Grendel comes, the great marchstepper, bearing gods anger. This quizworksheet looks at beowulf from the angle of burton raffels translation of the text, with questions assessing your knowledge of its literary components and. Weve heard of danish heroes, ancient kings and the glory they cut for themselves, swinging mighty swords. Odes, epodes, epistles, satires, the complete poetry and prose of chairil anwar, from the vietnamese, ten centuries of poetry, the complete poetry of osip emilevich, mandelstram with alla burago, and poems from the. A new beowulf seamus heaney selections from seamus heaneys new translation of beowulf, with excerpts from mr. There was shield sheafson, scourge of many tribes, a wrecker of meadbenches, rampaging among foes. The epic from beowulf, translated by burton raffel. Beowulf is the earliest extant poem in a modern european language.
The beowulf translations assignment learn nc pages 1 10. How shild1 made slaves of soldiers from every land, crowds of captives hed beaten 5 into terror. As the epic begins, we are introduced to king hrothgar, a revered and successful. Beowulf, composed between the seventh and tenth century, is the elegaic narrative of the adventures of beowulf, a scandinavian hero who saves the danes from the seemingly invincible monste. Beowulf is an old english epic poem written anonymously around 975 ad. The epic poem, beowulf, by burton raffel 1219 words cram. Beowulf stateautocollapse shows the template collapsed to the title bar if there is a navbar, a sidebar, or some other table on the page with the collapsible attribute.
Heaneys excellent translation has the virtue of being both direct and sophisticated, making previous versions look slightly flowery and antique by comparison. Beowulf essay in the tale beowulf translated by burton raffel, beowulf is an ancient story about one man who matches all the qualities of an epic hero. His books include translations of beowulf, the complete poetry and prose of chairil anwar, from the vietnamese, ten centuries of poetry, the complete poetry of osip emilevich mandelstam with alla burago, poems from the old english, and the annotated milton. This activity was created by a quia web subscriber. Hml1240b author online 40 rl 3 analyze the impact of the. A new translation with an introduction by burton raffel. Beowulf was composed in old english, probably in northumbria in northeast england, sometime between the years 700 and 750. Burton raffel has 102 books on goodreads with 92030 ratings. Kiernans electronic beowulf cd images of the original manuscript text of this section, and an mp3 file of ben slade reading it. Burton raffel reads lines 86315 chapters 14, 399455 chapter 6, 710836 chapters 1112, and 4582 chapter 20.
Beowulf, by burton raffel and seamus heaney 1106 words. Heaney is as attuned to the poems celebration of the heroic as he is to its melancholy undertow, nowhere more so than in his hauntingly beautiful description of beowulf s funeral. This displays hubris because unferth was making fun of beowulf for losing against brecca when, technically, beowulf won because he killed 9 other sea monsters and protected the people of the danes. Beowulfstateexpanded to show the template expanded, i. Beowulf stateexpanded to show the template expanded, i. Beowulf read by seamus heany omnibus edition on august 30, 20, radio 4 paid tribute to seamus heaney, nobel prizewinning poet, internationally recognised as one of the greatest contemporary voices who passed away at the age of 74. I took four translations done by michael alexander, seamus heaney, kevin crossleyholland, and constance hieatt. Odes, epodes, epistles, satires, the complete poetry and prose of chairil anwar, from the vietnamese, ten centuries of poetry, the complete poetry of osip emilevich, mandelstram with alla burago. Beowulf published as a separate book two examples are given beowulf. His intelligence, fine ear and obvious love of the poem bring beowulf alive as melancholy masterpiece, a complex christianpagan lament about duty, glory, loss and transience. His books include translations of beowulf, the complete poetry and prose of chairil anwar, from the vietnamese, ten centuries of poetry, the complete poetry of osip emilevich mandelstam with alla burago, poems from the old english, and the.
A new translation with an introduction 2 copy quote beloved beowulf, remember how you boasted, once, that nothing in the world would ever destroy your fame. The speardanes in days done by and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness. Beowulf, translated by seamus heaney beowulf is the oldest piece of recorded writing that is written in the english language. A new verse translation by seamus heaney introduction of the danes so. This unassuming little paperback is the best beowulf translation ever written. What is the summary of beowulf translated by burton raffel. This is important because there are different words and lines that are in this translation as well as a significant amount of framework story that is not in this translation.
His books include translations of beowulf, the complete poetry and prose of chairil anwar, from the vietnamese, ten centuries of poetry, the complete poetry of osip emilevich mandelstam with alla burago, poems from the old. The poem goes through beowulfs fight with the monster grendel and his mother and ends with his fight with a dragon and his death. Beowulf does not fear death or pain, but risks his life to save and prove to others that his ambitions are selfless and moral. Burton raffel s 1963 verse translation of beowulf remains popular due to its simple, accessible language. Beowulf arrives in denmark and is directed to herot, the meadhall. For those unfamiliar with beowulf, it is a late first millennium anglosaxon epic about the hero beowulfs fights with three monsters. Beowulf, translated by seamus heaney st leonards college. Outside in the darkness, however, lurks the monster grendel, a murderous creature who poses a great danger to the people inside the banquet hall. Beowulf, translated by burton raffel and seamus heaney, is an epic poem from the 700s ad about the adventures of beowulf, an ideal anglosaxon hero.
