English 103d. Beowulf and Seamus Heaney

Instructor: Joseph A. Shack
Tuesday & Thursday, 10:30-11:45 am | Location:  Please login to the course catalog at my.harvard.edu for location
Course Site

Translations of excerpts from Beowulf will proceed in parallel with careful reading of Heaney's verse translation. Questions concerning translation theory will emerge from the comparison of in-class efforts with Heaney's and other versions. What is the relation between translation and interpretation? How does Heaney's Beowulf compare with the body of poetry he has produced over the decades? The course begins with a review of grammar.

Recommended Preparation: English 102.

Note: Students who complete both English 102 and 103 with honors grades will fulfill the College language requirement and the English Department’s Foreign Literature requirement.

This course satisfies the “Pre-1700 Guided Elective" requirement for English concentrators and Secondary Field students.