Product Information
Beowulf is much more than a poem. It is more than just literature. It is an emblematic statement of nationhood. One of the defining documents of Anglo-Saxon England, it remains - a thousand years after it was written - an iconic narrative of emergent English identity. Yet for all its importance and significance, no book introducing this foundational epic text, in all its violent complexity, has been attempted for over forty years. Heather O'Donoghue here remedies that neglect. Seamlessly melding history, literature and reception, she addresses the poem's provenance and background; its setting in an imagined region of sixth-century pagan Denmark; its innovative narrative devices, including flashbacks and flash-forwards; its ideas and ideals of heroism; its sinister monsters (whether homicidal Grendel, Grendel's terrifying mother or the fatal dragon and eventual nemesis of the tale's eponymous Geatish hero); and its rich meanings, legacy and afterlives. Shedding fresh light on the poem's unique alliterative style, this is the most complete portrait yet written of a story whose lasting appeal is matched only by its genius.Product Identifiers
PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
ISBN-139781788312882
eBay Product ID (ePID)14046560496
Product Key Features
Book TitleBeowulf, the Warrior: a Tale of Monsters, Vikings and Heroes
AuthorHeather O'donoghue
FormatHardcover
LanguageEnglish
TopicArchaeology, Literature, Religious History, Mythology
Publication Year2019
TypeTextbook
Number of Pages256 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height216mm
Item Width135mm
Additional Product Features
Title_AuthorHeather O'donoghue
Country/Region of ManufactureUnited Kingdom