A Comparative Study of Three Modern Translations of the Old English Lines (675-702) of Beowulf

Abstract

In this article, I compare the modern translations of lines (675-702) of Beowulf in Seamus Heaney's 2000 translation, Roy Luizza's 1999 translation, and Edwin Morgan's 1952 translation. I begin with Morgan's text since it is the earliest translation and ends with Heaney's translation, as it is the most recent one. My evaluations for the three texts take into consideration the syntax, the poetic dictions and the approach used by Haney, Luizza and Morgan. I choose these lines in particular because these lines describe the confrontation with Grendel, and because an evaluation of the translations of the entire epic would be an overwhelming task. The article begins with a brief introduction to Old English structure and typological descriptions so we understand the challenge the aforementioned translators of Beowulf have met as they worked on the original manuscript and be able to acutely evaluate the final product of their translations of the aforementioned lines.