Interpretations of Beowulf

the long version

Interpretation of Beowulf brings together more than six decades of literary scholarship. The anthology illustrates a variety of interpretative schools, and the selection of essays not only deals with most of the major issues of Beowulf criticism, including structure, style, genre, and theme, but also offers the sort of explanation of particular passages that is invaluable to a careful reading of a poem. this up-to-date collection of significant critical approaches fills a long-standing need for a companion volume for the study of the poem. Larger patterns in the history of Beowulf criticism are also traceable in the chronological order of the collection. -- from back cover.