List of adaptations of Beowulf

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Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship. Its creation dates from between the 8th [1] and the 11th century, the only surviving manuscript dating from circa 1010. [2] At 3182 lines, it is notable for its length. It has risen to national epic status in England. [3]

Contents

Beowulf has been adapted many times in verse, in prose, on the stage, and in film. In 2003, the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies published Marijane Osborn's annotated list of over 300 translations and adaptations, withdrawn in 2019. [4] By 2020, the Beowulf's Afterlives Bibliographic Database listed some 688 translations and other versions of the poem, from Thorkelin's 1787 transcription of the text, and in languages including Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Basque, Belarusian, Catalan, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, Ganda, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Macedonian, Persian, Portuguese, Polish, Punjabi, Russian, Serbo-Croat, Slovenian, Somali, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, Turkish, Uighur, and Urdu. [5]

The poet John Dryden's categories of translation have influenced how scholars discuss variation between translations and adaptations. [6] In the Preface to Ovid's Epistles (1680) Dryden proposed three different types of translation:

metaphrase [...] or turning an author word for word, and line by line, from one language into another; paraphrase [...] or translation with latitude, where the author is kept in view by the translator so as never to be lost, but his words are not so strictly followed as his sense, and that, too, is admitted to be amplified but not altered; and imitation [...] where the translator – if he has not lost that name – assumes the liberty not only to vary from the words and sense, but to forsake them both as he sees occasion; and taking only some general hints from the original, to run division on the ground-work, as he pleases. [6]

The works listed below are novels and other works that take more "latitude" than pure "translations". Those are listed at List of translations of Beowulf.

Novels based on Beowulf

Novels and short stories

Graphic novels and comics

M J Weller's Beowulf Cartoon, (Writers Forum/Visual Associations, 2004) Beowulf Cartoon bookwork.jpg
M J Weller's Beowulf Cartoon, (Writers Forum/Visual Associations, 2004)

Music

Opera and theatre

Cinema and television adaptations

Games

Board games

Video games

Related Research Articles

<i>Beowulf</i> Old English epic poem

Beowulf is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain dating is for the manuscript, which was produced between 975 and 1025 AD. Scholars call the anonymous author the "Beowulf poet". The story is set in pagan Scandinavia in the 6th century. Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall Heorot has been under attack by the monster Grendel for twelve years. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother takes revenge and is in turn defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland and becomes king of the Geats. Fifty years later, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is mortally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants cremate his body and erect a barrow on a headland in his memory.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unferð</span> Character in Beowulf

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References

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Sources