Bring On the Monsters: Tolkien's Translation of Beowulf To Be Published 94
Hugh Pickens DOT Com (2995471) writes "Tolkien was often criticized by his academic colleagues for wasting time on fiction, even though that fiction has probably done more to popularize medieval literature than the work of 100 scholars. Now John Garth reports that HarperCollins plans to publish Tolkien's long-awaited 1926 translation of the oldest surviving Old English epic poem about Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, who kills the monster Grendel with his bare hands and Grendel's mother with a sword of a giant that he found in her lair. Verlyn Flieger, identifies Beowulf as representing one of the two poles of Tolkien's imagination: the darker half, in which we all face eventual defeat – a complete contrast to the sudden joyous upturn of hope that he also expresses so superbly. 'In truth,' writes Garth, 'it is his ability to move between the two attitudes that really lends him emotional power as a writer.' Tolkien pushed the monsters to the forefront arguing that they 'represent the impermanence of human life, the mortal enemy that can strike at the heart of everything we hold dear, the force against which we need to muster all our strength – even if ultimately we may lose the fight.' Without the monsters, the peculiarly northern courage of Beowulf and his men is meaningless. Tolkien, veteran of the Somme, knew that it was not. 'It will be fascinating to see how [Tolkien] exercised his literary, historical and linguistic expertise on the poem,' concludes Garth adding that Tolkien was the arch-revivalist of literary medievalism, who made it seem so relevant to the modern world. 'I can't wait to see his version of the first English epic.'"
Lots of people forget that Tolkien was a scholar (Score:2, Insightful)
The man's peculiar obsession with Old Norse mythology rivaled anything you would have found in Renaissance-era studies of classical Greek and Roman thought.
Re:News for nerds..? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Name five other anglo-saxon medievalists of the (Score:5, Insightful)
early 20th century. If Tolkien hadn't written Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion less than a hundred people currently alive would know who he was. Tolkien is remembered for Middle-earth, not for his scholarship. This is a work of scholarship, not Middle-earth, so the fact that it is something Tolkien produced is completely irrelevant.
Had Tolkien not been a scholar, I seriously doubt his tales of Middle-Earth would have the depth, resonance, and staying power that they do have.
So Tolkien's academic work is extremely relevant to his works of fiction.
Re:News for nerds..? (Score:5, Insightful)
If you aren't a fan of Tolkien's writings, you can turn in your nerd card right now.
I kid, of course... but only just barely...
Please don't let Peter Jackson film this one (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Name five other anglo-saxon medievalists of the (Score:4, Insightful)
FINALLY! (Score:5, Insightful)
This has been talked about for decades, but it has sat on the shelf for reasons I haven't been able to figure out.
I'd heard that it may literally have had to do with the handwriting: the man's handwriting was, shall we say, idiosyncratic, and it takes considerable effort to decipher. His son Christopher devoted a lifetime to it. John Rateliff, who did similar work for drafts of The Hobbit, consulted with a Tolkien graphologist in the process. (He was able to get a rough dating for one scrawl based on the details of the handwriting.) The fact that there even exists such a thing as a "Tolkien graphologist" is absurdly wonderfully.
Anybody know who edited this piece? Is it Christopher?
Regardless, I'm looking forward to this. "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" was one of the most influential pieces of literary scholarship of the 20th century. It completely changed the way we look at Anglo-Saxon storytelling, and put fantasy literature on an entirely different footing. It's a magnificent piece of work, but not having his own translation of Beowulf available was maddening.
Re:Name five other anglo-saxon medievalists of the (Score:4, Insightful)
The translation of a literary work can be purely scholarly or purely artistic, but usually it is a mix of both. Given Tolkien's mastery of both worlds, and the fact that his love of Beowulf went far beyond linguistic and historical study, it is pretty clear that his translation will be of broad literary interest, not just scholarly.
Re:Please don't let Peter Jackson film this one (Score:5, Insightful)
"Given the loathing that Christopher Tolkien feels for the films"
huh. Now I'm glad Jackson did them. Anything to get under that leeches skin is worth the price of admission.
Re:Name five other anglo-saxon medievalists of the (Score:5, Insightful)
This is a work of scholarship, not Middle-earth, so the fact that it is something Tolkien produced is completely irrelevant.
False. When translating between languages, the personality and preferences of the translator are extremely relevant. As well, his actual skill at writing and size of vocabulary as well as his familiarity with the period (the scholarly part) determine the aptness of the translation: whether it actually manages to capture the feel of the original.
Tolkien was an engaging author, therefore it's interesting (to some of us) to see what he did with the work.
Re:News for nerds..? (Score:4, Insightful)
Could it also be that you are 20 years older than you were when you first read them? What enthralls us in middle school isn't necessarily what will entertain us when we get older. People, unlike books, change as they get older, and sometimes don't even notice themselves doing so...