Blog Update: Plodding (Update Entry #6)

Little by little I am, as they say, "gettin' 'er done":

• Recorded, edited, and uploaded all of the missing translation recordings;
My plan right now is to spend as much of the weekend as I can editing these and the newest Telos AM podcast, so that come Sunday night they're all finished.
• Created and posted a hyperlinked portfolio page on these blogs;
The hyperlinks are all that's left for these.
• Sent out two short stories to magazines;
To be 100% sure that it's as good as I can get it, I've decided to send out my story to pre-readers before I let it into the world at large.
• Outlined the entirety of the fantasy novel that I'm currently writing;
Reading what I have to refresh my memory and making this outline will be a great way to break up my otherwise audio editing intensive weekend.
• Completed five of those chapters;
Without a plan, my ideas for these chapters are so nebulous that I can't yet grasp their form.
• Completed the next act (four scenes) of an audio drama I'm working on;
No progress yet.
• Created a Commissions page (accessible through every blog) to accept new commissions.
Completed! I'll likely be adding fan fiction to the options, I just need to figure out some things about that.

In less than an hour check out A Glass Darkly for my search for the salvageable in This Means War.

And, as always, check out my examiner page for some of my writing on video games.

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Blog Update - Portfolio'd! (Update Entry #5)

The update is slowly moving forward. Here's where the list stands:

• Recorded, edited, and uploaded all of the missing translation recordings;
These recordings will be edited at some point over the next four days. I'll probably edit them the same day that I sit down to edit the newest Telos AM podcast.
• Created and posted a hyperlinked portfolio page on these blogs;
All the citations are up. I now just need to get them all hyperlinked and work out how to improve the appearance of this page.
• Sent out two short stories to magazines;
Magazine lists still need to be compiled, but I'm confident that my stories are ready.
• Outlined the next 10 chapters for the fantasy novel I'm writing;
I still need to read the rest of what I've written to date. However, inspired by the great Writing Excuses podcast, I've decided to outline the entirety of this novel before going forward with writing it.
• Completed five of those chapters;
The plan is still outstanding, so the same can be said of these chapters.
• Completed the next act (four scenes) of an audio drama I'm working on;
No progress yet.
• Created a Commissions page (accessible through every blog) to accept new commissions.
This is the next thing that will be crossed off the list.

Come Friday this blog will be home to a double header: the next blog update, and my look for the likeable in This Means War.

Plus, if you want to read some of my writing on video games, check out my examiner page.

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Blog Break Purpose (Update Entry #4)

Working on something other than this blog has reminded me why I wanted to pause my regular updates in the first place.

One of my reasons was to make these blogs more coherent, and the other was to bring writing fiction back into my routine. Somewhere in the mix, I forgot that I am a writer and not a PR guy or social media wizard. So, this is the revised to-do list that has things directly related to these two purposes in mind:

• Recorded, edited, and uploaded all of the missing translation recordings;
These recordings still need to be edited. I'm slowly psyching myself up to tackle this.
• Created and posted a hyperlinked portfolio page on these blogs;
All citations will be up over the next two days, and at that point I'll add this as a blog page. Every citation will be hyperlinked by the weekend.
• Sent out two short stories to magazines;
After my current work is done I'm going to pull out my copy of The Short Story and Novel Writer's Market, pick the ten best venues for each story I'll be sending, and then I'll send them. This is still likely to be the last thing from this list to get finished.
• Outlined the next 10 chapters for the fantasy novel I'm writing;
I've read some of what I'd written and, aside from being a little ashamed of my younger self (ah, what a difference a year can make!), I've got a plan percolating. I'd previously guessed this step would be done for today, but alas, it has not. Still, this item is the most likely to be crossed off the list come Wednesday.
• Completed five of those chapters;
The plan is still outstanding, so the same can be said of these chapters.
• Completed the next act (four scenes) of an audio drama I'm working on;
No progress yet.
• Created a Commissions page (accessible through every blog) to accept new commissions.
Since my two previous commissions have been completed, I have no reason to not set up this page. Expect it over the next two days.

