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The text of this edition of "Beowulf" is based on the highly regarded Donaldson prose translation of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem. Accurate and literally faithful, the Donaldson translation conveys the full meaning and spirit of the original. "Backgrounds and Contexts" provides readers with the historical, linguistic, and literary settings of "Beowulf", including Robert C. Hughes on the origins of the Old English language, E. Talbot Donaldson's presentation of the major features of Old English poetry, new material on "Beowulf's" tribes and genealogies, three maps, and a facsimile illustration of the manuscript. "Criticism" collects seven new and wide-ranging interpretations of "Beowulf" by Fred C. Robinson, Roberta Frank, John D. Niles, Michael Lapidge, Joyce Hill, Helen Bennett, and Nicholas Howe. A Glossary of Proper Names and a Selected Bibliography are included.
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W. W. N O R T O N & C O M P A N Y al so publish es T he N orton Anthology of African American L iterature edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Nellie Y. McKay et al. T he Norton Anthology of American L iterature • edited by Nina Baym et al. T he N orton Anthology of C ontemporary F iction edited by R. V. Cassill and Joyce Carol Oates T he N orton Anthology of E nglish L iterature edited by M. H. Abrams, Stephen Greenblatt, et al. T he N orton Anthology of L iterature by W omen edited by Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar T he N orton Anthology of M odern Poetry edited by Richard Ellmann and Robert OGlair T he N orton Anthology of Poetry edited by Margaret Ferguson et al. T he N orton Anthology of S hort F iction edited by R. V. Cassill and Richard Bausch T he N orton Anthology of World M asterpieces edited by Sarah Lawall et al. T he N orton Facsimile of the F irst F olio of S hakespeare prepared by Charlton Hinman T he N orton Introduction to L iterature edited by Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays T he N orton Introduction to the Short N ovel edited by Jerome Beaty T he N orton Reader edited by Linda H. Peterson, John C. Brereton, and Joan E. Hartman T he N orton Sampler edited by Thomas Cooley T he N orton S hakespeare, Based on the O xford E dition edited by Stephen Greenblatt et al. For a complete listing of the Norton Critical Editions, visit us on the World Wide Web at www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nce/welcome.htm A NORTON CRITICAL EDITION BEO W U LF A PROSE TRANSLATION BACKGRO U ND S AN D C O N T E X T S CRITICISM SECOND EDITION Translated by E d ited by E. TALBO T D O N ALD SO N N ICH O LAS HOWE LATE O F INDIANA UNIVERSITY THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY W • W • N O RTO N & COM PANY . N ew York • London Copyright © 2002, 1975 by W. W. Norton & Company,-Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. T h e text of this book is composed in Electra with the display set in Bernhard Modern. Composition by Publishing Synthesis Ltd., New York. Book design by Antonina Krass. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Beowulf. English. Beowulf : a prose translation : contexts, criticism / translated by E. Talbot Donaldson ; edited by Nicholas Howe. - 2nd ed. p. cm. —(A Norton critical edition) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-393-97406-5 (pbk.) 1. Epic poetry, English (Old)—History and criticism. 2. Epic poetry, English (Old)-M odernized versions. 3. Scandinavia—In literature. 4. Monsters in literature. 5. Dragons in literature. 6. Scandinavia-Poetry 7. Heroes in literature. 8. MonstersPoetry. 9. Dragons—Poetry. 10. Heroes—Poetry. 11. Beowulf. 1. Donaldson, E. Talbot (Ethelbert Talbot), 1 9 10- II. Howe