to ham faran,mid paere waelfylle wica neosan. (115-125)This passage, Grendels approach and attack on the Danes hall, was chosenbecause it is representative of the poetic and narrative structures that areoperating throughout the poem; the recurring diction, narrative movement,internal reference and contrast, and envelope structure that are present in thisshort passage are echoed in all of Beowulf. Also, this passage is an important andentertaining portion of the story, providing a good reference point for the analysisof the translations. The translations I have selected are varied; from literal word-by-word translations, to more narrative modern verse translations, totranscriptions of the original text with glossings, and even one of my owntranslations. The chosen translations range fairly evenly from the years 1892 to2001, and are all from academic sources (except for, possibly, the two Penquintranslations, which I have included for added depth in analysis, giving translationsthat are directed at a more broad audience). This varied range of translations overtime provides a good foundation to examine the content of this very importantpassage in translation. By examining Grendels approach to the hall, therepresentation of Grendel, and the presence (or lack) of recurring diction andnarrative movement providing a ring-composition, I will present an analysis of thepatterns and variations found in a wide variety of Beowulf translations, spanningthe last one hundred and ten years, for the selected Old English Beowulf passage(115-125).Over time the translations of Grendels approach to the hall (115-120)form a consistent pattern of even distribution in the variations between literal andmore narrative interpretations of the text. The variation within the more literaltranslations of the poem is based on the translators interpretation andunderstanding of the individual words while trying to retain the Old English formof the text. The var...
