An Anglo-Saxon mystery

The Anglo-Saxon poem called Wulf and Eadwacer, a text so deeply embedded in ambiguity as to have achieved canonic status on that account alone, is the subject of this exercise, which reviews briefly the progress of interpretation from the late 19th century to the present time. It then considers methods of study, as orientated from the source-text, which begets translations, or, conversely from various translations leading back to the source. The pedagogic implications of 'teaching a poem' arise out of this discussion, which consequently questions the purpose and value of translation as an instructional and imaginative exercise.