Many of the inconsistencies between Tennyson's translation and the literal translation can be traced to Hallam Tennyson's prose version of the poem. In fact, quite a few of Tennyson's phrases come directly from Hallam's translation. Here are a few examples:
Tennyson:
"Gaining a lifelong glory in Battle"
Hallam:
"lifelong glory they gain'd in the strife"
Tennyson:
"Hew'd the lindenwood
Hack'd the battleshields"
Hallam:
"they hew'd the battle-shields of lindenwood"
Tennyson:
"Sons of Edward with hammer'd brands"
Hallam:
"with hammer'd brands they hew'd them- these sons of Edward"
Tennyson:
"All the field with blood of the fighters
Flow'd..."
Hallam:
"the field flow'd with blood of warriors"
Tennyson:
"Lamp of the Lord God,
Lord Everlasting,
Glode over earth til the glorious creature
Sank to his setting."
Hallam:
"The bright lamp of God the everlasting Lord, glided over earth, even
until this noble creature sank to his setting."
Tennyson:
"Fiercely we hack'd at the flyers before us"
Hallam:
"Quickly they hack'd at the fliers from behind."
Tennyson:
"...over the weltering waters
Borne in the bark's bosom."
Hallam:
"over the weltering waves, in the bark's bosom"
Tennyson:
"Saving his life on the fallow flood"
Hallam:
"On the fallow flood he saved his life."
Tennyson:
"Many a carcase they left to be carrion,
Many a livid one, many a sallow skin,
Left for the white-tail'd eagle to tear it, and
Left for the horny-nibb'd raven to rend it, and
Gave to the garbaging war-hawk to gorge it, and
That gray beast, the wolf of the weald."
Hallam:
"Many a carcase they left behind them, many a sallow skin for the swarthy
raven with horny beak to tear; the livid corpse they left behind them for
the ern with white tail to gorge as carrion, for the greedy war-hawk, and
for that gray beast, the wolf of the weald."
Tennyson:
"Haughty war-workers who
Harried the Welshman when
Earls that were lured by the
Hunger of glory gat
Hold of the land."
Hallam:
"When haughty war-smiths overcame the Welshmen, and earls full of the lust of
glory gat hold of the land."
Last modified 1996