Beowulf: For Fireside and Schoolroom

A new English translation of the oldest narrative poem, crafted by scholar and academic Donald Mace Williams, offers three unique features that make the text more inviting to students and modern readers.

First, scholarly annotations have been used sparingly—just eight endnotes clarify key passages, making the work more accessible. Marginal notes are brief, often just a single word explaining a term or phrase.
 

Second, the translation follows an iambic meter, a rhythm familiar to readers of English poetry for over six centuries. Nearly every line carries four stresses, mirroring the Anglo-Saxon original.
 

Finally, the original kennings have been preserved. When the Beowulf poet (or poets) calls the sea the "whale paths," Williams does the same. To translate the phrase as the "sea," to Williams's mind, would take away much of the Anglo-Saxon charm and would deprive the reader of an image.