When this poem was finally written, it was done in Old English, which is very different from the language that you read and speak. Look at the site below to see the Old English version of Beowulf.

Beowulf: Prologue
 
Now look at some different translations of the poem. Do you have a favorite? Why?
 
Hoffman's Translation
This translation by Robert Hoffman is easy to read and understand.
 
Beowulf Translation in Verse Style
 
Parts of the epic poem are translated with lines that show the caesura, the pause in the middle of each line.
 
Poet Seamus Heaney's New Translation
 
Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney's new translation of Beowulf was recently published in 2000. Compare this excerpt to the one in your text.

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