Beowulf / Grendel Comparison Beowulf

Beowulf / Grendel Comparison

Beowulf and Grendel

The legend of Beowulf is one of the most representative Anglo-Saxon texts, and as such, it has benefited from many translations and adaptations into Modern English. The Irish poet Seamus Heaney gave a very beautiful verse translation of Beowulf, which follows the original text, but which, at the same time, has a very original and harmonious versification. John Gardner's prose adaptation of the famous fragment in which Unferth challenges Beowulf before the latter's fight with the great monster Grendel differs slightly from the original text, in that it is told from the perspective of a supposed direct witness to the encounter between Beowulf and Unferth. Thus, although the main line of the events stays the same in both texts, there are a few points in the rendering of this episode that differ to a certain extent, from one text to another.

The fragment that describes Unferth's challenge to Beowulf is of great interest to the whole of the epic poem, and to the main character's portrait in the text. The first impression that the reader gets when reading this episode is that Beowulf may be a little too boastful and even that he may be lying about his great feats. Thus, when challenged by the envious Unferth, Beowulf gives an account of his adventures and his fight with the nine sea-monsters. In his fight, he not only succeeds in winning the competition against his friend Breca, proving to be the best swimmer of the two, but he manages to kill all the nine giant whales that attack him and to stay alive. However, what is interesting about this fragment is precisely the fact that, from it, Beowulf emerges as a truly exceptional hero. What seems to be apparently only a boastful prattle is in fact the very mark of the hero's superiority. If the words uttered by Beowulf had came from a common man, the impression would have certainly been different, but, in this case, the hero appears in all his glory precisely because he is a chosen character, an exceptional being who has been preserved by fate in spite of the huge dangers. Since he has been miraculously preserved, Beowulf is certainly a hero that has been marked by destiny.

Both of the two texts under discussion recount these events in a similar manner and transmit the same message to the reader. However, there are a few significant differences. The most important dissimilarity is, as already remarked, the fact that Heaney's translation is given objectively, as in the original text, whereas Gardner's version is rendered from the point-of-view of a witness to the events, and, as such, it contains also a few subjective commentaries to the story. First of all, in Heaney's translation, there are almost no remarks as to the general atmosphere in the great hall where the warriors are gathered, or to their reactions to Unferth's and Beowulf's speeches. The verse translation does intimate, however, that Unferth makes his commentaries against Beowulf out of envy for the hero's fame: "Beowulf's coming / his sea-braving made him sick with envy."(Heaney) in Gardner's adaptation, there are a few very significant elements at the very beginning of the episode that set the general mood. Thus, Unferth obviously mocks Beowulf in front of the other thanes, attempting to decrease his prestige perhaps: "We heard about that, Unferth said. Nobody could stop you-kings, priests, councilors- Splash- Uh, uh, uh! Unferth made swimming motions, eyes rolled up, mouth gasping. The thanes around him laughed." (Gardner). Thus, the common element between the two texts is that, in both cases, Unferth tries to speak badly of Beowulf in front of the other thanes in the hall. Also, Unferth affirms in both texts that Beowulf had been vanquished by his friend Breca in the sea competition. Nevertheless, it is evident that Gardner adapts the text to create a specific atmosphere: in his text, Unferth openly mocks Beowulf and his mad courage, by imitating the way in which the sea competition had taken place. Also, the tense atmosphere is emphasized even more when the thanes start to laugh, and the Beowulf is described as smiling calmly and indifferently, untouched by Unferth's malevolence.

Beowulf's reply to Unferth is also similar in both texts. Heaney's translation may seem a little more indirect since it is in verse, and given from an objective perspective but the message stays the same in both texts. Thus, Beowulf replies to Unferth's challenge by giving this time his own account of his sea experiences and the way in which he had defeated all the monsters. First of all, in both texts Beowulf begins by returning the mockery and telling Unferth that he has only spoken thus because he was under the influence of the drinks he had that night. At this point, there is a very important element that is mentioned only in Heaney's version of the episode: Beowulf declares he has been kept safe against all odds because of the golden armor he was wearing: "My armor helped me hold out/my hard ringed chain mail, hand forged and linked, / a fine close fitting filigree of gold / kept me safe when some ocean creature pulled me to the bottom."(Heaney) as it is well-known, at the times when the legend was written, the golden armor was a sign that a hero was a chosen being, protected by divine forces. In Gardner's text, the implication is similar, since Beowulf remarks that fate itself preserved him from perishing, but there is no mention of the symbolic golden armor.

The main point of the fragment comes at the end, when Beowulf makes a definite impression on the audience with his speech. Thus, if Unferth attempted to make Beowulf seem only a boastful character, it is clear now that the hero is in fact a chosen person, whose actions have been guided by a superior force. Thus, Beowulf states that he may seem indeed boastful, but that he in fact only tells the truth and that his feats are truly extraordinary. In Heaney's translation, Beowulf draws the attention of the audience that the very madness he has been accused of by Unferth is the sign of the undaunted courage of the hero who knows that fate has already marked him and that he is on a sacred mission to do good and save the men from evil: