iation within the more narrative translations is based less ondifferences of interpretation between translators that on the direction they choseto represent these events, in current form and language. Both forms seem to beequally consistent over time, providing various levels of understanding of thepoem in its depth. In the first line of Grendels approach, Gewat da neosian,sypdan niht becom, (115), half of the examined translations (A,C,E,H and L)represent Grendel as He in their interpretations, while the other half (B,D,F,Gand K) actually provide the name Grendel in their texts (the transcriptions I andJ do not provide any sort of glossing for Grendel). Though the differencesseparating He set out then (A.115) and He departed then seeking (L.115),from Now Grendel rose up to look (D.115) and came Grendel also (G.115)seem to be relatively minor, they represent the different approaches taken by thetranslators, which are echoed, at a much greater scale, throughout theirtranslations. This he/Grendel distinction is representative of the pattern andnarrative structures that are operating over time in the translations of Beowulf. The following interpretations of Grendels observation of the hall and the Danesis quite consistent among all of the translations, in content and structure, thoughthere is some variation in the actual vocabulary used, somewhat altering the depthof the translations from the Old English text. Most of the translations andglossings, from Clarence Griffin Childs in 1904 (B), to Gavin Bones (D), E. Talbot Donaldsons (F), George Jacks (I), and others, over the century, tend toagree that beorpege (117) in Old English translates into beer-drinking inModern English. However, John Earle translates beorpege (117) as carousal(A.117) in 1892, and Francis B. Gummere, in 1929, translates it as outrevelled(C.117). These translations both imply a sense of beorpege (117), but fail tocapture the depth and feeling of fellows...
