Introductory Guides and Collections of Criticism

Clark, George. Beowulf. Boston : Twayne Publishers, 1990.

An introductory study. Good place for beginning students to begin.

Fry, Donald K. The Beowulf Poet: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1968.

A collection of essays on the poem current up to the mid 1960s.

Fulk, R.D., ed. Interpretations of Beowulf: A Critical Anthology. Indiana University Press. Indianapolis: 1991.

Fulk's anthology is a diverse collection of critical approaches to Beowulf. Essays range from the poem's structure and design to Christian and intellectual perspectives to theory on the narrative. The collection includes J.R.R. Tolkien's famous "The Monsters and the Critics," in which he critiques the history of Beowulf criticism to his own day.

Godden, Malcolm and Michael Lapidge, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Old English literature. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.

A student's guide to Old English literature. See the essay on Beowulf by Fred Robinson, which is a good essay to begin with.

Greenfield, Stanley B. and Daniel G. Calder. A new critical history of old English literature. New York : New York University Press, 1986.

Excellent overview of the history of Old English literature with a good chapter on Beowulf and heroic poetry. A good place to start for an orientation to Beowulf in literary historical context.

Nicholson, Lewis E., ed. An Anthology of Beowulf Criticism. South Bend, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1963.

A standard collection of scholarly essays on Beowulf up to the early 1960s.

Studies of Beowulf

Chambers, R.W. Beowulf: An Introduction to the Study of the Poem with a Discussion of the Stories of Offa and Finn. 3rd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1959.

This book provides a comprehensive answer to the many questions brought up by the epic poem. Included in its pages are a genealogical table, tracing the Danish, Swedish, and Geat Royal families, a recollection of the important historical facts, documentation of the Beowulf saga, and theories about the origin of the poem. In addition to providing the large volume of information about the text, the author includes many other sources of insight into the Beowulf legacy (other works, recent and past).

Chase, Colin, ed. The Dating of Beowulf. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1981.

This book is a compilation of studies done from 1979 to 1981 to determine the date when Beowulf was composed. The studies used many different methods to determine its origins, from grammar and sentence construction to comparing the text to historical knowledge. The collected essays present many opinions, but they do not make any conclusions.

Huppé, Bernard F. The Hero in the Earthly City. Binghamton, NY: State University of New York at Binghamton, 1971

The aim of this reading of Beowulf is to present a coherent view of the theme and structure of the poem. For the reader with little or no acquaintance with Beowulf, this book presents the epic not as a primitive work of art, but treats it with the depth it deserves. Includes a translation.

Irving, Edward B. Jr., Rereading Beowulf. Philadelphia: U. of Pennsylvania Press, 1989.

This book is an excellent source for a contemporary literary analysis of Beowulf. The book covers: a nonoral approach to analyzing Heorot, an oral mode of characterization of all the characters and Kings, the typical methods of narrative construction, and a whole chapter devoted to studying the Hall as a unifying factor in Beowulf. Other contributers to the book are Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe, John Porter, Phyllis Rackin, and Paul Beekman Taylor.

Kendall, Calvin B. Voyage to the Other World: The Legacy of Sutton Hoo. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1992.

This book of essays was written for the fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of Sutton Hoo, the richest early medieval burial found in the British Isles. The discovery was used immediately to support the traditional dating of the poem Beowulf, which some believe to be composed in the late seventh or early eighth century. The chapters of the book go on to examine links between Sutton Hoo and Beowulf, the impact of Sutton Hoo on the study of Anglo-Saxon history, and includes maps and illustrations of archeological finds in northern Europe.

Kiernan, Kevin. Beowulf and the Beowulf Manuscript. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1981.

Kiernan's book focuses on the Beowulf manuscript itself and presents an argument for recovering its historical context. It also considers the dialects and language of the poem. The first page of the book has an excellent reproduction of a leaf of the original manuscript.

Lawrence, William W. Beowulf And Epic Traditions. New York: Hafner Publishing Company, 1961.

Lawrence concentrates on the text's position in the history and culture of the time the story takes place in and the period of the author, with emphasis on social and political background.

Niles, John D. Beowulf : the poem and its tradition. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1983.

A good overview of the main issues in Beowulf criticism, with a focus on approaches to the poem that foreground the oral traditions of Old English poetry.

Overing, Gilian R. Language, Sign, and Gender in Beowulf. Southern Illinois University Press: Carbondale and Edwardsville; 1990.

In an overall study of the language of Beowulf, Overing shows the textual effects and affects of the manuscript. The author also does a close study of semiosis in Beowulf, through which she analyzes the signs and symbols in the story. She concludes with a study of gender and its interpretation in Beowulf.

Robinson, Fred C. Beowulf and the Appositive Style. Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press, 1985

This book examines apposition as well as poetic compounds, amphibolies, and certain other narrative devices as keys to style and structure of Beowulf. The book consists of three separate lectures on 1) Appostive style and the theme of Beowulf, 2) Apposed word meanings and religious perspectives, and 3) Grammatical apposition and some Beowulfian themes.

Stanley, Eric. In the Foreground: Beowulf. Cambridge and Rochester, NY : D.S. Brewer, 1994.

This book describes "what is said of Beowulf" and "what is known of Beowulf." In part one, Stanley describes Beowulf in literary history, in the second the uncertainties of the date and transmission of the poem. He also covers some metrical considerations, poetic diction, and ornamentation, as well as prayers, praise, and thanksgiving in Old English verse.

Whitelock, Dorothy. The Audience of Beowulf. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1951.

The three lectures contained in this book are not an exhustive study of Beowulf. Whitelock's approach focuses on the audience because it is far removed from us in time. Therefore, to get a full understanding of the epic, Whitelock attemps to figure out the contribution of the audience. In so doing, contemporary audiences are able to decipher much of the allusions, reminders, and suggestions that exist throughout the poem.

Williams, David. Cain and Beowulf: A Study in Secular Allegory. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982.

Cain and Beowulf explores the Cain tradition and the early Christian perception of Cain as the "seed of Satan". The book examines how this idea of Cain is used in Beowulf to characterize the evils of monster and man. The book also discusses the social context of the poem, concluding that it was written during a period where pagan institutions were being transformed into Christian ones, incorporating the ideals of Christian justice, brotherhood, and universal kinship.