Reviews for A Beowulf handbook

The average rating for A Beowulf handbook based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-09-09 00:00:00 Michael Elliott Essential to anyone interested in the history of Beowulf scholarship. The book gives a summary and history of all aspects of Beowulf studies, ranging from language, the manuscript, analogues, digressions, structure and much more. Each chapter is written by an expert in the relevant field, thus Theodore M. Andersson deals with the chapter on analogues, John M. Hill deals with the social setting and John D. Niles handles myth and history. The chapters begins with a list of key dates in Beowulf scholarship, making 1936 the year of Tolkien's Monsters and The Critics, 1731 is the date the manuscript was damaged by fire and 1922 is the date Klaeber published his text of the poem. Contents include: Introduction - on "Beowulf", truth and interpretation, John D. Niles; date, provenance, author, audiences, Robert E. Bjork and Anita Obermeier; textual criticism, R.D. Fulk; the prosody of "Beowulf", Robert P. Stockwell; diction, variation, the formula, Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe; rhetoric and style, Ursula Schaefer; sources and analogues, Theodore M. Andersson; structure and unity, Thomas A. Shippey; Christian and pagan elements, Edward B. Irving; digressions and episodes, Robert E. Bjork; myth and history, John D. Niles; symbolism and allegory, Alvin A. Lee; the social milieu, John M. Hill; gender roles, Alexandra Hennessey Olsen; the hero and the theme, George Clark; "Beowulf" and contemporary critical theory, Seth Lerer; "Beowulf" and archaeology, Catherine M. Hills; translations, versions, illustrations, Marijane Osborn.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-06-23 00:00:00 Julian Simmons I can hardly overstate how excellently useful this is as a companion to reading and studying "Beowulf." Eighteen chapters by different scholars are devoted to those most essential (and infamous) aspects of "Beowulf" scholarship which have always been, and continue to be, of fundamental importance -- e.g. "Date, Provenance, Author, Audiences," "Rhetoric and Style," "Structure and Unity," "Textual Criticism," "Christian and Pagan Elements," "Social Milieu," "Beowulf and Archaeology," "Sources and Analogues," etc. etc. Not only does each individual chapter give an excellent introduction to the topic, and overview of previous scholarship, but each chapter /also/ contains an extremely useful annotated bibliography of works pertaining to that particular topic. Highly recommended, especially for more advanced readers first coming to "Beowulf."