Seamus Heaney's translation of the Beowulf

[Anna G. Appel]

I was actually wondering if anyone has read, seen, or heard the translation, and I also wanted some sort of opinion on the translation.
I hear that the way Heaney translated the poem was quite good, and better than most other translations.

[Petrarch's Love]

Hi Anna G. Appel--I've read the Seamus Heaney translation more than once. I've also compared parts of it with the Old English (which I know moderately well). In my opinion the Heaney translation is probably both the best sounding, and the most accessible translation for the modern English reader. It's definately what I intend to assign for my students when I start teaching it in survey courses and what I would recommend to people who want to read Beowulf for fun.
It may not be the best translation for those with an in-depth scholarly interest in an exact word for word translation of the original (it's generally pretty accurate, but takes neccessary liberties to make the modern english flow better), but that shouldn't really matter unless you're trying to use the translation as an aid to translating the O.E. (the Donaldson is probably best for that sort of thing, but not as fun a read).
Have fun reading Beowulf!

[Union Jack]

Beowulf is one of my all-time favourite works, call me a romantic if you must. Petrarch is right, it is excellently translated into modern english, and flows well. The only reason I can see for enjoying another version more is if they are studying the intricacies of old english.

[Virgil]

I've read it and enjoyed it. But I could not tell you about it's accuracy.

[Jarndyce]

I've not read it, but it's on my list. Heaney is among the elite of contemporary poets, and magic flows out of him. Even without turning a single page, I feel confident in recommending the book.

[Jay]

In one of my lit courses we were reading Beowulf and the teacher mentioned Heaney's translation was either the best or one of the best so far (personally I can't say, don't know any old English).