[Sidenote: Unferth, a thane of Hrothgar, is jealous of Beowulf,
and undertakes to twit him.]
Unferth spoke up, Ecglaf his son,
Who sat at the feet of the lord of the Scyldings,
Opened the jousting (the journey of Beowulf,
Sea-farer doughty, gave sorrow to Unferth
And greatest chagrin, too, for granted he never 5
That any man else on earth should attain to,
Gain under heaven, more glory than he):
[Sidenote: Did you take part in a swimming-match with Breca?]
[Sidenote: ’Twas mere folly that actuated you both to risk
your lives on the ocean.]
‘Art thou that Beowulf with Breca did struggle,
On the wide sea-currents at swimming contended,
Where to humor your pride the ocean ye tried, 10
From vainest vaunting adventured your bodies
In care of the waters? And no one was able
Nor lief nor loth one, in the least to dissuade you
Your difficult voyage; then ye ventured a-swimming,
Where your arms outstretching the streams ye did cover, 15
The mere-ways measured, mixing and stirring them,
Glided the ocean; angry the waves were,
With the weltering of winter. In the water’s possession,
Ye toiled for a seven-night; he at swimming outdid thee,
In strength excelled thee. Then early at morning 20
On the Heathoremes’ shore the holm-currents tossed him,
Sought he thenceward the home of his fathers,
Beloved of his liegemen, the land of the Brondings,
The peace-castle pleasant, where a people he wielded
Had borough and jewels. The pledge that he made thee 25
The son of Beanstan hath soothly accomplished.
[Sidenote: Breca outdid you entirely. Much more will Grendel
outdo you, if you vie with him in prowess.]
Then I ween thou wilt find thee less fortunate issue,
Though ever triumphant in onset of battle,
A grim grappling, if Grendel thou darest
For the space of a night near-by to wait for! 30
_Criticism of the Translation._
The translation is faithful, but not literal. The chief difference, for
example, between this and the translation by Garnett is that Hall makes
an attempt to preserve the poetic value of the Old English words. He is
never satisfied with the dictionary equivalent of an Old English
expression. Thus, in the extract given above, ‘from vainest vaunting’ is
given as a translation of _dol-gilpe_--a great improvement over
Garnett’s rendering, ‘for pride.’ Similarly, ‘mixing and stirring’ is
given as a translation of _mundum brugdon_. This method often leads the
translator some distance, perhaps too great a distance, from the Old
English. The following may serve as examples of the heightened color
that Hall gives to the Old English forms:--
548, ‘the north-wind whistled, fierce in our faces,’
for _norþan-wind heaðo-grim ondhwearf_.
557, ‘my obedient blade,’ for _hilde-bille_.
568, ‘foam-dashing currents,’ for _brontne ford_.
587, ‘with cold-hearted cruelty thou killedst thy brothers,’
for _ðū þīnum brōðrum tō banan wurde_.
606, ‘the sun in its ether robes,’ for _sunne swegl-wered_.
838, ‘in the mist of the morning,’ for _on morgen_.
1311, ‘As day was dawning in the dusk of the morning,’
for _ǣr-dæge_.
Perhaps these paraphrastic renderings are what Dr. Hall is referring to
when he says in his preface, regarding the nature of the translation,
‘Occasionally some loss has been sustained; but, on the other hand,
a gain has here and there been made.’
As for the archaism, that is well enough for those who like it. It is
never so strange as that of Earle, or the marvelous diction of William
Morris. But it is not, therefore, dignified or clear. How much dignity
and clarity a translator has a right to introduce into his rendering is
a matter of opinion. Mr. Hall was quite conscious of what he was doing,
and doubtless regarded his diction as well suited to convey the original
Beowulf spirit.
The chief criticism of the verse is that it is often not verse at all.
Many passages are indistinguishable from prose. This is a stricture that
cannot be passed on the Old English, nor on the best modern imitations
of it.
The atheling of Geatmen uttered these words and
Heroic did hasten. --Page 51, line 19.
In war ’neath the water the work with great pains I
Performed. --Page 57, line 6.
Gave me willingly to see on the wall a
Heavy old hand-sword. --Page 57, line 11.
The man was so dear that he failed to suppress the
Emotions that moved him. --Page 64, line 59.
There might be an excuse for some of this freedom in blank verse, but in
measures imitative of the Old English it is utterly out of place. There
is always a pause at the end of a line in Old English; run-on lines are
uncommon. There is not an example in _Beowulf_ of an ending so light as
’the’ or ‘a’ in the verses quoted above.