A Beowulf HandbookRobert E. Bjork, John D. Niles The individual chapters by eighteen scholars offer both a rapid survey of scholarly trends in the study of Beowulf and a more sustained exploration of selected problems. Each chapter begins with a brief summary of its contents followed by an annotated chronology of the most important books and articles on the particular topic it treats. The core of each chapter constitutes a history of scholarly interest in the topic under consideration, a synthesis of present knowledge and opinion, and an analysis of scholarly work that remains to be done. All of the chapters have been written to accommodate the needs of a broad audience - from nonspecialists who wish simply to read and enjoy Beowulf to scholars at work on their own research. |
Contents
Introduction Beowulf Truth and Meaning | 1 |
Textual Criticism | 35 |
Prosody | 55 |
Diction Variation the Formula | 85 |
Rhetoric and Style | 105 |
Sources and Analogues | 125 |
Structure and Unity | 149 |
Christian and Pagan Elements | 175 |
Symbolism and Allegory | 233 |
Social Milieu | 255 |
The Hero and the Theme | 271 |
Beowulf and Archaeology | 291 |
Gender Roles | 311 |
Beowulf and Contemporary Critical Theory | 325 |
Translations Versions Illustrations | 341 |
List of Abbreviations | 373 |
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Common terms and phrases
allegory alliteration analogues Anglia Anglo-Saxon England archaeology argues audience battle Beowulf Beowulf poet Brodeur burial century Christian composition context cremation criticism culture Danes Danish Dating of Beowulf diction dragon Earl early edition emendation epic evidence example feud Finnsburg formula Geatish Geats Germanic Greenfield Grendel Grendel's mother Grettis saga Grundtvig hall helmet Hengest Heorot hero heroic Hildeburh Hrólfs saga kraka Hrothgar Hygd Hygelac Ingeld interpretation J. R. R. Tolkien John king Klaeber language lines linguistic literary literature Magoun manuscript meaning Medieval meter metrical modern monsters Müllenhoff myth narrative Niles Old English Poetry Old English verse Old Norse oral original pagan parallels PMLA poem poem's poet's poetic rhetoric Robert role Scandinavian scholars scholarship Scyld Sievers Sievers's social Stanley story stress structure Studies style suggests Sutton Hoo syllable symbolic textual theme theory Thorkelin Tolkien tradition translation Unferth unity University Press variation Viking Wealhtheow Wiglaf women words