ENGL 2210 - Early British Literature: Beowulf

- Concise critical excerpts that provide a scholarly overview of the work - "The Story Behind the Story," detailing the conditions under which the work was written - A biographical sketch of the author, a descriptive list of characters, an extensive summary and analysis, and an annotated bibliography.

Containing touches of Christian and pagan symbolism, Beowulf is the source of many medieval and Renaissance legends. It also influenced J.R.R. Tolkien, and helped spawn the fantasy genre so popular today in literature and film. Arm students for immersion in the study of this mythic adventure with Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations. Newly updated, Beowulf includes full-length, interpretive essays that provide expert commentary, as well as introductions, a chronology, notes on the contributors, and a bibliography.

Introduction: the artistry of Beowulf / / Donald K. Fry -- Beowulf: the monsters and the critics, / / J. R. R. Tolkien -- Style and structure of Beowulf / / Joan Blomfield --Beowulf / Richard Wilbur -- Beowulf and Christian allegory: an interpretation of Unferth / / Morton W. Bloomfield -- Dramatic audience in Beowulf / / R. M. Lumiansky -- Oral-formulaic character of Anglo-Saxon narrative poetry / / Francis P. Magoun, Jr. -- Beowulf and archaeology / / Rosemary Cramp -- Making of an Anglo-Saxon poem / / Robert P. Creed -- Point of view and design for terror in Beowulf / / Alain Renoir -- Classics revisited-IV: Beowulf / / Kenneth Rexroth.

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.