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Rereading "Beowulf"
In this work Edward Irving accepts Beowulf as a most distinguished descendant of a long and skillful oral tradition. Only by understanding how rich and powerful meaning can be conveyed in an oral-derived style, he asserts, can one truly understand this poem.
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First published May 1, 1989
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December 3, 2025
While I don’t always agree with his conclusions, Irving presents compelling frameworks through which to view Beowulf. Further, the book is written with a life and ease of comprehension that allows even burgeoning Old English academics to follow his argument. A great resource for anyone wanting to get into Beowulf criticism and a lovely analysis of the poem. As imperfect as all other analyses.
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