Beowulf :: Epic of Beowulf Essay

BeowulfThe verse form Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, is largely based around the monstrousness of Grendel and his mother. It was a difficult task for Heaney to translate the poem into Modern English while maintaining the beauty of the language and capturing the horror of the monsters. He utilises devices such as structure, literary devices and characterisation to emphasise the fear apparent in the text. Though Heaneys writing is effective, it is impossible to use the incidents in the poem that relate to events which took place centuries ago to instil fear into the story. Though many of the issues in Beowulf are no longer relevant, Heaney is still able to capture the monstrousness of Grendel and his mother. The poem Beowulf was composed some time around the mid Seventh Century in Anglo-Saxon English. It is over three thousand lines long and stands as one of the foundation works of poetry in English. It is an imaginative work where the structuring is as cardinal as the languag e. Seamus Heaneys translation of Beowulf was labour intensive, slow work. He tried to pick a way through the syntax, get the run of the meaning establishes and accordingly hope that the lines could be turned into metrical shape and raised to the power of verse. Seamus Heaney began his translation of Beowulf in the mid 1980s and it took him until 1999 to finish capturing the beauty of the poem in Modern English. The structure of Beowulf is first involved in capturing the monstrousness of Grendel by stating his ancestry and background Grendel was the name of this grim demon haunting the marches, marauding round the heath and the desolate fens he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, Cains clan, whom the creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts. (Lines 102-107) After Grendels first attack the poet allows a large amount of time to pass to give the indorser a sense of despair and to emphasise the impact that Grendel had on Hrothgars people For cardinal win ters, seasons of woe, the lord of the shieldings suffered under his load of sorrow and so, before long, the news was known over the whole world. (Lines 147- 150) The poet builds up the monstrousness of Grendels attacks by recounting them so that the reader absorbs the force of the battle. He also repeats the pattern of Beowulfs victory ie.