Beowulf (Broadview Literary Texts Series)

This accurate and fluent new translation of the first full-length heroic poem in English is aimed at readers who have no acquaintance with the Old English language. As well as the text itself and introduction by the editor, the edition includes a range of appendices illustrating the background to the story, the poem, and the time. These documents help the reader see Beowulf as an exploration of the politics of kingship and the psychology of heroism; and a meditation on the bridges and chasms between the pagan past and the Christian present.