Beowulf by Unknown Author, translated by Seamus Heaney

I really liked this epic poem. The translation was really good and the story is far more interesting than I had expected it to be. It could also be because when I read it for class, the discussion that came out of it was really really good. We looked at the inevitability of Beowulf's decision to fight the dragon (when he knew he was going to die, leaving his country vulnerable to attacks - the only reason there was peace was because of him), the various social conventions that guided the warriors' decision to fight and seek adventure/glory and the poet's commentary on such societal conventions.

There's an interesting idea of pride/humility with the various leaders that are mentioned throughout the poem. One thing to look at was whether or not Beowulf had pride. I would argue that he didn't until later because if he had any kind of hubris, the epic poem convention would have it so that he would have to fall to learn some kind of lesson - this never happened. I think he had pride when he went to go fight the dragon, which makes me wonder if the poet was saying something about how experiences brings about pride (which I think is true even today).

I think one of the coolest things about this poem is that you could relate it to today, if you wanted to. Some of the social conventions obviously don't apply (like it isn't a social norm to exact revenge on the killer of your brother/kinsman or to receive some kind of blood money so that you won't avenge the deceased - the poet has some interesting commentary on that).  Like the idea of selflessness is something that I think is implied even today. It is glorified in a way because so few people act on it. Interestingly enough, it was expected at the time, but I think because again, so few people actually lived it, that those who did act selflessly (or in the interest of their country rather than their own), it becomes a heroic quality. Well, I suppose if we were to talk about the loyalty of one's country and sacrifice, that's expected of our soldiers. I wonder if it really exists in the pure form that was expected of warriors in Beowulf's time.

Anyway, these kinds of works are generally pretty inaccessible to the general audience because people don't like to sit through poems and it's old. However since a modern translation exists and it was artfully done (not just some bland word for word translation that makes one feel like they're chewing on the remnants of something that was once good), I would recommend the poem to people. The story is actually pretty good. There's a lot that could be derived from it. I remember we had to read Grendel by John Gardner in high school and I think it would be interesting to read again since reading the original poem in translation.