Perhaps every Anglo-Saxon scholar has his own theory as to how Beowulf

Only Question number 1 and 4 are harder 2, 3 are easy questions and 12 minutes is definitely a long time.

Good Luck

I'm happy to post the explanations if needed. Will edit this post if need be, but its better to get a few experts to reply first.

All correct in 8 mins 45 seconds, though was not sure about Q1.

Question 1: From the information in the passage, which of the following can be inferred about Beowulf?

(A) Beowulf was originally written in prose form. - incorrect,
Perhaps every Anglo-Saxon scholar has his own theory as to how Beowulf should be translated.Some have given us prose versions of what we believe to be a great poem.

(B) A lot of scholars erroneously consider Beowulf an epic. - incorrect,
Is it any reflection on our honoured Kemble and Arnold to say that their translations fail to show a layman that Beowulf is justly called our first epic?
The present work is a modest effort to reproduce approximately, in modern measures, the venerable epic, Beowulf.

(C) Some translators have reduced the gravity of Beowulf ’s speeches in their translations.

(D) Beowulf, in its original form, does not appeal to most readers. - incorrect, if we change most to modern, then this sentence might be valid
for a very close reproduction of Anglo-Saxon verse would, to a large extent, be prose and uninteresting to a modern ear.
(E) Beowulf was a bold and venturesome work that appeals primarily to only daring readers.- incorrect, this is what the author talks about the translation of Beowulf
The student of English literature he aims to interest by giving him, in modern garb, the most ancient epic of our race. This is a bold and venturesome undertaking;

"Of those translators who have used verse, several have written from what would seem a mistaken point of view. Is it proper, for instance, that the grave and solemn speeches of Beowulf and Hrothgar be put in ballad measures, tripping lightly and airily along?"
Can we infer option C based on the above lines?

AjiteshArun , GMATNinja , MagooshExpert , GMATGuruNY , VeritasPrepBrian , MartyTargetTestPrep , DmitryFarber , VeritasKarishma , generis , jennpt , other experts - please enlighten

Skywalker18 , yes.
This prose is in one of my wheelhouses, but I think that the prose is hard. Your time is very good.

First, you eliminated the other four answers accurately. Nice catch on the most/modern distinction.

Second, what option C says is the plain English version of this author's overwrought prose. You picked the correct lines.

Although he uses questions, in every line except the first the author is asserting that another translator made an error.
He lists each error, including the fact that poetic verse in the form of a ballad obscures the gravity of Beowulf's character and speeches.

I numbered lines in the original (see footnote) and in this very rough rewrite in plain English.
#3a deals with option (C).

• PLAIN ENGLISH translation of the first paragraph.
In translating Beowulf, many people have made mistakes:
1) [it's a poem, not prose]. Most scholars think that Beowulf is a poem, but some people have mistakenly translated it into regular prose

2) [Beowulf is an accessible story, not a highbrow philosophy book]. Kemble and Arnold's version is so hard to read that a layperson, who should understand her or his "origin" stories—the epics—can't understand and thus can't appreciate the epic quality of the story.

3) [Even the versions rendered as poems have errors] Even people who have translated Beowulf into a poem have written from "the wrong point of view": those translators chose types of poems whose structure cannot convey the serious, heavy, and warlike aspects of both the characters and the story.

(3a) [BALLADS do not suit the gravity and solemnity] of Beowulf and Hrothgar's characters and speeches.
Beowulf and Hrothgar sound ridiculous in "ballad measures." (4 line stanzas with a rhyme scheme ABAB or ABCB).
Ballads are light and airy. They "trip" along. They dance lightly.
Beowulf and Hrothgar, by contrast, gave grave and solemn speeches whose gravity and solemnity do not come through in these translations that are ballads.

(3b) [MODERN BLANK VERSE also ruins Beowulf.]
Modern blank verse is another kind of poem. It contains no rhyme but does use iambic pentameter (a kind of meter and syllable stress).
Modern blank verse is too smooth. We lose the sense of clash and clamor of epic warriors.

Yes. Option (C) is correct and can be inferred from the lines that you picked.

(C) Some translators have reduced the gravity of Beowulf ’s speeches in their translations.

[From your lines and my rough translation into plain English]: Some people have used ballads to translate Beowulf.
Ballads are poems written in 4-line stanzas with a sing-song rhyme pattern of ABAB or ABCB.
Ballads are balletic, with a light and airy quality.
Beowulf was not a light and airy guy. He gave "grave and solemn speeches."
Those who translated his speeches in ballad form diluted the gravity of Beowulf's speeches.

We don't need an expert's analysis for this question.

Skywalker18 is spot on. +1


** FIRST PARAGRAPH (original)
1) Some have given us prose versions of what we believe to be a great poem.
2) Is it any reflection on our honoured Kemble and Arnold to say that their translations fail to show a layman that Beowulf is justly called our first epic?
3) Of those translators who have used verse, several have written from what would seem a mistaken point of view.
-- 3a) Is it proper, for instance, that the grave and solemn speeches of Beowulf and Hrothgar be put in ballad measures, tripping lightly and airily along?
-- 3b) Or, again, is it fitting that the rough martial music of Anglo-Saxon verse be interpreted to us in the smooth measures of modern blank verse?
Do we hear what has been beautifully called “the clanging tread of a warrior in mail”?

Hi, not sure I'm clear on this explanation to eliminate (A) for (E)...would it be too much if I asked you to try again? Thanks!

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