Beowulf

I started reading Beowulf again the other day. I read it once several years ago (Seamus Heaney's translation. No, as much as I would like to, I don't read it in Anglo-Saxon. I only know about four words of the language. Hwaet, werguild, wyrd, and wyrm, if you care to know.) I wasn't that impressed with it then. The story was good - I could see that - but I felt let down by the words Heaney used to translate it. They didn't seem to me to fit, somehow. The story would be soaring along and then some jarring, modern word would intrude. I suspect that this was chiefly because I had just finished reading Tolkien's The Lay of Leithian (which is an awesome epic poem, by the way, though it be incomplete) and he matches his style his theme. This time round I laid hold of different translation. Strange to say, I'm finding I don't really care about the style it's told in - the story's simply too wonderful. It feels almost as if I'm reading Lord of the Rings in verse, even to the point where they seem to share the same characters. Its even set in Middle-earth, or Middangeard.I read somewhere recently (can't remember where) that Tolkien himself said that Beowulf was one of the greatest influences on his work.
I took the book to the beach with me yesterday, found a lonely rock upon the silver strand and, to the sound of the waves (I can never decide if they sound mournful or joyous) read a good bit of it aloud to myself - the part where Beowulf is preparing himself to wrest with the demon Grendel. Ah! But it was stirring!
I remember the basic plot line, but not the details of the rest of the story - may it meet my expectations and hopes!
And just for the record: Beowulf is NOTHING like the despicable film that has been made based on it. Beowulf is really a hero! Suffice to say, I have not seen the film, but when I heard the movie had been released, I read a review and was shocked - nay - scandalized by the changes they'd made.

Some New Words

I found these in a book about books (or matters literary). I believe they are from yet another book by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd called "The Meaning of Liff." They've taken town names (mostly British) and given them useful meanings. These following examples seem to apply to either me or folk I know.

Ahenny - the way people stand when examining other people's bookshelves.
Ainderby Quernhow - one who continually bemoans the "loss" of the word "gay" to the English language, even though they never used the word in any context at all until they started complaining they couldn't use it anymore.
Bathel - to pretend you have read a the book under discussion, when in fact you've only seen the TV series.
Beppy - the triumphal slamming shut of a book after reading the final page.
Dalmilling - continually making small talk to someone who is trying to read.
Frithram - a paragraph that gets you stuck in a book . The more you read it, the less it means to you.
Great Wakering - the panic that sets in when you badly need to go to the lavatory and cannot make up your mind about what book to take with you.

Dashed Good Book, This One

Originally it was called Alec Forbes of Howglen.

Instead of the one, near perfect (but somehow still likeable) character I encountered in his The Shepherd’s Castle pitted against narrow minded, hypocritical “Calvinists,” MacDonald has here a whole array of imperfect characters simply living (or not living) their faith and growing in it. He never expressly says “this is the wrong doctrine” or this is “right,” whereas in Shephard’s Castle his attacks on what he considers wrong is sometimes almost rabid. Thomas Crann the stonemason thinks it’s his duty to “dangle souls over the hell-fire” and frighten them into repentance and love, but for all that, he is a very lovable character, as is Mr. Malison, the school master who beats his pupils up quite badly. I won’t say why I love him – would spoil the story and ruin a truly MacDonaldian moment in the book. There’s old Mr. Cowie, Robert Bruce (no, not that one), Curly, blind Tibbie, and, of course, Alec Forbes and Annie Anderson. But the character who outshines them all is old Mr. Crupples the alcoholic librarian. And Crann wouldn’t even call him a Christian! Well, he doesn’t attend the Missionary Church, which is a great pity, if not a minor sin in the stonemason’s reckoning. You just enjoy all these characters, and see how they change as the story goes on. There’s something hobbitish or Austenian about their lives and about Glammerton and the countryside about. The rest of the world exists, they don’t deny that, but somehow it doesn’t effect them overly. They are quiet self-contained with their two churches, four seasons and converted and unconverted on their doorstep. Only when Alec goes off to University do we catch a glimpse of the rest of the world, but it is still only that which pertains directly to events and people in Glammerton. It would make a great BBC drama, if only they kept it faithful to the strong Christian message and themes throughout (is that asking too much?)

I still can’t decide whether the fact that it has been edited is to be mourned over or blessed. The editor, Michael Phillips, I think (to hear him tell it) has done a pretty good job. but I've never been able to get my hands on an unedited novel of MacDonald's. If he has actually changed anything essential, I don’t know. But one of the chief edits he has done is remove the heavy Scots dialect of the dialogue and replace it with English most everyone can understand. (In his introduction he includes a piece of the original for comparison. Does anyone know what a “clanjamfrie” is? Or what it means to “sook o’ the tappit hen?”)
In his books (that I’ve read) George MacDonald really does attempt to show the love of God. Not just the “God loves you anyway” approach or assume that everyone is at least a nominal christian as many nineteenth century authors seem to do, but he has a real John-Piper-reminiscent “God delights in you, and calls you to delight yourself in Him” message, which is always very edifying.

If you've read Tolkien and Lewis, then you really must explore MacDonald, if you haven't already. His novels are remarkably good, but his fairytales and fantasies are simply incredible.