Check back here on Wednesday for the to-do list's current status. Check back on Friday for my search for the salient in This Means War. Oh, and, if you want to see some of my non-Blogger-hosted writing, check out my video game blog over at Examiner.com.
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Blog Break Paused (Update Entry #3)

My writing work has picked up over the past two days, and so I haven't had time to make any further progress on the blog updates.

However, over the next two days I will be making time to tackle a task or two from the to-do list.

Check back here then for a progress report. Also, if you haven't already, track down and watch This Means War, the final film for this year's All-Request August.

Blog Break Progressing (Update Entry #2)

The blog update has picked up a bit over the last two days, but so has my non-blog work. As a result, the to-do list has seen steady progress but less than I'd expected. As of tonight here is where each task stands:

• Recorded, edited, and uploaded all of the missing translation recordings;
All of the outstanding recordings are now finished and just need to be edited and posted.
• Created and posted a hyperlinked portfolio page on these blogs;
I'm in the middle of completing the entries for the portfolio - about 1/3 are finished and almost all of them are hyperlinked.
• Made all of the titles of entries uniform across both blogs;
• Sent out two short stories to magazines;
I have the short stories chosen, and just need to send them. However, this task might be the last to be finished since I still need to organize a list of prospects.
• Created a central, personal blog on tumblr;
I now have a tumblr account, but it isn't yet set up as a blog page. Expect more on this front soon.
• Created a Facebook Writer/Author page;
I now have a Facebook Writer's page, but it's still something of a blank slate. You can find it here.
• Outlined the next 10 chapters for the fantasy novel I'm writing;
I've peeked at what I have written so far, but since I haven't done anything outside of world building for months, I need to re-read it more closely. This should be completed by Monday at the latest.
• Completed five of those chapters;
Since the plan still needs writing, these chapters aren't anywhere near being written just yet.
• Completed the next act (four scenes) of an audio drama I'm working on;
No progress yet.
• Completed my two outstanding commissions;
Both of these have been completed and just need to be shown to the people who've requested them. Since I've done all I can with them (for now), I've crossed them off this list.
• Created a Commissions page (accessible through every blog) to accept new commissions.
The draft is still sitting, just as it was on Tuesday.

Check back here on Saturday for the to-do list's current status.

And, of course, be sure to catch tomorrow's All-Request August movie review over at A Glass Darkly. I'll be looking for the likeable in the TV miniseries Earthsea!

Plus, for some of my writing that's not hosted on Blogger, check out my video game blog over at Examiner.com.

Blog Break Progress (Update Entry #1)

So far the to-do list has been going slowly. However, as of tonight here is where each task stands:

• Recorded, edited, and uploaded all of the missing translation recordings;
All of the Beowulf passages that have "{Forthcoming}" where their recordings should be are one step closer to having them there. I've finished recording all of them and now just need to edit and post them. I still need to record "O Fortuna."
• Created and posted a hyperlinked portfolio page on these blogs;
I've planned out how I'm going to do this, but haven't enacted the plan yet.
• Made all of the titles of entries uniform across both blogs;
This task has been completed.
• Sent out two short stories to magazines;
I have two short stories that I've sent off to recent contests (unsuccessfully, alas), but that I'm going to edit and then send.
• Created a central, personal blog on tumblr;
This has been planned out, but hasn't yet been executed.
• Created a Facebook Writer/Author page;
No progress yet.
• Outlined the next 10 chapters for the fantasy novel I'm writing;
No progress on this, directly, but I have been struck with some world-building ideas of late.
• Completed five of those chapters;
See the above.
• Completed the next act (four scenes) of an audio drama I'm working on;
No progress yet.
• Completed my two outstanding commissions;
No progress yet beyond a rough draft and a rough idea.
• Created a Commissions page (accessible through every blog) to accept new commissions.
I have this in draft form, and will be looking it over once I've finished those two commissions.

