Beowulf

I can't remember the first time I read the story of Beowulf. I first encountered it in an anthology of mythology that my family had when I was in elementary school. That version only contained the last third of the epic, and other versions I encountered in Middle and High School also had parts cut out. Just this past week, for English class, I read the whole story for the first time (Seamus Heaney's translation). Here are the stirring first lines:

"So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by

and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.

We have heard of those princes' heroic campaigns.

There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,

a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among foes.

This terror of the hall-troops had come far."

One of my favorite things in Beowulf is the kennings-- the two-word descriptive packages used over and over. In the passage above, hall-troops is a kenning. I like the gravity and flavor kennings add to the story. When Beowulf says his first lines, he doesn't "speak" or even "spake;" he "unlocks his word-hoard."

Interestingly, in the original Old English, there's heavy alliteration throughout the epic. It almost makes me want to learn all the archaic words.