Beowulf: An Anglo-Saxon Epic Poem — Page 3
Once in a while, however, he has added a conjecture of his own to the emendations quoted from the criticisms of other students of the poem.
Gelegentlich hat er jedoch den angeführten Verbesserungen, die aus den Kritiken anderer Kenner des Gedichts stammen, eine eigene Vermutung hinzugefügt.
This work is addressed to two classes of readers.
Dieses Werk wendet sich an zwei Leserkreise.
From both of these alike the translator begs sympathy and co-operation.
Von beiden gleichermaßen erbitte der Übersetzer Verständnis und Mitarbeit.
The Anglo-Saxon scholar he hopes to please by adhering faithfully to the original.
Den angelsächsischen Gelehrten hofft er zu erfreuen, indem er dem Original treu bleibt.
The student of English literature he aims to interest by giving him, in modern garb, the most ancient epic of our race.
Den Studenten der englischen Literatur möchte er dadurch fesseln, dass er ihm in modernem Gewand das älteste Epos unseres Volkes darbietet.
This is a bold and venturesome undertaking; and yet there must be some students of the Teutonic past willing to follow even a daring guide, if they may read in modern phrases of the sorrows of Hrothgar, of the prowess of Beowulf, and of the feelings that stirred the hearts of our forefathers in their primeval homes.
Dies ist ein kühnes und gewagtes Unterfangen; und dennoch muss es Studenten der germanischen Vergangenheit geben, die bereit sind, selbst einem verwegenen Führer zu folgen, wenn sie in modernen Worten von den Leiden Hrothgars, von der Tapferkeit Beowulfs und von den Gefühlen lesen dürfen, die die Herzen unserer Vorfahren in ihren ursprünglichen Heimstätten bewegten.
In order to please the larger class of readers, a regular cadence has been used, a measure which, while retaining the essential characteristics of the original, permits the reader to see ahead of him in reading.
Um dem größeren Leserkreis zu gefallen, wurde ein regelmäßiger Rhythmus verwendet, ein Versmaß, das die wesentlichen Merkmale des Originals beibehält und es dem Leser zugleich ermöglicht, beim Lesen vorauszuschauen.
Perhaps every Anglo-Saxon scholar has his own theory as to how Beowulf should be translated.
Vielleicht hat jeder angelsächsische Gelehrte seine eigene Vorstellung davon, wie Beowulf übersetzt werden sollte.
Some have given us prose versions of what we believe to be a great poem.
Einige haben uns Prosaversionen dessen geliefert, was wir für ein großes Gedicht halten.
Is it any reflection on our honored Kemble and Arnold to say that their translations fail to show a layman that Beowulf is justly called our first _epic_?
Gereicht es unseren verehrten Kemble und Arnold zum Vorwurf, wenn man sagt, dass ihre Übersetzungen es einem Laien nicht vermitteln, warum Beowulf zu Recht unser erstes _Epos_ genannt wird?