Check back here for more updates as they come, I plan to post them here bi-daily. Even if that might seem a bit counter-productive.

Also, don't miss part four of All-Request August over at my writing/editorial/review blog A Glass Darkly. It'll feature a look at the TV miniseries Earthsea.

Why the Blog Break? (Update Entry #0)

My taking a break from these blogs is nothing new. I've done it before a few times but, since each of those breaks has been motivated by an unfulfilled desire to tidy things up and to post new pages, I've decided to stop regular updates to both this blog and A Glass Darkly until I've:

• Recorded, edited, and uploaded all of the missing translation recordings;
• Created and posted a hyperlinked portfolio page on these blogs;
• Made all of the titles of entries uniform across both blogs;
• Sent out two short stories to magazines;
• Created a central, personal blog on tumblr;
• Created a Facebook Writer/Author page;
• Outlined the next 10 chapters for the fantasy novel I'm writing;
• Completed five of those chapters;
• Completed the next act (four scenes) of an audio drama I'm working on;
• Completed my two outstanding commissions;
• Created a Commissions page (accessible through every blog) to accept new commissions.

I might not be regularly updating these blogs for the next week or two, but I want it to be clear that, despite more than half of the list being indirectly related to my blogs, these blogs (and those reading them) haven't been forgotten. So, as I complete each of these tasks, I'll post an update explaining how the process as a whole is coming along.

Plus, because they're often the most anticipated and the most fun to put together, I'll continue to post my weekly movie redemptions/condemnations while I work on these various tasks.

That said, watch this space for updates on my progress, and for this Friday's attempt to redeem the TV mini-series Earthsea over at A Glass Darkly.

The Emptiness of All that Gold [ll.2771b-82] (Old English)

Abstract
Translation
Recordings
The Hoard's Sheer Immensity
The Golden Power
Closing

{The immensity of the Lost Underworld in Earthbound is just like that of the hoard: identity erasing. Image found on flyingomelette.com.}

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Abstract

The dragon is dwelled on, while Wiglaf wanders through the hoard.

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Translation

          "None of that sight there
was for the serpent, when the blade carried him off.
Then, I have heard, the hoard in the barrow, ancient
work of giants, was ransacked by one man, he loaded
his lap with drinking vessels and dishes of his own
choosing, the standard he also took, brightest of banners.
The sword earlier had injured - the blade was iron - that
of the aged lord, that was the treasure's guardian for
a long time, terrifying fire brought
hot from the hoard, fiercely willing in
the middle of the night, until he a violent death died."
(Beowulf ll.2771b-82)

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Recordings

Old English:

{Forthcoming}

Modern English:

{Forthcoming}

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The Hoard's Sheer Immensity

Already it's been mentioned how Wiglaf is not referred to by name for some time after this point, but here the poet/scribe takes this lack of identity to a strange place.

Instead of referring to Wiglaf via synecdoche with a piece of a warrior's equipment, or calling him a "thane" or "fighter," the poet/scribe simply calls Wiglaf "one man" ("ānne mannan" (l.2774)).

The effect of this pronoun and its adjective is immense.

However, this immensity doesn't come from the alienation that the poet/scribe subjects Wiglaf to, but rather from the sheer size of the hoard that the poet/scribe's making Wiglaf suddenly so small implies. Don't forget that because of that shining banner everything is now illuminated, so we can liken this part of the poem to a long panning shot that might be used in movies to show a suddenly-broken-into, vast treasure chamber in an ancient temple or tomb.

Yet, it's curious that the poet/scribe describes the immensity of the hoard in this way, especially since there's so much build up to it.

We hear about it when the thief stumbles into it (ll.2283-4), again when Beowulf and his thanes head to the barrow (ll.2412-3), and then again in Beowulf's command to Wiglaf (ll.2745-6).

