![\"Wiglaf's](\"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/07-11-15-READ-Seamus-Heaney-\u2013tr.-Beowulf-\u2015-A-New-Verse-Translation.jpg\")
<\/a>Wiglaf\u2019s speech in praise of Beowulf \u2014 I can\u2019t iden\u00adti\u00adfy the artist.<\/p><\/div>\n
If you\u2019re going to get any edi\u00adtion of Beowulf, the ancient Anglo-Sax\u00adon epic, get this one. Until now, I got along with the ser\u00advice\u00adable trans\u00adla\u00adtion by Michael Alexan\u00adder \u2014 noth\u00ading wrong with it. But this trans\u00adla\u00adtion by renowned Irish poet Sea\u00admus Heaney leaps from the page and sings. For the first time, a mod\u00adern read\u00ader can expe\u00adri\u00adence the poem with the imme\u00addi\u00adate plea\u00adsure that they would get from read\u00ading a good-qual\u00adi\u00adty con\u00adtem\u00adpo\u00adrary fan\u00adtasy novel.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Take this sam\u00adple, cho\u00adsen almost at ran\u00addom (I could have grabbed some\u00adthing from any page).<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the original:<\/p>\n Nis \u00fe\u00e6t feor heonon<\/em> Heaney ren\u00adders it:<\/p>\n A few miles from here<\/em> The Eng\u00adlish of a thou\u00adsand years ago is so extreme\u00adly dif\u00adfer\u00adent from the mod\u00adern lan\u00adguage that its ancient lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture is inac\u00adces\u00adsi\u00adble to us, except in trans\u00adla\u00adtion. Many bored stu\u00addents have been flogged through Beowulf as an oner\u00adous duty, but oth\u00ader\u00adwise the poem has not real\u00adly excit\u00aded the imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion of mod\u00adern read\u00aders. This won\u00adder\u00adful trans\u00adla\u00adtion will change that. It has already become one of the most sur\u00adpris\u00ading best\u00adsellers on the NY<\/span> Times list. I have to thank Skye Sepp for loan\u00ading me a copy. The paper\u00adback, pub\u00adlished by W.W.Norton, is hand\u00adsome. Heaney\u2019s detailed pref\u00adace is illu\u00admi\u00adnat\u00ading. I also have to thank Steve Muhlberg\u00ader for draw\u00ading my atten\u00adtion to it on his site, Muhlberger\u2019s Ear\u00adly His\u00adtory<\/a><\/u><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you\u2019re going to get any edi\u00adtion of Beowulf, the ancient Anglo-Sax\u00adon epic, get this one. Until now, I got along with the ser\u00advice\u00adable trans\u00adla\u00adtion by Michael Alexan\u00adder \u2014 noth\u00ading wrong with it. But this trans\u00adla\u00adtion by renowned Irish poet \u2026<\/p>\n
\nm\u012bl-gemearces, \u00fe\u00e6t se mere stande\u00f0<\/em>
\nofer \u00fe\u00e6m hon\u00adgia\u00f0 hrinde bearwas;<\/em>
\nwudu wyr\u00adtum f\u00e6st w\u00e6ter oferhelma\u00f0.<\/em>
\n\u00de\u00e6r m\u00e6g nih\u00adta gehw\u00e6m n\u012b\u00f0-wun\u00addor s\u0113on,<\/em>
\nfyr on fl\u014dde; n\u014d \u00fe\u00e6s fr\u014dd leofa\u00f0<\/em>
\ngume\u00adna bear\u00adna \u00fe\u00e6t \u00feone grund wite.<\/em><\/i><\/p>\n
\na frost-stiff\u00adened wood waits and keeps watch<\/em>
\nabove a mere; the over\u00adhang\u00ading bank<\/em>
\nis a maze of tree-roots mir\u00adrored in its surface.<\/em>
\nAt night there, some\u00adthing uncan\u00adny happens:<\/em>
\nthe water burns. And the mere bottom<\/em>
\nhas nev\u00ader been sound\u00aded by the sons of men.<\/em><\/i><\/p>\n