Upphaf . . .

What a delightful first read! The “UPPHAF” (Beginning) of the poem, the first 8-line stanza:

Of old was an age
when was emptiness,
there was sand nor sea
nor surging waves;
unwrought was Earth,
unroofed was Heaven—
an abyss yawning,
and no blade of grass.

The alliterative stresses are on vowels in the line pairs or on repeated consonants. So you don’t read it like English poetry with iambs or whatever; instead you stress the alliterated sounds, which really adds a great deal of meaning. I read the first section of Volsungakvida en nyja, “Upphaf,” aloud and enjoyed it a great deal. The dog thought I’d lost it.

It’s the beginning, in case you didn’t get that yet, of the tale of the Volsungs. The gods build the earth and all is well until the Giants attack . In response the gods create Thor’s Hammer, with which he scatters the Giants. Then the wise woman prophesies, a rather enigmatic foretelling of Sigurd’s appearing:

If in day of Doom
one deathless stands,
who death hath tasted
and dies no more,
the serpent-slayer,
seed of Odin,
then all shall not end,
nor earth perish. (63)

The section ends with the gods feasting, rather uneasily awaiting the “World’s chosen” (65).

So far Tolkien has captured the Northern “feel” of the tale, and he’s gotten in a lot of the Norse mythology—really packed into the 8-line stanzas: Heimdal, the Sentinel of the gods; the rainbow bridge connecting Asgard and Midgard (Middle-earth); Yggdrasill, the World Tree; Fenrir, the wolf—foe of Odin; Surt, the fire-demon; and the Serpent of Midgard. So the stage is set, Now we await our hero.