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The Earliest English Poems
The Earliest English Poems: A Bilingual Edition | Michael Alexander
3 posts | 2 read
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psalva
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Seeing a post earlier from @Bookwomble reminded me about kennings, those metaphorical compound words used in Old English and Norse poetry. Think “earth-stepper” to mean wanderer, etc. As expressed above, “we can only speak of what we do not know in terms of what we know.” I learned about these delightful constructs in a college course on Tolkien- I‘ve been filled with fond memories all day.

#weirdwords @CBee #WeirdWordWednesdays

CBee A college course on Tolkien sounds wonderful 🥰 7mo
Bookwomble I'm glad I sparked some happy memories for you 😊 7mo
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Graywacke
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Wasn‘t sure what to expect. It was nice, the poems, and then I encountered The Wanderer and The Seafarer (the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon manuscript is above). You have to understand these were completely new to me. They have such a different perspective compared to everything I know of that‘s older. They look inward at an emotional state in their own kind of touching way. And to imagine, as I currently am, that they just came out of the mist.

Lindy Can you read that text? Or is there a modern English translation in the book? 5y
Graywacke @Lindy goodness, no! Although apparently it‘s not that difficult to learn if you‘re inclined that way. I used Alexander‘s translation. But there are many. I learned Ezra Pound‘s Seafarer is famous: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44917/the-seafarer 5y
Lcsmcat I had an English teacher in junior high who read bits of Beowulf to us in the original. It‘s almost like German. 5y
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Lindy @Graywacke Thanks for the link to Ezra Pound‘s Seafarer. I hadn‘t read it previously. It‘s a challenge, but lovely. 5y
Graywacke @Lindy yup - Pound‘s is much more beautiful than Alexander‘s, but Alexander‘s was a lot clearer. 🙂Pound‘s is special. 5y
Graywacke @Lcsmcat makes sense. As I understand, Anglo and Saxons were Germanic tribes. My Beowulf copy is bilingual...but I‘ll probably just admire the look of Old English/Anglo-Saxon. 5y
Graywacke @Lindy I found easier to read versions if you want get the gist of these two poems. As you know, both take time. They're long.
The Seafarer: http://www.thehypertexts.com/The%20Seafarer%20English%20Translation%20Michael%20...
The Wanderer: http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=get&type=text&id=Wdr
(edited) 5y
jewright Awww... I love both poems. I enjoy teaching Beowulf to students too. They are always surprised by how gruesome it is. 5y
Graywacke @jewright I didn't know you taught literature. And actually I'm about to read Beowulf. (someone has me thinking about Woody Allen in Annie Hall: “ just don't take any class where they make you read Beowulf... “) I get the sense it's very different kind of thing from those two poems. (edited) 5y
jewright @Graywacke I teach a couple of high school classes and a dual credit comp class, so I teach a lot about writing and grammar (which I also love), but we squeeze literature in too. Beowulf has beautiful parts too. I really like it, and the kennings are great. 5y
Graywacke @jewright (had to look up kenning 😊) Sending a little high school teacher admiration your way. My wife is also a high school teacher, teaching art. 5y
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Graywacke
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It‘s interesting when an introduction can tell me how limited in quality the contents are and yet still get me interested. He tells me “Anglo-Saxon will never be considered one of the great languages of the world.” And “Beowulf, because is it extant, has sometimes been overvalued, as if it were the work of an English Homer. But it was not preserved, as the Iliad was, by the unanimous judgment of all the people through successive generations.”