Beowulf: The Poem and Its Tradition

action Aeneid alliteration alliterative Anglo-Saxon England audience barrow Battle Battle of Maldon Bede Beowulf poet byrnie Cædmon Cain Christian composed composition compound creatures critics Danelaw Danes Danish death diction dragon early epic epic poetry episode evidence example express fight formulaic system Geats Germanic gifts Grendel Grendel creatures Grendel's mother Healfdenes heathen hell Heorot Heremod hero hero's heroic Hildebrandslied hoard Homer Hrothgar human Hygelac J. R. R. Tolkien king Klaeber language Latin learned lines listeners literary lives London Lord Medieval metrical monastic monsters motif narrative narrator Norse Old English poem Old English poetry oral poetry oral tradition OSax Oxford passage patterns performance period phrases poem's poet's poetic praise readers rhetorical Saxon scop Scyld singer society song speaks speech story Studies style sword thane theme tion treasure tribe Unferth University Press vernacular verse Viking Wiglaf words þæt