Beowulf: A New Verse Translation
Translated By: Seamus Heaney / Narrated By: George Guidall
Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins
And here’s something else I missed in high school!
Actually, we read Grendel by John Gardner during high school AP English and had a jolly good time with it. So I went into Beowulf, the Seamus Heaney translation, well, not expecting slapstick exactly (I’m not an idiot, after all), but DEFinitely unsure as what to expect. Especially as I hit the Afterword by Seamus Heaney first where he reads his essay on the translation work.
Turns out the man had been commissioned to work on the translation eeeearly on in his career, and he eventually was blue-deviled by it, chucked it aside, went on with his life, but found himself turning to it again. He just couldn’t get it off his plate. I dunno how the old epic poem goes… okay, okay, so maybe I am a bit of an idiot as the thought of clinking and clunking through bits of Ye Olde English frightens the bejesus outta me, so I gratefully jumped at the chance to pick up this version over on Audible (Where there are maaaany translation versions available). I liked the thought of an Irishman rolling up his work sleeves and getting down to translation work!
What we get when listening to this versions is a hearty, manly, story filled with plenty of grit, gore, and some humor. The story starts mid-action with Grendel already terrorizing Hrothgar, king of a distant realm, and his subjects. Grendel is a nasty, nasty monster who looooves human flesh and is truly fond of ripping men (And women and children) limb from limb. Beowulf, proud and valiant, finds this unacceptable and sets out, offering his services. As no weapon has proved useful in fighting Grendel, Beowulf chooses to meet him in hand-to-hand combat. And he succeeds, yanking off Grendel’s arm at the shoulder, leaving the monster to dash back to his lair to die.
But wait! Hold the cheering…! Grendel’s mom is NOT happy with this, as no mama bear would be, and so we’re treated to yet the next battle, this one involving battle in a sea cave.
Then there’s a fight with a dragon. Then we come to Beowulf’s demise (Wait! Is that a spoiler?!?). Then there’s the end with Heaney’s afterthoughts. It’s a pretty good ride, but somehow, tho’ I do love him, George Guidall’s narration, his voice, make this all soooo dreamy that I damned near nodded off several times. This isn’t good if you’re listening to get your grit-gore-and-some-humor ya-ya’s out. Still, he’s George Guidall for crying out loud, and though I did yawn and blink, I do indeed appreciate the inflections and tones that only a veteran and seasoned narrator can bring to a classic like this. At least he knows when the text is relaying something cheeky, gore notwithstanding.
Am I sorry I missed Beowulf earlier in my life?
Nah! We all had a blast with Grendel (Which I now have I hankerin’ to listen to, also narrated by Guidall), and that book spawned many a raucous discussion. But I am indeed glad that here, on the downslope of life, I’ve had to opportunity to listen to Beowulf. It left me rather awestruck about what martial ages were lived through in the past (And Wikipedia discusses its place in actual history, citing burial mounds and such!), times with warriors and ships and kingdoms and monsters who’d tear ya limb from limb!
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