The Mode and Meaning of 'Beowulf'
The Mode and Meaning of 'Beowulf'

Author: Margaret E. Goldsmith

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2014-01-13

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 1472511948

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In this important contribution to Anglo-Saxon studies Dr Goldsmith presents a fully elaborated and documented interpretation of Beowulf based on the original theories which she has put forward in recent years and which have aroused considerable interest and controversy in scholarly circles. Her view of the poem as the product of a marriage of cultural traditions, a historical epic with allegorical significance, is developed in the context of a close analysis of the doctrinal and literary environment prevailing during the period A.D. 650-800, within which composition is placed. Dr Goldsmith seeks to show that the poem has a unified and coherent structure and in the process resolves many textual and interpretative problems of long standing. Beowulf is clearly seen as a serious work of art standing at the head of the vernacular tradition of allegorical poetry.

A Beowulf Handbook
A Beowulf Handbook

Author: Robert E. Bjork

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 1997-01-01

Total Pages: 492

ISBN-13: 9780803212374

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The most revered work composed in Old English, Beowulf is one of the landmarks of European literature. This handbook supplies a wealth of insights into all major aspects of this wondrous poem and its scholarly tradition. Each chapter provides a history of the scholarly interest in a particular topic, a synthesis of present knowledge and opinion, and an analysis of scholarly work that remains to be done. Written to accommodate the needs of a broad audience, A Beowulf Handbook will be of value to nonspecialists who wish simply to read and enjoy Beowulf and to scholars at work on their own research. In its clear and comprehensive treatment of the poem and its scholarship, this book will prove an indispensable guide to readers and specialists for many years to come.

The Origins of Beowulf
The Origins of Beowulf

Author: Richard North

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2007-02-08

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 0191525731

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This book suggests that the Old English epic Beowulf was composed in the winter of 826-7 as a requiem for King Beornwulf of Mercia on behalf of Wiglaf, the ealdorman who succeeded him. The place of composition is given as the minster of Breedon on the Hill in Leicestershire (now Derbyshire) and the poet is named as the abbot, Eanmund. As well as pinpointing the poem's place and date of composition, Richard North raises some old questions relating to the poet's influences from Vergil and from living Danes. Norse analogues are discussed in order to identify how the poet changed his heroic sources while four episodes from Beowulf are shown to be reworked from passages in Vergil's Aeneid. One chapter assesses how the poem's Latin sources might correspond with what is known of Breedon's now-lost library while another seeks to explain Danish mythology in Beowulf by arguing that Breedon hosted a meeting with Danish Vikings in 809. This fascinating and challenging new study combines careful detective work with meticulous literary analysis to form a case that no future investigation will be able to ignore.

The Metrical Grammar of Beowulf
The Metrical Grammar of Beowulf

Author: Calvin B. Kendall

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1991-06-28

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 0521393256

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This book argues that the Old English epic Beowulf is shaped by the poetic language which the poet inherited.

Rituals of Power
Rituals of Power

Author: Frans Theuws

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2021-10-01

Total Pages: 515

ISBN-13: 9004477551

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13 papers by 16 leading archaeologists and historians of late antiquity and the early middle ages break new ground in their discussion, analysis and criticism of present interpretations of early medieval rituals and their material correlates. Some deal with rituals relating to death, life cycles and the circulation in other contexts of objects otherwise used in the burial ritual. Others are concerned with the symbolism and ideology of royal power, the formation of a political ideology east of the Rhine from the mid-5th century onwards, and penance rituals in relation to Carolingian episcopal discourse on ecclesiastical power and morale. All deal with the creation of new identities, cultures, norms and values, and their expression in new rituals and ideas from the period of the Great Migrations through the Later Roman Empire down to the society of Beowulf and the later Carolingians.

The Beowulf Reader
The Beowulf Reader

Author: Peter Stuart Baker

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 0815336667

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This collection of significant studies from the past 25 years of scholarship on Beowulf has been selected to represent the various approaches that have dominated Beowulf studies, and to illustrate the evolution of Old English literary criticism.

Beowulf
Beowulf

Author: Harold Bloom

Publisher: Infobase Publishing

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 113

ISBN-13: 1438114419

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Discusses the characters, plot and writing of the epic poem involving the legendary hero Beowulf and his battle with the creature Grendel.

Heroic Identity in the World of Beowulf
Heroic Identity in the World of Beowulf

Author: Scott Gwara

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2009-01-31

Total Pages: 436

ISBN-13: 9047425022

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Readers of Beowulf have noted inconsistencies in Beowulf's depiction, as either heroic or reckless. Heroic Identity in the World of Beowulf resolves this tension by emphasizing Beowulf's identity as a foreign fighter seeking glory abroad. Such men resemble wreccan, "exiles" compelled to leave their homelands due to excessive violence. Beowulf may be potentially arrogant, therefore, but he learns prudence. This native wisdom highlights a king's duty to his warband, in expectation of Beowulf's future rule. The dragon fight later raises the same question of incompatible identities, hero versus king. In frequent reference to Greek epic and Icelandic saga, this revisionist approach to Beowulf offers new interpretations of flyting rhetoric, the custom of "men dying with their lord," and the poem's digressions.

Beowulf
Beowulf

Author: Howell D. Chickering

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2012-02-15

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 0307574393

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The first major poem in English literature, Beowulf tells the story of the life and death of the legendary hero Beowulf in his three great battles with supernatural monsters. The ideal Anglo-Saxon warrior-aristocrat, Beowulf is an example of the heroic spirit at its finest. Leading Beowulf scholar Howell D. Chickering, Jr.’s, fresh and lively translation, featuring the Old English on facing pages, allows the reader to encounter Beowulf as poetry. This edition incorporates recent scholarship and provides historical and literary context for the modern reader. It includes the following: an introduction a guide to reading aloud a chart of royal genealogies notes on the background of the poem critical commentary glosses on the eight most famous passages, for the student who wishes to translate from the original an extensive bibliography From the Trade Paperback edition.

Beowulf
Beowulf

Author: Jodi-Anne George

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2009-12-09

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 1137098015

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Of unknown authorship, Beowulf is an Old English epic poem which incites contentious debate and has been endlessly interpreted over the centuries. This Reader's Guide provides a much-needed overview of the large body of Beowulf criticism, moving from 18th century reactions to 21st century responses. Jodi-Ann George: - Charts the changes in critical trends and theoretical approaches applied to the poem. - Includes discussion of J. R. R. Tolkein's pioneering 1936 lecture on Beowulf , and Seamus Heaney's recent translation. - Analyses Beowulf in popular culture, addressing the poem's life in film versions, graphic novels, music and comics. Clear and engaging, this is an indispensable introductory guide to a widely-studied and enigmatic work which continues to fascinate readers everywhere.