A Response to Seamus Heaney's Translation of "Beowulf" The praised epic poem "Beowulf" is the first great epic poem in English literature. ... At the feast, Unferth taunts Beowulf with the stories he has heard of Beowulf's swimming contest with Brecca. ... Consider it as an intentional theme or an incidental artifact of the poems authorship and composition, the tension between the pagan and Christian elements is an over whelming feature of Beowulf. ... It is apparent that the unknown author of the poem is an Anglo-Saxon Christian who wrote about a hero who lived in a period and cu...

• Word Count: 913
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The Scandinavian decent tribes depicted in the epic poem, Beowulf, extend from about 450 to 1066. ... All of these qualities are illustrated in this epic poem Beowulf. ... If you notice Beowulf begins and ends with the funeral of a great king. ... Finally, Beowulf describes this Scandinavian society converting to Christianity. ... A mixture of pagan and Christianity worshipping are evident in Beowulf. ...

• Word Count: 598
• Approx Pages: 2

"Beowulf" perhaps our most widely translated window into our Anglo- Saxon past, has become somewhat clouded over the years. ... The intent of the following content is to provide criticism relating two separate translations of "Beowulf". ... Seamus Heaney's "Beowulf" was derived by the Irish scholar after he was recognized and granted status as Nobel laureate. ... Heaney does a fine job bringing "Beowulf" and its themes to the less experienced reader, and his words have feel, but it truly lacks the flair of the lost language. ... Most likely the original tale was far more pagan in o...

• Word Count: 740
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Long after the splendor of Greek culture, the earliest heroic tradition in English literature evolved from the pagan tradition. The pagan tradition "stressed the necessity of endurance in the face of adversity and the importance of the deeds of courage performed by individual warriors in the world ruled by inexorable "Wyrd"" (Mazur and Bela 1997:2). ... One of the earliest heroic epics in English Literature is Beowulf. ... "Beowulf possesses the qualities of valor, military prowess, loyalty, generosity, and honor. ... Heroism for Beowulf seems to be more physical in nature, where heroism ...

• Word Count: 2885
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate