Beowulf: A Verse Translation

142 Pages·1991·4.687 MB·English

by  Frederick Rebsamen

B E O W U L F
A VERSE TRANSLATION

B E O W U L F
A VE R S E T R A N S L A T I O N
Frederick Rebsamen
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A hardcover edition of this book was published in 1991
by HarperCollins Publishers.
beowulf. Copyright © 1991 by Frederick Rebsamen. All rights
reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this
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Designed by Cassandra ]. Pappas
The Library of Congress has catalogued the hardcover edition as
follows:
Beowulf. English.
Beowulf: a verse translation / Frederick Rebsamen. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-06-438437-3 (cloth)
1. Epic poetry, English (Old)—Modernized versions. 1. Rebsamen,
Frederick R. II. Title.
PR1583.R43 1991
829'-3—dc20 91-55103
ISBN 0-06-430212-1 (pbk.)
98 97 RRD(H) 10 9 8 7
Acknowledgments
For advice, encouragement, and criticism, my grateful
thanks to the following:
To Fred Robinson for telling me that, in constant search
of the right words, I was neglecting certain matters of quantity and
secondary stress. Though I have not been able to consistently cap­
ture all of the Old English forms after much revision of the manu­
script, this translation is now much better than it might have been
without that warning, and Beowulf scholars will note how I have
profited by Fred’s intelligent essays clarifying several disputed pas­
sages.
To Dick Ringler and the five students in his Beowulf study
group for spending an entire afternoon comparing a sample of my
work with the original, an uncommonly generous response to my
request for Dick’s esteemed opinion of the translation, and for the
fine encouragement of this perceptive group, which has given me a
chronic boost.
To Joe Tuso, whose critical edition of Beowulf reflects his long
acquaintance with the poem, for understanding what I have tried
to do and for giving me the kind of strong and informed approval
that every writer cherishes.
To my editor, Cass Canfield, Jr., who rightly rejected an earlier
draft of this translation in a kind, encouraging letter and then
asked to see it again when he learned that 1 had completely revised
it, displaying an editorial concern exceedingly rare today and lead­
ing us both to this happy conclusion.
Especially to L. D. Clark, longtime friend and ruthless critic,
who spent too many hours applying the skills of his acclaimed
scholarly writing to three early drafts of the introduction and keep­
ing me from making all kinds of silly mistakes—then giving praise
to the poetry at a time when I needed it, along with unflagging
encouragement from the first day of work to the last.
Finally, the greatest debt of all, to the anonymous poet who
created this wonderfully conceived work of early medieval imagi­
nation and wrapped it in such ringing verses that I heartily wish all
students of English literature could read it in the language in which
he composed it. I find that I cannot improve upon my dedication of
an earlier book on Beowulf: “To the poet, whoever he was, whose
song gave a richer light to that first bright flare of English civili­
zation, this book is gratefully dedicated.”
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