Comparative Analysis (Lines 1-24)

Anytime you are comparing an ancient, world renowned text (and translation) with a rendition that starts with “Bro, ...” as Maria Dahvana Headley’s does, there is a lot to say. Evidentially, Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf is a more traditional and scholarly one, but the modernized and “bro-mantic” take of Headley captures aspects of this particular passage that Heaney’s does not. Furthermore, I hate to say it, but if Beowulf was a modern-day warrior, he probably would start a few of his own sentences with “bro” (especially the ones where he engages with Unferth) similar to how Heaney depicts the narrator doing in this passage. Though the central theme remains the same in both translations regarding Shield Sheafson and his reputation as king, the difference in literature prominently differentiates how the two passages are understood. Though I do admit that Headley’s passage is an interesting alternative, the lax language seems to take away from the aura and honour that a classic Beowulf translation would have. The best way I can articulate this would be to ask a “Lord of the Rings” fan to imagine Aragorn saying “Bro, Ride out with me. It will be sick” at the battle of helms deep. There is just something about classic, proper English jargon that just makes a reader or viewer want to get on a horse and ride into battle, that “bro talk” really lacks. This phenomenon, or lack of it, would not be so noticeable in a text that was not primarily focused on themes like honour, respect, courage etc, but the reality is that Beowulf is the pinnacle of literature when it comes to these themes.  As a result, some vital aspects of the original poem cannot be absorbed by the reader.

Headley’s translation of this passage also uses different literary devices that Heaney’s. Though there is still foreshadowing and heavy imagery, there is much more alliteration in the Headley rendition in lines like “He spent his youth fist’s up, browbeating every barstool-brother bonfiring his enemies”. I believe this can be attributed to Headley’s ability to play around with words more than Heaney, as a result of testing the bounds of more informal language. Being confined to proper and scholastic literature like Heaney and most traditional authors are (by choice) can be confining (though I, and many believe this is for good reason). There is give and take to all literary styles, and though I hate to admit it, the Headley “Bro” translation allowed me to more clearly understand different aspects of the passage that I did not gather from the Heaney translation. Though I am a scholar and avid reader of traditional texts, perhaps I am more of a “Bro” than I care to admit. Perhaps we all have a little “Heaney Bro” in us. Whether we like it or not, in some ways Beowulf really is just a story of a bunch of “Bro’s” (though this is unfortunately a sexist bias by the original authors, and some later translators).