Ezra Pound's "The Seafarer"

Ezra Pound's translation of "The Seafarer" provides grounds for being both a good translation and a poor one. Pound maintains the elements of Anglo-Saxon poetry. He stays tru to alliterative accentual verse by using caesura, alliteration, and stressed syllables. Line ten is a great example of this verse, and brings the atmosphere of "The Seafarer" to life: "Chill its chains are; chafing signs hew my heart round." Pound also regularly uses kennings and epithets. Perhaps the most important quality which allows Pound to stay tru to the Anglo-Saxon verse is that he translated the poem as a poem, rather than a narrative.
The original "The Seafarer" seems to be composed of two parts, the first half lamenting and the second half didactic. The huge difference between Pound's translation and that of another is that Pound completely cuts out lines 100-124--thus leaving out the didactic element of the poem. Pound also purposefully mis-translates line 78 to read "And his laud beyond them remain 'mid the English" rather than "with the angels". The Christian element of the poem magically disappears, leaving the audience with a lament. There is no redemption, no warmth.
Though Pound's translation stayed true to the Anglo-Saxon poetry elements, he strayed far from their culture of truth. He knew the impact of the Gospel was greatly evident, and he took every stride to eliminate it. Such are the ways of those who know the Truth but seek to destroy it. Truth is indestructable, so most simply ignore the Truth. When one reads further into Pound's translation or any like his, he will discover that ignorance isn't so blissful afterall.