Beowulf

Beowulf In the Beginning A Quote from Beowulf “So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness. We have heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns. There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes, a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among foes. This terror of the hall-troops had come far. A foundling to start with, he would flourish later on as his powers waxed and his worth was proved. In the end each clan on the outlying coasts beyond the whale-road had to yield to him and begin to pay tribute. That was one good king (1-11).” These lines, which open the poem Beowulf establish the highly stylized nature of the poem as well as setting forth some of the poems central ideas. The beginning lines of Beowulf also introduce a number of thematic ideas that prove to be important throughout the poem. In the beginning Seamus Heaney chooses to translate the first word of the poem as “So.” I’ve also seen it translated as “Hark” but this translation grabs your attention right away. From the start the poem whips us into its world while maintaining an inviting, conversational tone. In these first few lines the translation recreates many of poem, lines, beginning, shield, sheafson, ideas, translator, thematic, reader, king, good, first, beowulf, wrecker, world, tribes, translation, throughout, through, start, scourge, prove, poetry, poems, one, mead-benches, individual, heroic, few, end, away, anglo-saxon, yield, writers, worthy