Beowulf is the longest and finest literary work to have come down to us from Anglo-Saxon times
and one of the world's greatest epic poems. Set in the half-legendary half historical
Scandinavian past it tells the story of the hero Beowulf who comes to the aid of the Danish
king Hrothgar by killing first the terrifying demonic monster Grendel and then Grendel's
infuriated and vengeful mother. A lifetime later Beowulf's own kingdom Geatland isthreatened
by a fiery dragon Beowulf heroically takes on this challenge but himself dies killing the
dragon. The poem celebrates the virtues of the heroic life but Hrothgar and Beowulf are
beacons of wisdom and courage in a dark world of feuds violence and uncertainty and Beowulf's
selfless heroism is set against a background of ruthless power struggles fratricide and
tyranny. This acclaimed translation is complemented by a critical introduction and substantial
editorial apparatus. `The poem has at last found its translator . ..supremely well done'
Charles Causley ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available
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