Recent reading
Jul. 24th, 2021 02:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luzulaBeowulf, translated by Maria Dahvana Headley (2020)
All I knew going in was the names of some of the main characters and that the original is in Old English. I didn't actually know that it was set in fantasy Scandinavia and that Beowulf is from Geatland/Götaland, which is the region of Sweden where I live (Svealand, which also appears in the poem and where the name Sweden comes from, is north of here and was another kingdom then.) Anyway, I found this interpretation sometimes funny, sometimes moving, but always engaging--the reading really flowed. I appreciate the feminist angle on a work which is so male-dominated! The "bro" stuff felt natural, but there were a few other instances (not many) where I felt it went too far in using words and phrases that I assume are from Tumblr/Twitter or the like, but didn't actually understand.
I dipped into a few other translations: I expected to enjoy the Tolkien one, since I imprinted on Tolkien's prose as a kid. But actually it was quite unlike his prose in (say) Silmarillion, I assume because he wanted to stick closely to the original. I found it a bit too convoluted to read the whole thing for pleasure. It did make it obvious how free Headley's interpretation was, though! I also read a bit of the Heaney, which I liked fine, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the Headley.
And finally I read a little bit of one of the two Swedish translations (Wickberg, 1914). The interesting thing about that is how much more I felt and resented the "macho-ness" of the poem, compared to the Tolkien and the Heaney! (Of course, the "macho-ness" is deliberately brought out in the Headley, but with a feminist twist.) Perhaps that is the sort of thing which one feels most in one's native language--or perhaps it's the knowledge of how the Swedish past was reinterpreted during the 19th century for manly nationalistic purposes, which echo in the Swedish poem for me. (And should make me wary when I play in the sandbox of other countries' history, because I probably don't have the same instinctive feeling for bullshit there.)
All I knew going in was the names of some of the main characters and that the original is in Old English. I didn't actually know that it was set in fantasy Scandinavia and that Beowulf is from Geatland/Götaland, which is the region of Sweden where I live (Svealand, which also appears in the poem and where the name Sweden comes from, is north of here and was another kingdom then.) Anyway, I found this interpretation sometimes funny, sometimes moving, but always engaging--the reading really flowed. I appreciate the feminist angle on a work which is so male-dominated! The "bro" stuff felt natural, but there were a few other instances (not many) where I felt it went too far in using words and phrases that I assume are from Tumblr/Twitter or the like, but didn't actually understand.
I dipped into a few other translations: I expected to enjoy the Tolkien one, since I imprinted on Tolkien's prose as a kid. But actually it was quite unlike his prose in (say) Silmarillion, I assume because he wanted to stick closely to the original. I found it a bit too convoluted to read the whole thing for pleasure. It did make it obvious how free Headley's interpretation was, though! I also read a bit of the Heaney, which I liked fine, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the Headley.
And finally I read a little bit of one of the two Swedish translations (Wickberg, 1914). The interesting thing about that is how much more I felt and resented the "macho-ness" of the poem, compared to the Tolkien and the Heaney! (Of course, the "macho-ness" is deliberately brought out in the Headley, but with a feminist twist.) Perhaps that is the sort of thing which one feels most in one's native language--or perhaps it's the knowledge of how the Swedish past was reinterpreted during the 19th century for manly nationalistic purposes, which echo in the Swedish poem for me. (And should make me wary when I play in the sandbox of other countries' history, because I probably don't have the same instinctive feeling for bullshit there.)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-24 02:28 pm (UTC)It's set at Roskilde. I still feel the Danish movie industry is letting the side down by not making a modern Beowulf AU set at the Roskilde Festival.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-24 03:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-24 05:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-24 05:57 pm (UTC)I read 'Beowulf' a long time ago—I think I was given an abridged/simplified 'for kids' version, and possibly read some of the Heaney translation, and I've also heard it performed, probably also abridged. Interesting that Tolkien's translation isn't much like his writing elsewhere—I've been vaguely considering trying that one for a while, and may check it out. (Have you read any of his alliterative poetry in 'The History of Middle-earth'? I wonder if it's any more like that). A feminist version sounds a good idea, although I think very modern language would probably annoy me.
(Of course, Tolkien wasn't necessarily against adapting names and language from the original to fit a translated context, as he clearly does in his translation of the Red Book of Westmarch...!)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-24 09:32 pm (UTC)It seems that Rosemary Sutcliff has written a Beowulf adaptation--I might check that one out.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-25 11:40 am (UTC)Perhaps that is the sort of thing which one feels most in one's native language--or perhaps it's the knowledge of how the Swedish past was reinterpreted during the 19th century for manly nationalistic purposes, which echo in the Swedish poem for me. (And should make me wary when I play in the sandbox of other countries' history, because I probably don't have the same instinctive feeling for bullshit there.)
This is a great point (and one reason I'm grateful for DW being even as much of an international space as it is, getting more of these parallax points of view).
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-25 08:53 pm (UTC)I'm grateful for DW being even as much of an international space as it is, getting more of these parallax points of view.
Very true!
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-26 08:07 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-28 05:39 pm (UTC)