companions<br />
sons of nobles, stand around him<br />
brave in battle. They backed off to the trees<br />
to save their lives. One soul alone<br />
was filled with care. Kinship can never<br />
weaken at all in one who thinks well.Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-63476294235108387272012-03-15T16:01:00.000-07:002012-05-20T14:03:59.512-07:00Who Best to Read out Beowulf?Latter-day <i>scops</i> (poets and singers) still tell <i>Beowulf</i> aloud, both in the Old English and the new. Among those who use the Old, <a href="http://www.bagbybeowulf.com/">Benjamin Bagby</a> is unique. He has memorized sections of the poem and performs them in a mixture of dramatic story-telling and song. He accompanies himself on a reproduction of an Anglo-Saxon harp. I cannot say if his style is the same as the old <i>scops'</i>, but it is the best effort that has been made, and is thrilling in its own right. Here are are links to two short samples: the opening lines and Grendel's ambush.<br />
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Anyone interested in <i>Beowulf</i> should consider getting <a href="http://www.bagbybeowulf.com/dvd/index.html">the dvd</a> of Bagby's full performance.<br />
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A <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/beowulf19633gut">free recording</a> of the Gummere translation, read by Kara Schallenberg, was released as part of the Librivox project. However, when I imagine my translation being read aloud, I hear a different type of voice speaking it.</div>
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First, it is a man's voice. With no disrespect meant to Ms. Schallenberg, <i>Beowulf</i> is a story by, for, and about men. If a woman was given Queen Wealhtheow's lines to speak, which are almost the only lines attributed to a woman, then she would have only thirty-five lines out of more than three thousand.<br />
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Next, it should be a slow, deliberate voice that gives appropriate weight to the alliteration and action, and a deeper voice would be better than a higher one.<br />
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Finally, I must admit that I hear it in my head spoken with a West Country accent...one from the counties to the west and South of London: Wiltshire, Somerset, Avon, Devon and the like. If you are not familiar with this manner of speech, think of pirates talking, or Sam Gamgee in <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> movies, or Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies. In fact, Robbie Coltrane, the actor who plays Hagrid, would do a fine job, Scot though he is.</div>
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However, the best voice I've heard for the reading of <i>Beowulf</i>, even though I do not believe he has ever done it, belongs to a Yorkshire-born actor, Jim Carter, who played Lord Faa of the Gyptian folk in the film <i>The Golden Compass</i>. These lines of his could be considered an audition for the job of reading <i>Beowulf</i>. </div>
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When the time comes to punish, we shall strike such a blow as'll make their hearts faint and fearful. We shall strike the strength out of 'em. We shall leave them ruined and wasted, broken and shattered, torn in a thousand pieces and scattered to the four winds.</div>
</blockquote>
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Now that's an alliteration-heavy formal boast very close in spirit and style to Beowulf's own, and Carter delivers it perfectly.</div>
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One reason that I imagine <i>Beowulf</i> read in a West Country accent is that I was born in that part of England and would probably have that accent myself, if my family had not emigrated. A better reason is that this accent is the most direct descendant of the Old English language that <i>Beowulf</i> was written in.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Country_dialects">Wikipedia</a> puts it this way: "The West Country dialects derive not from a corrupted form of modern English, but reflect the historical origins of the English Language and its historical pronunciation, in particular Late West Saxon, which formed the earliest English language standard, from the time of King Alfred until the late 11th century.")<br />
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To get an idea of its sound, listen to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boQtKZDhBhM">this Wiltshireman</a>, Phil Harding, being interviewed. <br />
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Another accent that would sound "right" to me, though, is Yorkshire's. After all, it descends from Viking language, spoken by invading Danes, and much of <i>Beowulf</i> is the about those Danes. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScELaXMCVis&feature=related">Here</a>'s what it sounds like, unadulterated, and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpeMj4y3MVY">here</a>'s Jim Carter himself in an interview.<br />
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Late breaking. I'd wanted to include a clip of Jim Carter saying his little speech of vengeance, but can't find one on-line. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4PtNK0_F3Y">This one</a>, however, does include him in character as Lord Faa. <br />
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</div>Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5957840452006373891.post-21581637591525063392012-03-11T14:10:00.002-07:002012-03-11T14:10:34.837-07:00Fourth Chunk of Fitt XXXV, and a Small RequestWriting, for many people, including me, keeps the writer and the audience pretty separate. I know how many hits this site gets in a day, but I don't know who comes, why, or what they think of the translation so far. I'd appreciate it if you take a moment during your visit to let me know something about yourself and your thoughts on this project. It needn't be much, but it would be appreciated.<br />
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Then he let his rage rise from his lungs,<br />a word went out from the Weder lord,<br />the staunch-heart stormed. A strident call<br />rang out against the grey pale rocks.<br />Hatred was raised. The hoard's guard knew<br />the voice of a man. No moment was left<br />to try for a truce. The tunnel released<br />breath from the beast, burning vapour<br />out of the stone. The earth thundered.<br />
<br />The knight swung shield, beneath the tomb,<br />to the loathesome guest, the Geats' leader.<br />Then, coiled and hooped, its heart compelled it<br />to search out a fight. He drew his sword,<br />an ancient heirloom, the excellent war-king,<br />rash with edges, and each of the pair<br />of opposing foes feared the other.<br />With stern spirit he stood with his steep-bossed shield,<br />first among friends, as the firedrake coiled,<br />
winding in haste. He waited in harness.Garethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03030408024299617701noreply@blogger.com0