Oh sweet baby Jebus, “Wulf” is a wild one. A short lyric, found in the Exeter Book, traditionally listed among the 9 or so “Elegies” (a deeply problematic term, as I’ve pointed to before). The best translations vary widely (which they should) but more traditional approaches have fallen short. I get frustrated with disappointing translations … Continue reading On re-translating “Wulf and Eadwacer”…
What’s New?
Retranslating “The Order of the World”
“The Order of the World”: an odd lyric from the Exeter Book, it seems to unite poetic composition, offering to initiate a neophyte into its mysteries, and in doing so, explores the creation principles of the universe. Its vision of creation is more spiritual than religious, missing many things these sorts of accounts often feature … Continue reading Retranslating “The Order of the World”…
Newer Translations rolling out
Since I got started on the “Wanderer” I thought I’d keep going on a few others, so there are new translations of “Wulf and Eadwacer,” “The Wife’s Lament,” and “The Order of the World.” All three are poems with some uncertainty about what exactly they might mean, a confusion brought on I think by stodgy … Continue reading Newer Translations rolling out…
Updates to “The Wanderer”
Been awhile since I’ve done much work here, but I wanted to share an update. As I push forward into thinking more about how scholars derived their traditional ideas about who the early English peoples were & why these scholars needed to portray them as such, I have grown dissatisfied with how my translations sound. … Continue reading Updates to “The Wanderer”…
New Project on the Shield Riddle (ECR #5)
Hello, checking to re-up this classic post on the Shield riddle from the Exeter Book Riddles So, I have been thinking about different ways to re-contextualize OE poetry to think through its poetics & functions, & so I produced this short video adaptation, resetting the riddle into a hiphop style, music & all. Here’s the … Continue reading New Project on the Shield Riddle (ECR #5)…
Getting back to it
I have finally gotten back around to some translation, continuing work on the Beowulf 2.0 page. I’m trying to feel back out what I was trying to accomplish there. I think it’s going well — at any rate I reached line 300 today. I’ll keep going on that. I also plan to get back to … Continue reading Getting back to it…