Composed towards the end of the first millennium, the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf is one of the great epics of the north and a classic of European literature. In his new translation, Seamus Heaney has produced a work that is true, line by line, to the original poem, and an expression, in his language and music, of something fundamental to his own creative gift. The poem is about meeting the monstrous, defeating it, and then having to live, physically and psychically exposed, in those exhausted aftermath. It is not difficult to draw parallels between this story and the history of the 20th century, nor can Heaow's Beowulf be read partly in light of his Northern Irish upbringing. But it also transcends such considerations, telling us psychological and spiritual truths that are permanent and liberating.
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