Every act of translation is simultaneously an act of interpretation. Regarding Beowulf's final scene and his final words to the young warrior Wiglaf, an analysis of three translations of the poem, by E. Talbot Donaldson, RM Liuzza, and Seamus Heavey, demonstrates this general principle. Each version of the passage between lines 2799 and 2820 offers a reading of the underlying ambiguity between Christian and pagan worldviews that is one of the fundamental tensions within Beowulf as a whole. The intersection between the concepts of predestination and individual agency, both within and between these worldviews, changes significantly from one translation to the next. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Although a significant leading force in all three passages, Beowulf's struggle against fate is seen as the most futile in Heaney and Liuzza's interpretations. At the beginning of this passage, after his battle with the dragon and the resulting mortal wounds, Beowulf is primarily concerned with finding a leader for his people, through the young thane Wiglaf, and building a physical legacy through the "tumulus" monument overlooking the sea. Although the idea of ​​a monument built to aid those who travel by sea is a noble endeavour, the use of the word "tumulus" to refer to a burial site tones down such intentions and is reiterated by the imagery of the dark waters surrounding it. The aspects chosen to emphasize this atmosphere differ in the three translations. While this “reminder” proposed to his people carries connotations of dignity and strength in Donaldson, where he will “stand high” (Donaldson, XXXVIII) and in Liuzza, where he will “rise high” (Liuzza, l. 2805). Heaney's description that "it will be on the horizon" has a somewhat altered and more sinister meaning (Heaney, l. 2805). Notably, this translation may be more suited to the following description of the "darkness of the seas" (Donaldson XXXVIII), the "shrouded waters" (Heaney, l. 2808) or the "darkness of the flood" (Liuzza, l. 2808) . Likewise, this latter description of Liuzza includes a biblical allusion to Noah's flood which creates an atmosphere of future or perpetual catastrophe, ultimately dictated by the indifference of the wyrd, which is akin to Heaney's tone. Using a pivotal moment in the Old Testament when the social order was in crisis, Liuzza appears to channel the tumultuous historical and sociopolitical implications of Beowulf's death. In either case, Beowulf's attempt to secure a worldly immortality as dictated by the heroic code carries a darker quality in the readings of Heaney's line 2804 and Liuzza's line 2807, as opposed to the more simple by Donaldson. The extent to which Beowulf chose his "destiny" or labored in vain under the influence of limited individual action, dictated either by the pagan concept of wyrd, or destiny, or by the determining will of a Christian God , also varies considerably between these three interpretations. . The fundamental ambiguity surrounding both individual and societal action appears in this passage from Beowulf's instructions to Wiglaf. There is a considerable difference between Liuzza's choice of the pronoun "they" in line 2799 and Donaldson and Heaney's decision to use "you", meaning Wiglaf. Therefore, on Donaldson and Heaney's readings, it is Wiglaf who has the individual responsibility to ensure that the treasure Beowulf obtained through his confrontation with the dragon is used to meet the "needs" of the people. On the other hand, readingde Liuzza indicates that it is above all the treasure itself, and not Wiglaf's mediation, which will “meet the needs of the people” (Liuzza, l. 2800-2801). Both decisions contribute to the notion of individual action in this passage; that is to say to what extent is a social order determined by individual will or by socio-political and historical circumstances? In lines 2814 to 2816 of all three readings, it is the allure of the story and the underlying principle of the wyrd that ultimately outweighs the possibility of autonomous human action. Beowulf's final words are informed by a worldview of destiny that is dictated by the history of his own "parents" (Donaldson, XXXVIII). Since "fate" has "swept away" his family, Beowulf submits to this force by telling Wiglaf: "I must pursue them" (Donaldson, XXXVIII) or "I must follow them" (Heaney and Liuzza, l) . . 2816). Such acquiescence, however, is complicated by later descriptions of his soul. Although she chose the action of the treasure rather than that of Wiglaf himself, Liuzza's translation suggests a considerable amount of human agency in the final lines of this passage. Beowulf is said to have “chosen fire” and, in fact, his death: “from his bosom his soul has flown to seek the judgment of the righteous” (Liuzza, l. 2818-2820). The verbs “choose,” “steal,” and “seek” imply that Beowulf holds a substantial amount of self-determination and personal autonomy before and after his death. Such an element of choice in one's destiny, however, is lost in the readings of Donaldson and Heaney. In the first case, personal will is removed from Beowulf's soul, considered "the soul" (Donaldson, XXXVIII); emphasis added). While the verb "to seek" is used in the same position as Liuzza's reading, any personal agency it holds is lost to the impersonal subject of the line. Heaney's reading is closer to Liuzza's but evokes a certain division