This article deals with two longstanding interpretive problems in Beowulf criticism. The Beowulf poet’s laconic style, grounded in the assumption of audience familiarity with legendary tradition, has rendered the representation of various characters rather obscure to modern readers. Comparison of Beowulf with the Nibelungenlied, which contains fuller portraits of characters derived from related oral traditions, is undertaken here in order to point toward the archetypes behind some of the poem’s shadier characters. The utility of the Nibelungenlied as a comparandum in Beowulf scholarship is illustrated in two case studies, the first of which focuses on Unferth and Hagen, the second of which focuses on Hildeburh and Kriemhild. In each case, the reticence of Beowulf is complemented by the verbosity of the Nibelungenlied, as evidence from the latter helps to tilt the scales in favor of certain interpretations of the former.

中文翻译：

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论贝奥武夫和尼伯龙根之歌：顾问、王后和人物塑造

本文涉及贝奥武夫批评中两个长期存在的解释问题。贝奥武夫诗人以观众熟悉传奇传统为基础的简洁风格使现代读者对各种人物的表现变得相当模糊。此处将贝奥武夫与尼伯龙根之歌进行比较，尼伯龙根之歌包含从相关口述传统衍生而来的更完整的人物肖像，是为了指出这首诗中一些阴暗人物背后的原型。Nibelungenlied 作为 Beowulf 奖学金比较的效用在两个案例研究中得到说明，第一个案例研究侧重于 Unferth 和 Hagen，第二个案例研究侧重于 Hildeburh 和 Kriemhild。在每种情况下，贝奥武夫的沉默与尼伯龙根之歌的冗长相辅相成，