Last night, Trinity Literary Society (LitSoc) welcomed back writer Richard Swan as he discussed the link between Macbeth, Sir Gawain and the Green Knightand Beowulf through the word “wyrd”, which means fate in Old English. An award-winning author and a celebrated academic, he previously spoke at Trinity on about T S Eliot.
Addressing a small crowd, Swan stated that his aim for the evening was to provoke a reaction, to distort conventional timelines and to stress the importance of oral culture in an epoch during which written production is paramount. As an introduction, he asked the audience some simple historical questions such as when the first man landed on the moon, when Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland and if we knew when the first settlers arrived in this country. As the guests willingly answered the exact dates, he pointed out that time is just a convention and that his argument would stretch from the seventh to the 17th century.
He continued by emphasising how oral production is still full of possibilities, compared to our modern over-reliance on written sources. Up until the Middle Ages, it was way more common to preserve poetry orally before putting it down to paper. Finally, he presented the books inspiring him for the talk, Macbeth, Sir Gawain and the Green Knightand Beowulf, arguing that they were linked through the use of this Old English word wyrd.
According to Swan, Beowulf is the ideal example of how oral culture is crucial in the understanding of written literature. The Anglo-Saxons had always been interested in poetry, despite not immediately translating their poems into written works. Beowulf’s first edition dates back to the eighth century. Reciting its incipit by heart, Swan argued that it contained everything necessary for his argument, stressing the wonder of the lonely man asking for mercy in order to highlight the constant tension between Pagan predestination and Christian free will. In this context, he quoted the poem itself: “Wyrd goes as she always must.” A physical manifestation of the written Pagan word, Beowulf shows an affinity with Christianity, as he is ready to rely on God before his final battle with the dragon.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight dates back to the 14th century. It is a chivalric romance that is a far cry from Beowulf’s multifaceted world of monsters and Anglo-Saxon social structures. According to Swan, however, there is a strong link between the two works through the concept of wyrd. After declaring that it is the greatest poem the English-language has ever produced, he argued that both heroes were torn between paganism and Christianity and effort was made to explore this through the medium of faith. However, while Beowulf trusted God, Sir Gawain does not seem to rely on him, being resigned when he has to face his challenges and refusing to recognise how empowering free will could be.
Finally, addressing the 17th-century tragedy Macbeth, Swan argued that there is a stark contrast between the villain Macbeth and the hero Beowulf. Initially, it appears that there is little Christianity in Shakespeare’s masterpiece. Indeed, God is not referenced at all. However, when Macbeth claims he is going to visit the witches, he uses the word wyrd, showing that, even though he doesn’t appear to care about Christian religion, he maintains a faith. This shows the continuous tradition in addressing the conceptual importance of belief, from seventh-century Beowulf to the 17th-century Macbeth.
To conclude, Swan declared once more his love for medieval English literature. He argued that in his opinion, there is not much after Shakespeare except for John Keats and T S Eliot. He then opened the floor for final questions that ranged from how to approach tension today between superstition and Christianity and how to explain the passage from the noun wyrd to the similar modern-day adjective weird. He also by pointed out the importance in preserving oral culture in the era of social media, considering the fact that while written testimonies are a privileged means of communication, little time is spent writing, reading or talking with each other.
The audience’s interest for Swan’s lively personality and witty remarks was so strong that the event lasted half an hour longer than expected, a sure sign of success.
Correction: 17:31, March 31st, 2017
An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Richard Swan as a poet. In fact, he is an author. The article also incorrectly stated that the translation of the Old English word “wyrd” was faith. In fact, the word means fate.
