Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780261103559
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Tolkien's famous translations and lectures on the story of two fifth-century heroes in northern Europe. Professor J.R.R.Tolkien is most widely known as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but he was also a distinguished scholar in the field of Mediaeval English language and literature. His most significant contribution to Anglo-Saxon studies is to be found in his lectures on Finn and Hengest (pronounced Hen-jist), two fifth-century heroes in northern Europe. The story is told in two Old English poems, Beowulf and The Fights at Finnesburg, but told so obscurely and allusively that its interpretation had been a matter of controversy for over 100 years. Bringing his unique combination of philological erudition and poetic imagination to the task, however, Tolkien revealed a classic tragedy of divided loyalties, of vengeance, blood and death. Tolkien's original and persuasive solution of the many problems raised by the story ranged widely through the early history and legend of the Germanic peoples. The story has the added attraction that it describes the events immediately preceding the first Germanic invasion of Britain which was led by Hengest himself. This book will be of interest not only to students of Old English and all those interested in the history of northern Europe and Anglo-Saxon England, but also admirers of The Lord of the Rings who will be fascinated to see how Tolkien handled a story which he did not invent.
A Critical Companion to Beowulf
Author: Andy Orchard
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN: 9781843840299
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 424
Book Description
This is a complete guide to the text and context of the most famous Old English poem. In this book, the specific roles of selcted individual characters, both major and minor, are assessed.
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN: 9781843840299
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 424
Book Description
This is a complete guide to the text and context of the most famous Old English poem. In this book, the specific roles of selcted individual characters, both major and minor, are assessed.
The Art of Beowulf
Author: Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520015128
Category : Beowulf
Languages : en
Pages : 300
Book Description
During the twenty years that have passed since the publication of J.R.R. Tolkien's famous lecture, "Beowulf, the Monsters and the Critics," interest in Beowulf as a work of art has increased gratifyingly, and many fine papers have made distinguished contributions to our understanding of the poem as poetry and as heroic narrative. Much more, however, remains to be done. We have still no systematic and sensitive appraisal of the poem later than Walter Morris Hart's Ballad and Epic, no thorough examination of the poet's gifts and powers, of the effects for which he strove and the means he used to achieve them. More than enough remains to occupy a generation of scholars. It is my hope that this book may serve as a kind of prolegomenon to such study. It makes no claim to completeness or finality; it contributes only the convictions and impressions which have been borne in upon me in the course of forty years of study of the poem. - Preface.
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520015128
Category : Beowulf
Languages : en
Pages : 300
Book Description
During the twenty years that have passed since the publication of J.R.R. Tolkien's famous lecture, "Beowulf, the Monsters and the Critics," interest in Beowulf as a work of art has increased gratifyingly, and many fine papers have made distinguished contributions to our understanding of the poem as poetry and as heroic narrative. Much more, however, remains to be done. We have still no systematic and sensitive appraisal of the poem later than Walter Morris Hart's Ballad and Epic, no thorough examination of the poet's gifts and powers, of the effects for which he strove and the means he used to achieve them. More than enough remains to occupy a generation of scholars. It is my hope that this book may serve as a kind of prolegomenon to such study. It makes no claim to completeness or finality; it contributes only the convictions and impressions which have been borne in upon me in the course of forty years of study of the poem. - Preface.
Beowulf and the Illusion of History
Author: John F. Vickrey
Publisher: University of Delaware Press
ISBN: 0980149665
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 255
Book Description
Most Beowulf scholars have held either that the poems' minor episodes are more or less based on incidents in Scandinavian history or at least that they entail nothing of the fabulous or monstrous. Beowulf and the Illusion of History contends that, like the poem's Grendelkin episodes, certain minor episodes involve monsters and contain motifs of the "Bear's Son" folktale. In the Finn Episode the monsters are to be taken as physically present in the story as we have it, while in the mention of the hero's fight with Daeghrefn and perhaps in the accounts of the fight with Ongenbeow, the principal foes, though originally monsters, appear now more like ordinary humans. The inference permits the elucidation of passages hitherto obscure and indicates that the capability of the Beowulf poet as a "maker" is greater than has been thought. John F. Vickrey, is Professor of English, Emeritus, at Lehigh University.
