A Companion to Beowulf
eBook - PDF

A Companion to Beowulf

  1. 248 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

A Companion to Beowulf

About this book

Perhaps the most important work written in Old English, Beowulf grew out of a culture very different from ours, and yet its story of war, violence, and heroism remains relevant to modern readers. Accessible to high school students, general readers, and undergraduates, this companion overviews the poem and its legacy. The initial chapters review the plot of Beowulf, while later chapters discuss its style and language, its cultural and historical contexts, and its afterlife in contemporary popular culture. The first part of the book provides information of interest to a wide range of readers, while the second covers more specialized topics. Thus the initial chapters review the merits of different translations and offer a detailed plot summary, while later chapters discuss the poem's language and style, its treatment of religion, its relation to Anglo-Saxon culture, and its legacy in popular culture. One of the greatest Beowulf scholars was J.R.R. Tolkien, and the book gives special attention to his use of the poem in his own fiction. High school students, undergraduates, and general readers will find this book a valuable guide to one of the most challenging yet enduring works of English literature.

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Yes, you can access A Companion to Beowulf by Ruth A. Johnston in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & English Literary Criticism. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher
Greenwood
Year
2005
Print ISBN
9780313332241
eBook ISBN
9780313027291

Table of contents

  1. Contents
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. Preface
  4. How to Use This Book
  5. I Introduction to the Context of Beowulf
  6. 2 Choosing a Translation
  7. 3 The Hero Comes to Denmark
  8. 4 Beowulf versus Grendel
  9. 5 Beowulf versus Grendel's Mother
  10. 6 Beowulf versus the Dragon
  11. 7 Literary Techniques
  12. 8 Placing Beowulf on a Timeline
  13. 9 Language and Poetry
  14. 10 Religion in Beowulf
  15. 11 Anglo-Saxon Culture
  16. 12 Modern Adaptations of Beowulf
  17. 13 The Beowulfian World of J. R. R. Tolkien
  18. Glossary of Names
  19. Works Cited
  20. Index