A Beowulf HandbookRobert E. Bjork, John D. Niles "This work fills a need long felt by students of Beowulf. . . . [It] gives a real sense of the excitement and variety of Beowulf studies. . . . An accessible guide".-Envoi. 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. Robert E. Bjork is a professor of English at Arizona State University. He is the author of The Old English Verse Saints' Lives: A Study in Direct Discourse and the Iconography of Style. John D. Niles is a professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of Beowulf: The Poem and Its Tradition. |
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 Anglo-Saxon archaeology argues audience battle Beowulf Beowulf poet Brodeur burial century Christian composition context cremation criticism culture Danes Danish diction digressions and episodes discussion dragon early edition emendation England epic evidence example feud Finnsburg formula Geatish Geats Germanic Greenfield Grendel Grendel story Grendel's mother Grettis saga Grundtvig helmet Heorot hero hero's heroic Hildeburh Hrólfs saga kraka Hrothgar Hygd Hygelac interpretation J. R. R. Tolkien John king Klaeber later 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 passages peaceweaver poem poem's poet's poetic readers reference rhetoric role Scandinavian scholarly scholars scholarship scribes Scyld Sievers Sievers's social story stress structure studies style suggests Sutton Hoo syllable symbolic textual theme theory Thorkelin Tolkien tradition translation Unferth unity variation Wealhtheow Wiglaf words