Vocabulary
- Gelegentlich
- Occasionally; happening from time to time
- hat
- Has; third-person singular present of 'haben'
- er
- He; third-person singular masculine pronoun
- jedoch
- However; nevertheless; expressing contrast
- den
- The; definite article accusative masculine or dative plural
- angeführten
- Cited; mentioned; listed previously
- Verbesserungen
- Improvements; corrections; enhancements made to something
- die
- The; relative pronoun 'which/that'; feminine or plural
- aus
- From; out of; indicating origin or source
- Kritiken
- Critiques; reviews; critical evaluations of a work
- anderer
- Of other; belonging to other people
- Kenner
- Connoisseur; expert; someone with deep knowledge
- des
- Of the; genitive masculine/neuter definite article
- Gedichts
- Of the poem; genitive form of 'Gedicht'
- stammen
- To originate; to come from a source
- eine
- A; an; indefinite article feminine nominative
- eigene
- Own; one's own; personal
- Vermutung
- Conjecture; assumption; personal guess or hypothesis
- hinzugefügt
- Added; appended; included additionally
- Dieses
- This; demonstrative pronoun neuter nominative
- Werk
- Work; literary or artistic creation
- wendet
- Turns; directs; third-person singular of 'wenden'
- sich
- Itself; reflexive pronoun for third person
- an
- At; to; on; preposition indicating direction or address
- zwei
- Two; the number 2
- Leserkreise
- Readerships; groups of readers addressed by a work
- Von
- From; of; preposition indicating origin or belonging
- beiden
- Both; referring to two previously mentioned groups
- gleichermaßen
- Equally; in the same measure; likewise
- erbitte
- Request; ask for; first-person singular of 'erbitten'
- der
- The; definite article masculine nominative or genitive
- Übersetzer
- Translator; person who translates texts between languages
- Verständnis
- Understanding; comprehension; tolerance and sympathy
- und
- And; coordinating conjunction connecting words or clauses
- Mitarbeit
- Cooperation; collaboration; active participation and support
- Den
- The; definite article accusative masculine
- angelsächsischen
- Anglo-Saxon; relating to early medieval English culture
- Gelehrten
- Scholars; learned academics; erudite people
- hofft
- Hopes; third-person singular present of 'hoffen'
- zu
- To; too; infinitive marker and preposition
- erfreuen
- To please; to delight; to bring joy to someone
- indem
- By; in that; conjunction indicating means or manner
- dem
- The; dative masculine/neuter definite article
- Original
- Original; the source text or primary version
- treu
- Faithful; loyal; true to the original
- bleibt
- Remains; stays; third-person singular of 'bleiben'
- Studenten
- Students; university-level learners
- englischen
- English; adjective referring to England or its language
- Literatur
- Literature; written works of artistic or scholarly value
- möchte
- Would like; wants; polite form of desire
- dadurch
- Through that; thereby; by that means
- fesseln
- To captivate; to fascinate; to hold attention firmly
- dass
- That; subordinating conjunction introducing a clause
- ihm
- Him; dative third-person singular masculine pronoun
- in
- In; into; preposition indicating location or direction
- modernem
- Modern; contemporary; in a current style or language
- Gewand
- Garb; guise; figurative clothing or form
- das
- The; neuter definite article; also relative pronoun
- älteste
- Oldest; superlative of 'alt'; most ancient
- Epos
- Epic; a long narrative poem of heroic deeds
- unseres
- Our; genitive form of possessive pronoun 'unser'
- Volkes
- People's; of the people; genitive of 'Volk'
- darbietet
- Presents; offers; puts something before an audience
- Dies
- This; demonstrative pronoun neuter nominative short form
- ist
- Is; third-person singular present of 'sein'
- ein
- A; an; indefinite article masculine nominative
- kühnes
- Bold; daring; audacious adjective neuter form
- gewagtes
- Risky; daring; venturesome adjective neuter form
- Unterfangen
- Undertaking; venture; bold attempt at something
- dennoch
- Nevertheless; yet; despite that; still
- muss
- Must; has to; third-person singular of 'müssen'
- es
- It; neuter third-person singular pronoun
- germanischen
- Germanic; relating to ancient Germanic peoples or culture
- Vergangenheit
- Past; history; bygone times
- geben
- To give; to exist; infinitive of 'geben'
- bereit
- Ready; willing; prepared to do something
- sind
- Are; third-person plural present of 'sein'
- selbst
- Even; oneself; used for emphasis or reflexive meaning
- einem
- A; an; indefinite article dative masculine/neuter
- verwegenen
- Reckless; daring; audacious adjective inflected form