Plus, any Anglo-Saxon would have been practically salivating at the prospect of finding so much treasure all in one spot - becoming instantly wealthy and instantaneously being able to exercise huge influence over others through gifts, thereby shoring up his or her own reputation and social network so that they would be more secure than gold alone would allow.

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The Golden Power

In fact, it's exactly within the gold-giving culture of the Anglo Saxons that we can find another reason for the poet/scribe's describing the hoard as he does.

Rather than focus on how much there is, the poet/scribe has described the hoard through a kind of lack. It's big and immense, but it's the sort of thing that you can lose yourself in - even if you're a loyal thane who's already pledged your very being to help your lord in his dying moments.

And this is what makes the dragon's hoard so dreadful. It's big, it's vast, it's unwieldy.

No one could use that much gold for social reasons, and the temptation to fall into self-indulgence (as Heremod does in the story Hrothgar tells Beowulf (ll.1709-1722)) is practically irresistible. If there is a curse on the gold, that is the curse: to be instantly given so much that you don't know what to do with yourself so you revert to an animalistic state.

Some have even theorized that the survivor who sings the "Lay of the Last Survivor" (ll.2247–66) somehow became the dragon: The last of his kind pining away over the treasure that could not buy back the lives of his fallen people or return them to their former glory.

This might also explain why the dragon is so prominently featured in this passage, despite his being long since dead. As Beowulf's wishes have taken over Wiglaf's identity, now the dragon's identity, the miserly lord of plenty, threatens to do the same. Yet ultimately Wiglaf resists, for the poet/scribe sings that the dragon "a violent death died" ("hē morðre swealt" (l.2782)) to round out Wiglaf's time in the hoard.

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Closing

Next week, this blog will be on break. I've fallen too far behind in the recordings to keep heading onwards and since I finished "O Fortuna" this week, I want to give myself time to catch up before moving onto my next Latin text.

In the meantime be sure to check my past entries and recordings, and if you like what you read and hear, feel free to support my efforts here!

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Fortune Beguiled? ["O Fortuna," Third Stanza] (Latin)

Abstract
Translation
Recordings
Final Notes
Sorrow maybe made Joyous
Closing

{Lady Fortune likes to greet those she favours with a fist bump - for obvious reasons. Image found on Doctor Michael Haldane's Translation Homepage.}

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Abstract

The poem's speaker finally gives in under the crushing weight of Fortune, and laments, calling all others to join him.

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Translation

Ah Fortune, you do invert
My health and my power,
Ay do you torture me with desire and weakness.
Now without hindrance let us strike
The chord in time, lament loudly with me,
For Fortune foils even the fortunate.
("O Fortuna", 3rd stanza)

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Recordings

Latin:

{Forthcoming}

Modern English:

{Forthcoming}

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Final Notes

Once more, the translation above is not entirely literal - but that's just not my modus operandi.

Though the most altered line is the final one. Not that the original Latin ("quod per sortem sternit fortem") doesn't come out to something similar when translated literally, word for word ("which by fortune overthrow the strong"). It's just that the above translation dwells less on the words of the original and attempts to delve more into the sense of those original words.

The basic idea is that Fortune treats everyone equally, regardless of their merits. What better way to express that in English than to match "Fortune" with "fortunate"? Plus, though not necessarily a quality in thirteenth century Goliardic poetry, the alliteration is also very English.

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Sorrow maybe made Joyous

Now, although this poem ends on a pretty down note, one phrase is curious. In the original Latin it is "mecum omnes plangite," in the above translation it's "lament loudly with me." What's interesting here is that, though it's framed by the sorrowful "lament" the speaker calls for everyone to come together to lament Fortune's tyranny.

But, what usually happens when a bunch of people get together (even medieval people)? A cracking party ensues - of one sort or another.

So it might be something that's coming from looking a little too deep, but including the call for everyone to come complain with him suggests that the speaker is aware that Fortune is not the only thing that runs in cycles.