between the earthly and the afterlife which is consistent with Christian conceptions of death and the afterlife. While retaining the personal pronoun denoting possession, "his," Heaney's translation uses the verb "to flee" to describe Beowulf's death. This choice evokes a feeling of escape, towards the “destined place among the faithful” (Heaney, l. 2820). Although there is significant overlap between this description of an afterlife and Liuzza's translation of this line as "…the judgment of the righteous" (Liuzza, l. 2820), Heaney's reading more concretely means a certain Christian discord between the ideal of the afterlife. and contempt for the earthly kingdom. Rather than simply choosing one's passing, the use of the word "flee" suggests an anxiety about fleeing the world to the appropriate and inevitable refuge of the afterlife. This dualistic tension between an imperfect world and the perfection that follows death effectively removes the element of choice present in Liuzza's reading. In this sense, in Heaney, acquiescence to the wyrd is reinstalled in a Christian framework while Liuzza's reading maintains an ambiguous tension between the absolutes of human action and divine determination. Alongside these conceptions of individual action, or lack thereof, we can also see the value judgments that the three translators made about Beowulf's worldviews. In this regard, perhaps the most significant variation between these three passages occurs in the final lines of narration which describe Beowulf's death. In particular, the characterization of the fire on Beowulf's funeral pyre is indicative of the metaphysics that informs the respective reading. For Heaney, the passage draws on Christian metaphysics. Beowulf's death is violent; fire contains a “furious heat” in whichthe “pyre would assail him” (Heaney, l. 2818-2819). Such a violent description is associated with connotations of escape and refuge by which "his soul fled from his bosom", as previously stated (Heaney, l. 2819). Likewise, Donaldson interprets the funeral pyre as "burning and hostile flames" which Beowulf "should taste" and through which his soul "issued from his bosom to seek the doom of those who fast in truth" (Donaldson, XXXVIII). As in Liuzza's interpretation that Beowulf's soul seeks judgment, there is a sense of moral evaluation that will follow Beowulf's death. According to Liuzza's translation and accompanying footnote , it is unclear whether Beowulf will receive a positive judgment or be considered an irredeemable pagan (Liuzza, l. 2800). Heaney, on the other hand, suggests that Beowulf ascends to heaven; his soul flees to a “destined place” that lies alongside “those who are steadfast” (Heaney, l. 2820). In contrast, Donaldson's reading implies that Beowulf must suffer the hostility of a negative judgment by which he must be condemned. Rather than designating a refuge or escape from the world, Beowulf's soul, emptied of its personal will, encounters an afterlife of "woe" that denotes the workings of the wyrd (Donaldson, XXXVIII). Liuzza's interpretation departs from Donaldson's and Heaney's readings. Rather than employing personified descriptions of the fire as angry or "hostile", Liuzza describes the funeral pyre as "burning flames" through which Beowulf chooses to travel. In this sense, fire is a significant motif that recalls the purifying fire that Dante must pass through in Hell. Where Donaldson's interpretation suggests that Beowulf's soul is sent to hell and Heaney suggests that Beowulf ascends to heaven, it can be suggested that in Liuzza's reading, Beowulf must undergo the active process of purgation, as undergone Dante in The Divine Comedy. Besides these interpretive suggestions as to whether Beowulf's soul goes to heaven, purgatory, or hell, these translations raise an interesting related question: which is more important: what Beowulf leaves behind as a legacy , or where does his “soul” go after the fire of the funeral pyre? Each of these translations offers a slightly different answer. Until the final lines of the narration, Beowulf is clearly concerned about what he leaves behind. Although resigned to fate and destiny, in all three translations he wishes to secure a level of earthly immortality as embodied in his "barrow" and establish a successor for his people at Wiglaf. The implications of a pagan concern for immortality through historical memory are complicated by the situation of Beowulf's soul. Donaldson's interpretation shows a disjunction between Beowulf as an individual and the action of his soul; the latter is seen as a simple extension of the former which follows the course of the wyrd to "destiny" which is, as Heaney writes, the final conclusion of all those subject to destiny (Heaney, l. 2816). In other words, death is a finality by which the soul retains no personal will. It is “the soul” (Donaldson, XXXVIII; emphasis added), not “his soul” (Heaney; Liuzza, l. 2819-2820). In contrast, Liuzza's reading maintains a strong sense of proactive self-determination in both Beowulf's person and soul. By choosing death, Beowulf is able to transcend the grip of fate and wyrd destiny. In this sense, Liuzza's interpretation can be seen as denoting a certain disjunction between the desires of the conscious self and the desires of the soul, or unconscious self. It is the latter which is in harmony with the will of God, to adopt the terminology, 2000.