"Beowulf" and Other Old English Poems (The Middle Ages Series) Review

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"Beowulf" and Other Old English Poems (The Middle Ages Series) ReviewFollowing an admirably informative and clear introduction on Old English poetics, Williamson offers a very good translation of Béowulf, both in terms of its fidelity to the source material, and in terms of its (much more difficult to quantify) poetic "feel." Not only does Williamson do a good job of using alliteration without being very conspicuous about it (none of the "six sly snakes sip straws by the stream" kind of thing), but he carefully chooses a vocabulary which suggests timelessness without archaism. This is a major problem with some Béowulf translations, which use such an archaic register of English that one needs a glossary to read them - or such a modern vocabulary that the poem never really gets a chance to cast its spell. Some sections in particular - Béowulf's boasts in Heorot, Wiglaf's speech to the cowardly retainers, and several of the fight scenes - are really well-rendered.
On the negative side, there are slips, where words that seem excessively modern creep through - "cancel my days" (l. 640), "cheap bargain" (l. 2415), and "East-Germanic tribes" (l. 2496), for example, broke the flow of the writing to me. The translator is clearly a fan of J. R. R. Tolkien, and the nods to, and citations of, Tolkien sometimes seem excessive.
But the best part of this book is suggested by the other half of its title - "Other Old English Poems." Williamson's translation of Béowulf falls a little short of Liuzza's for me in terms of fluency and art (but a good way ahead of Heaney's). It is in his translation of the other Old English poems which he chooses to include - among them "The Wanderer," "The Battle of Maldon," and a good selection of Old English riddles - where this book is a true joy to read, and his alliterative style and careful wording shine through all the better here than in the longer poem.
Recommended for readers who want a translation of Béowulf which gives them a feel for the original's pace and style without sacrificing readability - and especially for readers who want to take a dip into the darkly moving world of Old English poetry beyond Béowulf."Beowulf" and Other Old English Poems (The Middle Ages Series) Overview

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