It could be that he's trying to start some kind of spirit boosting gathering, even if it's just a bunch of monks getting together and moaning about their misfortunes. Unless they're all Dominicans, chances are one will tell a joke or relate a misfortune that another will chuckle at, and things will go up from there.

Or, of course, they'll reason that this Fortune stuff is all pagan nonsense and go off to read the loose-parchment copies of the story of Christ jousting against Satan that they've hidden in their bound books of theology.

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Closing

Come Thursday, Wiglaf is in the dragon's hoard and does some hoarding of his own - while the poet ornaments his tale with a brief meditation on the dragon.

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Treasuring Words and Admiring Their Weave [ll.2756-2771a] (Old English)

Abstract
Translation
Recordings
Finding Use for Treasure
A Shining Standard
Closing

{Shy of the characters, Wiglaf may have seen a standard just like this one. Image found on Wikipedia.}

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Abstract

Wiglaf hurries to the hoard, where he is mesmerized by the treasure that he finds.

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Translation

"He, the triumphant in victory, when he beyond the seat
went, the young brave thane, saw many precious jewels,
glittering gold lay on the ground,
wondrous objects on the wall, and in that dragon’s lair,
daybreak flier of old, cups stood,
vessels of men of old, now lacking a burnisher,
deprived of adornment.* There were many a helmet,
old and rusty, a multitude of arm-rings
skillfully twisted. Treasure easily may,
gold in ground, overpower each one of
mankind, though one may hide it.
Also hanging he saw a standard all of gold
high over the hoard, greatest of marvels made by hand,
woven by skill of craft; from there light
shone out, so that he might see the surface of the floor,
could look at every part of those ornate objects."
(Beowulf ll.2756-2771a)

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Recordings

Old English:

{Forthcoming}

Modern English:

{Forthcoming}

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Finding Use for Treasure

After the excitement of the battle with the dragon, and Beowulf's heartfelt summary of his kingship, this passage is definitely something of a rest. But that doesn't mean that it's entirely silent, a point in the story where the poem's original audiences could entirely rest.

For there is treasure about.

And, along with the treasure comes a very interesting passage: "cups stood,/vessels of men of old,now lacking a burnisher,/deprived of adornment" ("orcas stondan,/fyrnmanna fatu feormendlease,/hyrstum behrorene" (ll.2760-2762)).

What makes this passage more than what it seems is it's implication about treasure and people's relationship to it. Because "deprived of adornment" follows "now lacking a burnisher" it sounds as if the burnishing, the polishing, was these cups' adornment. This makes sense since whatever precious metal they were made of would require maintenance of some sort to keep its shine.

But what's more is that as this treasure was in the care of a characteristically miserly dragon, it didn't receive that care that people would have given it. But add to this why people would care to preserve their treasure, especially the sorts of things described here. My own theory is that they would use these things and they would need them to be in their top shape.

Putting this all together you come out with the impression that the passage implies that treasure is ostensibly valuable only when it's being used by people. And treasure can't be used by the same person indefinitely, so the best way to keep treasure in use is to give it away. It's given away to be used by the young, who can then maintain it and then give it away again, thus keeping the cycle going indefinitely.

Not to mention keeping the preciousness of the treasure in tact indefinitely.

However, this reading of treasure as the fuel in a perpetual motion machine of gifting and receiving is troubled by what happens to the treasure hoard that Beowulf and Wiglaf won. It all gets buried with Beowulf.

To be fair, the treasure may well have been buried for a strategic purpose. After all, having great wealth would likely bring down the Geats' old enemies upon them much more quickly than the news of their loss alone.

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A Shining Standard

Another illuminating part of this passage comes at it's end. The standard that lights the cave in which Wiglaf finds the hoard is clearly very shiny (being described as "all of gold" ("eallgylden" (ll.2767))), and must have sunlight striking it. But this sparkling standard is also significant because it echoes an earlier light in a cave: That which appears when Beowulf kills Grendel's Mother in her den (ll.1570-1572).

