Ebook: Beowulf

Translated and with an Introduction by Burton Raffel. Afterword by Robert P. Creed.

Burton Raffel's 1963 verse translation of "Beowulf" remains popular due to its simple, accessible language. Some scholars have criticized it, however, for its lack of subtlety and accuracy in conveying the sense of the original poem. Raffel's stated goal was to create a new, vibrant work of literature, as exciting and easily understood to the modern reader as the original text of "Beowulf" was in its day. This results in some loss of accuracy in translation, obviously. Raffel's treatment of "Beowulf's" early medieval society, moreover, can be anachronistic: early medieval Scandinavia didn't have feudal lords, for instance.