The Anglo-Saxon Sonnet: Rewriting Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130
The Anglo-Saxon Sonnet: Rewriting a Shakespeare’s Sonnet “130”
Through the Eyes of the Author of Beowulf
My woman’s sight-seers shine like the sun;
Her kiss-givers grant a great fiery glow;
Her bone-house is a rare beast made to stun;
The hairs on her head hang as soft as snow.
Like a pollen-producer gleams garnet,
Her cheeks blush, blinding any early man;
Unlike a slimy serpent’s foul sweat,
Her scent smells of fresh gold, or better than.
Her voice flows like the whale-road, that I’m sure,
My love quickens when I hear her murmur;
She strolls above the ground, I can assure,
For my toes touch the terrain more firmer. My fondness for her, rapid in my heart, Will keep us together, never to part. William Shakespeare is regarded by some readers as the greatest writer in the English language. He developed and quickly trended the Shakespearean sonnet which is devised of fourteen lines, iambic pentameter, and a strict, certain rhyme scheme. It may be believed that it is nearly impossible to recreate any of Shakespeare’s beloved works, yet I attempted to rewrite Shakespeare’s sonnet “130” as if I were the author of Beowulf. Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic poem whose author is unknown. This anonymity did not alter the poem’s fame though; it is widely known as a model for Old English writing. Shakespeare and the author of Beowulf are known for very different types of writing styles which left me with no doubt that a revision of a Shakespearean sonnet by the Beowulf author would be very fascinating. Shakespeare writes with a romantic voice; a vast majority of his works holds the topic of love for a man or a woman. On the other hand, the author of Beowulf composes not about love, but rather fighting, journeys, and heroes. The poem above is written in Shakespeare’s sonnet form and still retains his original focus and ideas, yet forms of the writing of the author of Beowulf are employed to modify the poem. To rewrite William
Through the Eyes of the Author of Beowulf
My woman’s sight-seers shine like the sun;
Her kiss-givers grant a great fiery glow;
Her bone-house is a rare beast made to stun;
The hairs on her head hang as soft as snow.
Like a pollen-producer gleams garnet,
Her cheeks blush, blinding any early man;
Unlike a slimy serpent’s foul sweat,
Her scent smells of fresh gold, or better than.
Her voice flows like the whale-road, that I’m sure,
My love quickens when I hear her murmur;
She strolls above the ground, I can assure,
For my toes touch the terrain more firmer. My fondness for her, rapid in my heart, Will keep us together, never to part. William Shakespeare is regarded by some readers as the greatest writer in the English language. He developed and quickly trended the Shakespearean sonnet which is devised of fourteen lines, iambic pentameter, and a strict, certain rhyme scheme. It may be believed that it is nearly impossible to recreate any of Shakespeare’s beloved works, yet I attempted to rewrite Shakespeare’s sonnet “130” as if I were the author of Beowulf. Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic poem whose author is unknown. This anonymity did not alter the poem’s fame though; it is widely known as a model for Old English writing. Shakespeare and the author of Beowulf are known for very different types of writing styles which left me with no doubt that a revision of a Shakespearean sonnet by the Beowulf author would be very fascinating. Shakespeare writes with a romantic voice; a vast majority of his works holds the topic of love for a man or a woman. On the other hand, the author of Beowulf composes not about love, but rather fighting, journeys, and heroes. The poem above is written in Shakespeare’s sonnet form and still retains his original focus and ideas, yet forms of the writing of the author of Beowulf are employed to modify the poem. To rewrite William
Cited: Beowulf. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. Julia Reidhead. U.S.A.: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2006. 34-100. Print. Shakespeare, William. “130.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. Julia Reidhead. U.S.A.: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2006. 1074. Print.