Heaney is as attuned to the poems celebration of the heroic as he is to its melancholy undertow, nowhere more so than in his hauntingly beautiful description of beowulfs funeral. Beowulf is an old english poem about a geatish hero who comes to denmark to kill a monster beowulf comes to the aid of hrothgar, king of the danes, to fight the monster grendel. Read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis. Weve heard of danish heroes, ancient kings and the glory they cut. Beowulfstatecollapsed to show the template collapsed, i. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the us or from the uk, depending on stock availability. The tales in the beowulf epic are the stories of dream and legend. A new verse translation,by seamus heaney, 2000, is a sophisticated. Translator burton raffel has taught english, classics, and comparative literature at universities in the united states, israel, and canada. The speardanes in days gone by and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness. This quizworksheet looks at beowulf from the angle of burton raffel s translation of the text, with questions assessing your knowledge of its literary components and. Essay beowulf, by burton raffel and seamus heaney beowulf, translated by burton raffel and seamus heaney, is an epic poem from the 700s ad about the adventures of beowulf, an ideal anglosaxon hero. Books by burton raffel author of beowulf with related readings.
Seamus heaney was born in county derry in northern ireland. Beowulf cuts off grendels head lines 1584b1590 in section xxiii and 7th line from the bottom of folio 164v to first half of the last line of folio 164v on kevin s. Grendel, grendels mother, and, fifty years later at the end of his life, a dragon. Greenfield, 1982, is a translation of the poem written at a comfortable reading level. Seamus heaney, in full seamus justin heaney, born april, 1939.
The stories of beowulf, like those of all oral epics, are traditional ones, familiar to tne audiences who crowded around the harp. Norton anthology of english literature, general editor, stephen. The heroic poem beowulf is the highest achievement of old english. See a complete list of the characters in beowulf and indepth analyses of beowulf, grendel, hrothgar, unferth, wiglaf, grendels mother, and the dragon. Burton raffel author of beowulf with related readings. This translation exercise examines one of my favorite parts of the poem.
Unferths challenge from beowulf translated by burton raffel unferth spoke, ecglafs son, who sat at hrothgars feet, spoke harshly 235 and sharp vexed by beowulfs adventure, by their visitors courage, and angry that anyone in denmark or anywhere on earth had ever acquired glory and fame greater than his own. Please put the summary into bullets, since it is the easiest to read. It was composed in england four centuries before the norman conquest. Beowulf translated by burton raffel the selection opens during an evening of celebration at herot, the banquet hall of the danish king hrothgar. Burton raffel born 1928 is a translator, a poet and a teacher. Beowulf by burton raffel arts and humanities flashcards. This displays hubris because unferth was making fun of beowulf for loosing against brecca when technically beowulf won because he killed 9 other sea monsters and he is also protecting the people of the danes. However, we use the term english quite loosely here it is not written on modern english, but old english, which for many of us today would be almost. As a social document this great epic poem is invaluablereflecting a feudal, newly christian world of. Although beowulf may seem immortal in surmounting difficulty, his humanity is shown. Burton raffel has taught english, classics, and comparative literature at universities in the united states, israel, and canada. Nobel laureate seamus heaneys new translation of beowulf comes to life in this gripping audio. Beowulf audiobook translated by burton raffel youtube. Beowulf epic are the stories of dream and legend, of monsters and of godfashioned weapons, of descents to the underworld and of fights with dragons, of the heros ques t and of a community threatened by the powers of evil.
Beowulf literature guide, translation by burton raffel tpt. Burton raffels 1963 verse translation of beowulf remains popular due to its simple, accessible language. Burton raffel reads lines 86315 chapters 14, 399455 chapter 6, 710836 chapters 1112, and 4582. Death of a naturalist, his first collection, appeared in 1966, and since then he has published poetry, criticism and translations which have established him as one of the leading poets of his generation. Burton nathan raffel april 27, 1928 september 29, 2015 was an american translator, a poet and a teacher. This literature guide for beowulf is for the burton raffel translation. Try one of the apps below to open or edit this item.
Translated by burton raffel glossary of names located at end of text. Books by burton raffel author of beowulf with related. Beowulf is the conventional title of an old english heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of anglosaxon literature. Beowulf by burton raffel overdrive rakuten overdrive. Burton raffels most popular book is beowulf with related readings. Unferths challenge from beowulf translated by burton raffel. Beowulf translation from burton raffel prologue hear me. He has translated many poems, including the anglosaxon epic beowulf. Sep 29, 2015 burton raffel born 1928 is a translator, a poet and a teacher. It survives in a single manuscript known as the nowell codex. Listening to heaney recite these words for inexplicable reasons, this recording has not yet been for sale on this side of the atlantic is deeply pleasurable, a.