Beowulf :groan:

[hypotenuse]

My two in a series literature class has turned out to be Irish and British Literature. Guess what we're reading?

I cannot read this story without becoming seriously irritated. For real.

It's just that considering the time frame of the incident, the timespan between the incident and the writing thereof, and the "modifications" during restoration and translation, this story makes my teeth itch.

Look at it this way.

How would you feel if you were reading the story of the American Revolution from the viewpoint of George Washington, but the culture related was Hindu or something? You know he never praised those certain gods, nor did he eat curry on a regular basis. Stuff like that.

Makes my teeth itch.


Lynne

[amykhar]

The itching teeth are caused by your asthma medicine. Go read the book.

Amy

[hypotenuse]

I read it!

Well, most of the assignment. We're so far behind in the discussion portion of the class that it makes no nevermind anyhow.

I brushed my teeth. And drank a LARGE glass of water.

Lynne - feeling very self-righteous about now

[magenta321]

I don't get it.

The original manuscript still exists, doesn't it? And there are many translations, right?

Kinda like the Illiad and the Odyssey? Or the Bible, no?

I wrote a few papers on how the translation changes meaning in college, but I found more that it changed the "slant" than the actual meaning. But, I just wrote those because they were easy to do and I knew I could get good grades on them

I didn't read it, so maybe that's why I'm not following your arguement. If so, just tell me I'm too ignorant. Then I'll get my Norton's Anthology out and read enough to understand

[hypotenuse]

Read it with the knowledge that the action takes place around 400-500 CE and that the complete "conversion" to Christianity didn't take place until around the end of 700 CE.

Then go brush your teeth.




Lynne

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

so that's what this book is about?

The Book of Books by W. John Campbell, Ph.D., says

"A central critical question of the poem is whether Beowulf is a Christian poem, or merely a pagan poem to which biblical references have been added without changing its essential character. Advocates of the Christian view must deal with the fact theat there are only Old Testament references: Grendel and his mother are descendents of Cain... There is nothing from the New Testament, but there are general references to heaven, hell, and the final judgement... Advocates for the pagan point of view stress that good and evil are not exclusively Christian concepts, that a heroic warrior defending his people, even at the cost of his own life, is not automatically a Christian savior. ....

Dunno if that helps.

[hadassahchana[$]]

You need this edition to help your itchy teeth:





Cindy