For some reason articles about new translations of Beowulf tend to be fascinated on how they translate the first word of the poem: Hwæt. Literally, it means “what” and for the poem it is used by the teller to bring attention. This has given rise to a variety of attention getting words used for the translation. A few translations of Hwæt! from my bookshelf:
Musing on Beowulf: Hwæt!
Musing on Beowulf: Hwæt!
Musing on Beowulf: Hwæt!
For some reason articles about new translations of Beowulf tend to be fascinated on how they translate the first word of the poem: Hwæt. Literally, it means “what” and for the poem it is used by the teller to bring attention. This has given rise to a variety of attention getting words used for the translation. A few translations of Hwæt! from my bookshelf: