Where Beowulf Gets Modernized

No Fear Beowulf by Unknown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I generally enjoy and approve of the "No Fear Shakespeare" books, and though this one is not Shakespeare it's just as well done. If someone is reading Beowulf and needs resources, I would absolutely recommend this book.

Unlike the other books in the series, the "original" text here is actually a translation. I can't find who did it or when, but it's technically still modern English although it is archaic sounding. The original Anglo-Saxon is not presented here. This is what the older translation sounds like:

But here in Heorot a hand hath slain him
of wandering death-sprite. I wot not whither,
proud of the prey, her path she took,
fain of her fill. The feud she avenged
that yesternight, unyieldingly,
Grendel in grimmest grasp thou killedst,--
seeing how long these liegemen mine
he ruined and ravaged...

The (even more) modern version, the "no fear" part, is like this:

"A wandering demon has taken him, and who knows where she is now, eating his flesh. She has come to avenge Grendel..."

To be fair, the modern version cuts out quite a bit--it's always about half as long as the original. But I think it does all it needs to in order for a modern reader to clarify what's happening when the older version is a bit dense. Leaving out the poetic bits shortens it a lot.

Though it isn't the point of the book, I still really like the old version, or at least I do when I'm understanding it correctly. Its use of alliteration is very catchy ("proud of her prey, her path she took" and "Grendel in grimmest grasp," etc.) and does a lot of what the Anglo-Saxon original did. There are tons of versions of Beowulf, and the version here does it justice, IMO. If you want poetry, this is poetry. And if it's a comprehension aid you want, the modern translation part is perfectly adequate--which is all it needs to be.

Recommended, especially for students of the text.

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