Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Spring 2018
Abstract
In this article the translations of Beowulf by J.R.R. Tolkien, E. Talbot Donaldson, and Seamus Heaney are compared, in order to shed light on different approaches in translation. Tolkien approaches the task with a philological perspective, retaining archaic diction and syntax; Donaldson seeks to convey simplicity in his translation, trying to remain as transparent as possible; Heaney provides his Irish prospective, and his own reading of the peom "raised to the power of verse." As part of the study, I have done my own translation, which I also discuss in the paper. The document includes both my analysis and my own translation.
Recommended Citation
Pierlott, Collin J., "Beowulf: A Study in Comparitive Translation" (2018). Undergraduate Research. 39.
https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/undergraduateresearch/39
Included in
European Languages and Societies Commons, Language Interpretation and Translation Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons, Medieval Studies Commons