But haughty Hunferth, Ecg-láf’s Son
Who sat at royal Hróth-gár’s Feet
To bind up Words of Strife begun
And to address the noble Geat.
The proud Sea-Farer’s Enterprize 5
Was a vast Grievance in his Eyes:
For ill could bear that jealous Man
That any other gallant Thane
On earth, beneath the Heavens’ Span,
Worship beyond his own should gain. 10
‘Art thou Beó-wulf,’ then he cry’d,
‘With Brecca on the Ocean wide
That didst in Swimming erst contend,
Where ye explor’d the Fords for Pride
And risk’d your Lives upon the Tide 15
All for vain Glory’s empty End?
And no Man, whether Foe or Friend,
Your sorry Match can reprehend.
O’er Seas ye rowed, your Arms o’erspread
The Waves, and Sea-paths measuréd. 20
The Spray ye with your Hands did urge,
And glided o’er the Ocean’s Surge;
The Waves with Winter’s fury boil’d
While on the watery Realm ye toil’d,
Thus seven Nights were told, 25
Till thee at last he overcame,
The stronger in the noble Game.
Then him at Morn the billowy Streams
In triumph bare to Heatho-rǽmes
From whence he sought his Fatherland, 30
And his own Brondings’ faithful Band,
Where o’er the Folk he held Command,
A City, Rings, and Gold.
His Promise well and faithfully
Did Beanstán’s Son perform to thee; 35
And ill I ween, though prov’d thy Might
In Onslaught dire and deadly Fight,
Twill go with thee, if thou this Night
Dar’st wait for Grendel bold.’
_Criticism of the Translation._
Wackerbarth’s translation is not to be considered as a rival of
Kemble’s[1]--the author did not wish it to be so considered. Kemble
addressed the world of scholars; Wackerbarth the world of readers.
Wackerbarth rather resembles Conybeare[2] in trying to reproduce the
_spirit_ of the poem, and make his book appeal to a popular audience.
Wackerbarth had the advantage of basing his translation on the accurate
and scholarly version of Kemble; yet Conybeare and Wackerbarth were
equally unsuccessful in catching the spirit of the original. The reason
for their failure is primarily in the media which they chose. It would
seem that if there were a measure less suited to the Beowulf style than
the Miltonic blank verse used by Conybeare, it would be the ballad
measures used by Wackerbarth. The movement of the ballad is easy, rapid,
and garrulous. Now, if there are three qualities of which the _Beowulf_
is not possessed, they are ease, rapidity, and garrulity. Not only does
the poet avoid superfluous words--the ballad never does--but he
frequently does not use words enough. His meaning is thus often vague
and nebulous, or harsh and knotted. Nor can the poem properly be called
rapid. It is often hurried, and more often insufficient in detail, but
it never has sustained rapidity. The kenning alone is hostile to
rapidity. The poet lingers lovingly over his thought as if loath to
leave it; he repeats, amplifies. The description of Grendel’s approach
to Heorot is given three times within twenty lines.
Now these features which have just been described Wackerbarth’s ballad
lines are eminently unfitted to transmit. But there is still another
reason for shunning them. They are almost continuously suggestive of
Scott. Of all men else the translator of _Beowulf_ should avoid Scott.
Scott’s medievalism is hundreds of years and miles away from the
medievalism of _Beowulf_. His is the self-conscious, dramatic, gorgeous
age of chivalry, of knight and lady, of pomp and pride. _Beowulf_ is
simple to bareness.
It is in such strong picturesque passages as the swimming-match that
Wackerbarth’s style is worst. There is a plethora of adjectives,
scarcely one of which is found in the original; but they are of no
avail--they are too commonplace to render the strength and raciness of
the original words. There is too much ballad padding--‘then he cry’d,’
‘at last,’ ‘well and faithfully,’ ‘onslaught dire, and deadly fight.’
Hunferth prattles. The heroic atmosphere is gone.
In passages calling for calmness, solemnity, or elevation of
thought--and there are many such--the easy flow of a verse monotonous
and trivial effectually destroys the beauty of the lines.
But in spite of its very evident limitations, Wackerbarth’s translation
was a move in the right direction. His aim, in his own words, was to
‘get his book read,’ and he was wise in choosing a medium that would be
popular, even if it were not satisfactory to the scholar. It was better
to have _Beowulf_ according to Wackerbarth than no _Beowulf_ at all.
[Footnote 1: See supra, p. 33.] [[Kemble]]
[Footnote 2: See supra, p. 28.] [[Conybeare]]