Publisher: University of Delaware Press
ISBN: 0980149665
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 255
Book Description
Most Beowulf scholars have held either that the poems' minor episodes are more or less based on incidents in Scandinavian history or at least that they entail nothing of the fabulous or monstrous. Beowulf and the Illusion of History contends that, like the poem's Grendelkin episodes, certain minor episodes involve monsters and contain motifs of the "Bear's Son" folktale. In the Finn Episode the monsters are to be taken as physically present in the story as we have it, while in the mention of the hero's fight with Daeghrefn and perhaps in the accounts of the fight with Ongenbeow, the principal foes, though originally monsters, appear now more like ordinary humans. The inference permits the elucidation of passages hitherto obscure and indicates that the capability of the Beowulf poet as a "maker" is greater than has been thought. John F. Vickrey, is Professor of English, Emeritus, at Lehigh University.
I Am in Fact a Hobbit
Author: Perry C. Bramlett
Publisher: Mercer University Press
ISBN: 9780865548947
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was a brilliant writer who continues to leave his imaginative imprint on the mind and hearts of readers. He was once called the "creative equivalent of a people," and for more than sixty years his Middle-earth tales have captivated and delighted readers of all ages from all over the world. The Hobbit has long been recognized as a children's fantasy classic, and the heroic romance the Lord of the Rings has been called the most influential story of all time. These stories have sold over 150 million copies worldwide and have been translated into over forty languages, and they, along with works such as the Silmarillion and the History of Middle-Earth, have convinced scores of readers and critics that Tolkien is the master writer of fantasy. Whether you've been a fan for years or you've just recently been hooked by the blockbuster Lord of the Rings movies, "I Am in Fact a Hobbit" is an excellent starting point into the life and work of J. R. R. Tolkien. Book jacket.
Publisher: Mercer University Press
ISBN: 9780865548947
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was a brilliant writer who continues to leave his imaginative imprint on the mind and hearts of readers. He was once called the "creative equivalent of a people," and for more than sixty years his Middle-earth tales have captivated and delighted readers of all ages from all over the world. The Hobbit has long been recognized as a children's fantasy classic, and the heroic romance the Lord of the Rings has been called the most influential story of all time. These stories have sold over 150 million copies worldwide and have been translated into over forty languages, and they, along with works such as the Silmarillion and the History of Middle-Earth, have convinced scores of readers and critics that Tolkien is the master writer of fantasy. Whether you've been a fan for years or you've just recently been hooked by the blockbuster Lord of the Rings movies, "I Am in Fact a Hobbit" is an excellent starting point into the life and work of J. R. R. Tolkien. Book jacket.
Heroic Identity in the World of Beowulf
Author: Scott Gwara
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047425022
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 436
Book Description
Readers of Beowulf have noted inconsistencies in Beowulf's depiction, as either heroic or reckless. Heroic Identity in the World of Beowulf resolves this tension by emphasizing Beowulf's identity as a foreign fighter seeking glory abroad. Such men resemble wreccan, "exiles" compelled to leave their homelands due to excessive violence. Beowulf may be potentially arrogant, therefore, but he learns prudence. This native wisdom highlights a king's duty to his warband, in expectation of Beowulf's future rule. The dragon fight later raises the same question of incompatible identities, hero versus king. In frequent reference to Greek epic and Icelandic saga, this revisionist approach to Beowulf offers new interpretations of flyting rhetoric, the custom of "men dying with their lord," and the poem's digressions.
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047425022
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 436
Book Description
Readers of Beowulf have noted inconsistencies in Beowulf's depiction, as either heroic or reckless. Heroic Identity in the World of Beowulf resolves this tension by emphasizing Beowulf's identity as a foreign fighter seeking glory abroad. Such men resemble wreccan, "exiles" compelled to leave their homelands due to excessive violence. Beowulf may be potentially arrogant, therefore, but he learns prudence. This native wisdom highlights a king's duty to his warband, in expectation of Beowulf's future rule. The dragon fight later raises the same question of incompatible identities, hero versus king. In frequent reference to Greek epic and Icelandic saga, this revisionist approach to Beowulf offers new interpretations of flyting rhetoric, the custom of "men dying with their lord," and the poem's digressions.