Because of the parallels - the light appears in a cave, comes from a fantastical source, flares up only after the defeat of a powerful monster of one sort or other - it's tempting to say that Wiglaf's assist in slaying the dragon is his own killing of Grendel's Mother. This reading is also bolstered by Wiglaf's taking treasures back with him to Beowulf just as Beowulf bore the hilt of the giants' sword and Grendel's head back to Hrothgar.

Yet, then, we run into the question: Is that where the parallels end? After the treasure is brought back to Beowulf and Wiglaf is cemented as the new leader of the Geats is he not still on the same trajectory as Beowulf?

Maybe he is, but because he isn't Beowulf (even if he is, for now, nameless) it's not his fate for a similar trajectory to land him in the same place as the poem's lead character.

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Closing

Next week, the third and final stanza of "O Fortuna" gets translated (and the whole thing gets posted as a recording), and Wiglaf takes as much treasure as he can back to the waiting Beowulf.

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Fortune Bemoaned ["O Fortuna," Second Stanza] (Latin)

Abstract
Translation
Quick Notes
Fortuna's Subtlety
Translating Poetry can be Torturous
Closing

{Another of Fortune's wheels? Image found on Wikipedia.}

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Abstract

The speaker further builds on his complaint against Fortune.

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Translation

"Ah, Fortune, vast and void,
On your spinning wheel idle health ay turns to bad standing;
Both ever dissoluble, viewed but darkly,
Yet always to me seeming vainly lovely
As you bring your laughing, desecrating lash
To my naked back."
("O Fortuna", 2nd stanza)

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Quick Notes

If you look at the translation offered on Wikipedia, and then at the one that I present here you'll probably notice some differences. Once more, they've been made to keep the medieval flavor of the poem more or less intact.

Line 4 might be going a bit too far with its phrasing, but nothing was ever said about the poem's original flavor being mild.

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Fortuna's Subtlety

In fact, torture is clearly at play here. The wheel as a torture device was used in the middle ages, and the poem was written right in the middle of this period, sometime in the thirteenth century. But even then, there're the final two lines of the stanza that explicitly mention a "laughing, desecrating lash" (ludum, ) that is brought to the speaker's "naked back."

There's really no question that torture imagery is at play here. This might even be building on the subtle dominance of women peeked at in the first stanza of the poem.

Though they lacked prominence in places of power, their influence, however subtle and unseen in history books, cannot be overlooked. Even through to today, women who are villains (and even heroines) more often than not work their schemes through wit and wiles rather that brawn and brawling.

The binary stereotype that men are strong and women are smart (though usually not book smart) has persisted for a long time, and "O Fortuna" definitely looks like a medieval manifestation.

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Translating Poetry can be Torturous

Although it might be a unique variation, what does it mean for the sort of torture imagery here (variably the breaking wheel, and fortune's laughingly lashing a person's back or taking her "pleasure" ("ludum") on a naked back ("dorsum nudum"))?

The Latin word used for "laughter" or "pleasure" is "ludum." This word refers to things like laughter, play, jests, or just a generally fun, interactive time. So how does that relate to being whipped?

On the one hand it could be a bit of the repressed seeping through. In the middle ages those who could write and had the means to do so were trained by the Church. So, it could be that the whip is "laughing" as well as "desecrating" because it injures the body that god created while also relieving the pent up desires that that body has through taking on pain: a feeling as extreme as pleasure.

On the other hand, the above translation does take some license in coming out with "As you bring your laughing, desecrating lash/to my naked back." The poem in Latin reads "...ludum dorsum nudum...," all three of those words are together, but it's not entirely clear what's doing what.

If they all create a single direct object phrase (since they are in the accusative case), then any order could be used. "Laughing naked back," "back laughing naked," "naked back laughing." Even if any of these are used, the element of fun remains in the act of torture.