- Führer
- Leader; guide; one who leads others
- folgen
- To follow; to come after; to obey a leader
- wenn
- When; if; conditional or temporal conjunction
- sie
- They; she; third-person pronoun singular/plural
- modernen
- Modern; contemporary; inflected adjective form
- Worten
- Words; dative plural of 'Wort'
- von
- Of; from; by; preposition of origin or belonging
- Leiden
- Sufferings; hardships; sorrows endured by someone
- Tapferkeit
- Bravery; courage; valor in the face of danger
- Gefühlen
- Feelings; emotions; dative plural of 'Gefühl'
- lesen
- To read; to peruse written texts
- dürfen
- To be allowed to; may; modal verb of permission
- Herzen
- Hearts; dative plural of 'Herz'
- unserer
- Our; genitive/dative feminine possessive pronoun form
- Vorfahren
- Ancestors; forebears; predecessors from earlier generations
- ihren
- Their; accusative masculine possessive pronoun form
- ursprünglichen
- Original; primordial; relating to earliest origins
- Heimstätten
- Homesteads; native homes; original dwelling places
- bewegten
- Moved; stirred; past tense plural of 'bewegen'
- Um
- In order to; around; preposition or conjunction of purpose
- größeren
- Larger; wider; comparative adjective inflected form
- Leserkreis
- Readership; audience; circle of readers
- gefallen
- To please; to appeal to; to be liked
- wurde
- Was; became; passive auxiliary past tense singular
- regelmäßiger
- More regular; more consistent; comparative of 'regelmäßig'
- Rhythmus
- Rhythm; regular beat or pattern in verse
- verwendet
- Used; employed; applied for a purpose
- Versmaß
- Metre; poetic measure; the rhythmic structure of verse
- wesentlichen
- Essential; fundamental; key adjective inflected form
- Merkmale
- Features; characteristics; distinguishing attributes
- Originals
- Of the original; genitive of 'Original'
- beibehält
- Retains; preserves; keeps something unchanged
- Leser
- Reader; person who reads texts
- zugleich
- At the same time; simultaneously; also
- ermöglicht
- Enables; makes possible; allows something to happen
- beim
- While; at the; contraction of 'bei dem'
- Lesen
- Reading; the act of reading a text
- schauen
- To look; to glance; to observe visually
- Vielleicht
- Perhaps; maybe; expressing possibility or uncertainty
- jeder
- Every; each; every single one
- angelsächsische
- Anglo-Saxon; relating to early medieval English scholarship
- Gelehrte
- Scholar; learned person; academic expert
- seine
- His; possessive pronoun third-person singular masculine
- Vorstellung
- Idea; notion; mental conception of something
- davon
- Of it; about it; from that
- wie
- How; as; like; interrogative or comparative conjunction
- übersetzt
- Translated; rendered into another language
- werden
- To become; to be; auxiliary for passive or future
- sollte
- Should; ought to; past subjunctive of 'sollen'
- Einige
- Some; a few; referring to an unspecified number
- haben
- To have; auxiliary verb; first/third-person plural
- uns
- Us; dative/accusative first-person plural pronoun
- dessen
- Whose; of which; genitive relative pronoun masculine/neuter
- geliefert
- Delivered; provided; supplied something to someone
- was
- What; that which; relative or interrogative pronoun
- wir
- We; first-person plural nominative pronoun
- für
- For; in favor of; preposition indicating purpose
- großes
- Great; grand; adjective neuter indefinite form
- Gedicht
- Poem; a piece of literary writing in verse
- halten
- To hold; to consider; to regard as something
- Gereicht
- Reflects; redounds; turns out as credit or blame
- unseren
- Our; accusative plural possessive pronoun form
- verehrten
- Revered; esteemed; honored adjective inflected form
- zum
- To the; contraction of 'zu dem'
- Vorwurf
- Reproach; accusation; criticism directed at someone
- man
- One; people; impersonal pronoun for general statements
- sagt
- Says; one says; third-person singular of 'sagen'
- ihre
- Their; her; possessive pronoun feminine/plural form
- Übersetzungen
- Translations; rendered versions in another language
- Laien
- Laypeople; non-experts; those without specialist knowledge
- nicht
- Not; negation particle in German sentences
- vermitteln
- To convey; to communicate; to impart an impression
- warum
- Why; for what reason; interrogative adverb
- Recht
- Right; law; justly deserving a title or status
- unser
- Our; first-person plural possessive pronoun
- erstes
- First; foremost; adjective neuter indefinite form
- genannt
- Called; named; past participle of 'nennen'
- wird
- Becomes; is; third-person singular present of 'werden'
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →