On Saturday, we went to Miss Em's graduation. We will spare you the video of the graduation speech delivered by our own Miss Em. Sunday, we recovered from the long drive. Today, I was planning to write yet once more on the Edmund Andrews saga, which gets curious-er and curious-er. Then I remembered that it is Memorial Day. Today, if any day, we should count our blessings and remember.
Even though I don't teach too much "war literature," I am lucky enough to have repeatedly taught two of the greatest masterpieces of the genre: The Iliad and Beowulf. Both poems are about mortality and the meaning of life. Both are also about memory.
Below is a brief excerpt from Beowulf (translation by Alan Sullivan and Timothy Murphy, 2002). Like most poems that purportedly glorify war, this is also an anti-war poem. Beowulf explores the threats to peace that come both from without us and from within us. This poignant moment is a flashback. A nameless man laments the death of his community as he buries their treasures.
Hold now, Earth what men may not,
the hoard of the heroes, earth-gotten wealth
when it first was won. War-death has felled them,
An evil befalling each of my people.
The long-house is mirthless when men are lifeless.
I have none to wear sword, none to bear wine
or polish the precious vessels and plates.
Gone are the brothers who braved many battles.
From the hard helmet the hand-wrought gilding
drops in the dust. Asleep are the smiths
who knew how to burnish the war-chief's mask
or mend the mail-shirts mangled in battle.
Shields and mail-shirts molder with warriors
and follow no foes to faraway fields.
No harp rejoices to herald the heroes,
no hand-fed hawk swoops through the hall,
no stallion stamps in the keep's courtyard.
Death has undone many kindreds of men.
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9 comments:
Frugal, Beowulf runs like a river through my life. Do you also like Seamus Heaney's translation? This is a powerful section, thank you.
And on another note, hope for a bight future, congratulations to your Miss Em! I would love to know what she said.
Thank you for posting this. And thank you for posting it now.
*shakes head* I'm ashamed to admit that I read this as a senior in high school yet remember absolutely nothing about it other that something about a sea monster and having to memorize some passage about the 'nature of nobility'. I had no idea it was about war/anti-war. Poetry itself usually throws me off and I'm not sure why..maybe how all the words are broken up and all the fancy language.The only poetry I've ever read and liked/understood were The Road Less Traveled and a few by Emily Dickinson. A few years ago I decided to become 'enlightened' and read a few 'classics' between all the romance and mystery I usually read. I got bogged down in Shakespeare and found myself reading the same lines over and over(I think MacBeth is my favorite of his)so I tried some more 'modern' classics(ok I consider A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Chaim Potok classics!)Those I could relate to. Maybe I just need some practice! It's nice seeing people's responses to the literary things you post - the enthusiasm will hopefully be catching! WEll some is already caught I guess but they at least get me to thinking! I also like how you say what the passage means before posting it LOL! :-) I need all the help I can get!
Congratulations to Miss Em!!
The world really never changes does it Frugal Scholar? Only the faces and names change. Human nature stays much the same wich is a true double edged sword, no?
Steady On
Reggie Girl
@Duchesse-this is embarrassing--but I never read Beowulf in college or grad school. Finally, I taught it so I could "learn" it. I am not expert enough to comment on Heaney's translation. People who are expert are very evasive when asked! I do know that it is a pita to teach with it (I teach it in a sophomore course and it is in the Norton Anthology) because the language is very dense. I miss the old Donaldson prose translation.
@clairz--Thanks. Hope to see you again.
@Suzy--Try it again! Honestly, most of my students don't listen to anything I say. And I think most of these works are wasted on high school students anyway. Maybe I should start posting some of my thoughts on literature. At least someone would pay attention.
@Reggie--So true, so sad.
OK I'm gonna try it again since I know now that it has deeper meaing than some guy fighting a sea monster! I found it at the library then realized it was a free public domain download so also have it my ereader. Gosh I didn't realize it was a poem! The book we read was thicker than The Old Man and the Sea (what's with all the water themed books??)Sure keep posting on literature! I found some of those children's books at the library too and spent last night reading through some of them!
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