The only real change in meaning that results from these variations is that the laughter's moved from the whip to the speaker's back: the gashes opened by the whip being likened to the open mouth of someone laughing.

In either case, this is definitely a poem that has more going on than another, more pious piece translated earlier.

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Closing

Check back here on Thursday when Wiglaf views the hoard for the first time, helped by the luminescence of a battle standard.

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On Requests and Namelessness [ll.2743b-2755] (Old English)

Abstract
Translation
Recordings
Digging Deeper into Beowulf's Request
Going Nameless
Closing

{J.R.R. Tolkien: Believer in Beowulf's being an elegy. Image found on The-HobbitMovie.com.}

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Abstract

Beowulf instructs Wiglaf to get some gold from the hoard to show him what he fought for, and Wiglaf runs off to oblige him.

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Translation

       "Now go you quickly
to see the hoard under the grey stone,
dear Wiglaf, now the serpent lay dead,
sleeping in death sorely wounded, deprived of treasure.
Be now in haste that I ancient riches,
the store of gold may see, clearly look at
the bright finely worked jewels, so that I may the more
peacefully after the wealth of treasure leave my
life and lordship; that which I have long held.'
I have heard that then the son of Weohstan quickly obeyed
after the spoken word of his lord in wounds and
in war weariness, bearing mailcoat
the broad ring-shirt, under the barrow’s roof."
(Beowulf ll.2743b-2755)

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Recordings

Old English:

{Forthcoming}

Modern English:

{Forthcoming}

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Digging Deeper into Beowulf's Request

On the surface, Beowulf's request seems simple enough. 'Go and grab some gold, that I may be able to see it,' but there's more to it then a validation of his final battle. Within this request lay the very stuff of revenge.

Beowulf acknowledges that now the serpent is dead and thus "deprived of treasure" ("since bereafod" (l.2746)). Thus, were he to die without seeing what he had fought for then, he would, in a way, not have won at all.

For Beowulf would then not have been able to say that he had laid eyes on that for which he fought, while the dragon enjoyed the sight of it constantly. Further, he also wouldn't have experienced it, and wouldn't therefore have fulifilled the treasure's basic purpose: to be used by being enjoyed through sight (just as a grammatical object is used simply by being linked to a grammatical subject).

However, the act of seeing it, of using it, also puts Beowulf on par with the dragon on the level of greed, since he is not able to dole out the treasure to his people, as any good king must, in person.

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Going Nameless

But, what's curious about this passage is Wiglaf's lacking reference by name. First he is the "son of Weohstan" and then he is referred to with a bit of metonymy when the poet simply says that he bore a mailcoat into the barrow ("hringnet beran/...under beorges hrof" (ll.2754-2755)).

So why does Wiglaf, the one who was instrumental in Beowulf's victory, suddenly lose his name? Perhaps to keep the focus on Beowulf, rather than Wiglaf so that it truly does become an elegy rather than a story of succession, of hope.

It's also possible that this is merely poetic license, but the fact is that Wiglaf is not referred to by name again until line 2852. That's over one hundred lines later, and the point at which his fellow Geats recognize him as the new leader for the first time.

That Wiglaf is named for the occasion of recognition as the new authority strongly suggests that indeed he is occluded for the next 100 lines to keep Beowulf in the spotlight. Going out at Beowulf's behest, Wiglaf isn't really Wiglaf anymore, but he is made into Beowulf's double, at least for the brief time that he scrambles out to the hoard, through it, and back.

It could even be argued, that Wiglaf's washing Beowulf clean and then undoing his helmet are both acts that signify a complete rescindment of the will, perhaps as an acknowledgement of the end of a life. In doing these things Wiglaf drops his own desires and takes up Beowulf's request entirely so that he can be a comfort to the old lord in his final moments.

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Closing

Next week, the second stanza of "O Fortuna" will be posted, and Wiglaf, though nameless, finds himself immersed in a fabulous treasure room.

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