Alison et al -
Unfortunately I am caught up in a big private project and I cannot get into this - tho I think it is great that Alison is willing to put the new body of her work on the line with the List as on-going critic et al. Noble or not, a bravery there!
Quick brain here does want to say that, at least, Seamus Heany is noble, I mean, a noble prize winner. If that makes him noble, he is noble, too. Whether or not his translation is noble seems a contested question.
Stephen V
--- On Mon, 11/24/08, Alison Croggon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: Alison Croggon <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Fitt 3
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Monday, November 24, 2008, 1:25 PM
You should see the original line. Heany solves it by writing three
lines where I write one and a half. Though perhaps a happier solution
will occur to me.
Anyway, what's wrong with being strong and noble? It's an epic poem,
innit?
On Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 7:52 AM, David Bircumshaw
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Alison, Alison, what on earth are you doing?
> Can you imagine yourself, in a poem by yourself, writing sentences
> like 'He was the strongest of men,/ and noble.'
>
> Come off it lass!!
>
> it's risible, and you can do better than that.
>
>
> All the Best
>
> Dave
>
> 2008/11/24 Alison Croggon <[log in to unmask]>:
>> III
>>
>>
>> The son of Half-Dane brooded on sorrow.
>> Wise and strong, woe beat him down,
>> the hate too strong, the strife too constant,
>> too cruel the hurts that battered his people,
>> this enemy filling the night with terror.
>>
>> Then Hygelac's thane, beloved of the Geats,
>> heard of Grendel. He was the strongest of men,
>> and noble. At once he ordered a good ship,
>> and said he would sail the swan's road
>> and bring his warriors to this war-king.
>> Dear as he was to them, no one hindered him:
>> far-sighted men studied the omens
>> and urged him on. From the Geat people
>> he chose champions, and fifteen together
>> he led them down to the wave-fretted shore.
>> Under the cliffs their sleek ship waited
>> where currents curled the sea against sand,
>> and the sea-skilled fighters, bold and impatient,
>> stepped up to its prow.
>>
>> Into its breast they bore bright weapons,
>> worthy war-gear, and then thrust out
>> in a well-braced ship eager for venture,
>> the wind urging their foam-necked bird
>> over the waves.
>> On the second day
>> the seafarers saw their journey's ending,
>> shining sea-cliffs and wide headlands.
>> Thanking God for a smooth crossing
>> swiftly the warriors moored their ship
>> and stepped onto land, their mail-shirts rattling.
>> From his sea-cliff walls the Scyldings warden
>> saw them bear their bright-bossed shields
>> and battle-gear over the gangplank,
>> and wondered aloud, who were these men?
>> He rode to the shore and shook his spear
>> and fiercely asked them, in formal words:
>> "What manner of men are you, mail-wearers,
>> who set your tall keel thus to the waves
>> and this way come? What is your business?"
>>
>> He was the sea-guard. Under his watch
>> no enemies landed unseen in Denmark
>> to ravage the coast.
>>
>> "Never before in all my time
>> have I seen shieldbearers land with less guile,
>> although you have neither word nor leave
>> of our war-makers, nor our kinsmen.
>> Nor have I seen a mightier lord
>> than this helmed man who stands before me.
>> He's no churl dressed up in fine armour
>> unless his looks belie his nature.
>> Now I demand to hear your names
>> and your lineage, or you will be labelled
>> spies in Denmark. Strangers, hear me:
>> plain thought and haste are best."
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Editor, Masthead: http://www.masthead.net.au
>> Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
>> Home page: http://www.alisoncroggon.com
>>
>
>
>
> --
> David Bircumshaw
> Website and A Chide's Alphabet
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.bircumshaw/
> The Animal Subsides http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/books/animal.html
> Leicester Poetry Society: http://www.poetryleicester.co.uk
>
--
Editor, Masthead: http://www.masthead.net.au
Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
Home page: http://www.alisoncroggon.com
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