The Beowulf Poet

20th Century Views

by Donald K. Fry

An ex-library book in excellent condition!

Genres: Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction

177 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1968

Reviews

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good solid collection of essays on Beowulf.

Contents: Introduction: The artistry of Beowulf, by D. K. Fry.
Beowulf: the monsters and the critics, by J. R. R. Tolkien.
The style and structure of Beowulf, by J. Blomfield.
Beowulf, by R. Wilbur.
Beowulf and Christian allegory: an interpretation of Unferth, by M. W. Bloomfield.
The dramatic audience in Beowulf, by R. M. Lumiansky.
Oral-formulaic character of Anglo-Saxon narrative poetry, by F. P. Magoun, Jr.
Beowulf and archaeology, by R. Cramp.
The making of an Anglo-Saxon poem, by R. P. Creed.
Point of view and design for terror in Beowulf, by A. Renoir.
Classics revisited, Beowulf, by K. Rexroth.

[Colin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of mid-20th century essays on the poet behind Beowulf. Rather dry and of questionable usefulness, in my opinion.

[Sara H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is worth reading if only for Tolkien's essay. A modern student like myself (studied Beowulf first in 86) may not know the history of criticism and how the epic poem was viewed prior to Tolkien's influence. This helped me understand a bit of the old criticism before taking a look at modern criticism.

[Pabarrett]

The Beowulf poet; a collection of critical essays by Donald K. Fry (1968)