Decided to pull this out of the comments on this week's books post because I have a lot of opinions (shouts out to @garak for inspiring this). For the best experience I recommend being able to listen to/watch the linked YouTubes, but you can of course just read what I'm saying!
let's start with Beowulf
In my post, I said that a crucial feature of Maria Dahvana Headley's translation of Beowulf was that it reads like a transcribed oral work, and (at least for me) essentially demands to be read out loud. I think it's important to note here that Beowulf most likely started as oral tradition, as the kind of story you'd hear in a big hall, probably while people were drinking. In a world where most people can't read, you need story to pass along the important things—and the way you tell the story influences how you experience it.
I would have done it loud and proud except I usually read at night when Liz is trying to sleep and that would have annoyed her. Anyway Liz is absolutely right and I cannot recommend highly enough saying at least the real juicy Shakespeare lines out loud to yourself because it is an incomparable experience.
