Ebook: Beowulf: The New Translation

This translation attempts to render the poetry of Beowulf in the form of prose. Alliteration is used to a considerable extent, and it is hoped that the reader will read the story aloud, in order to hear the rhythmic cadences of the words. In doing so, one may thereby recall the pounding sonorities of Kipling and Pindar.

This translation of Beowulf is based chiefly upon the works by Kemble and Hall. There are no footnotes or endnotes. The audience who listened to the minstrel’s rendition of this epic did not need explanations to further their understanding of it. If any explanations or clarifications are required, they are embedded in the body of the text, so as not to interrupt the flow of the words. After all, as Noel Coward once famously remarked, "Having to read a footnote resembles having to go downstairs to answer the door while in the midst of making love."

Every translation is an interpretation and a series of acts of selection, judgment and calculation. Any mistakes or faults in this edition are solely those of the translator.