03-01-04

2hrs 47min

Abridgement

Unabridged

Genre

Nonfiction/Poetry

As low as $0.00
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03-01-04

2hrs 47min

Abridgement

Unabridged

Genre

Nonfiction/Poetry

Description

“The poem includes battles, aggressive boasts, glorious funerals, frightening creatures, and a much-studied alliterative meter.” Publishers Weekly

The earliest extant heroic epic in any European vernacular, Beowulf is considered the most important poem in Old English. The title character is a warrior of superhuman strength who accomplishes glorious deeds to honor his king. He also represents the ideal lord and vassal, generous to his own men while fulfilling all the forms of courtesy at court. The narrative itself falls into two parts: Beowulf first rescues the royal house of Denmark from two marauding monsters; then, after having ruled his people peacefully for fifty years, he is called upon to combat a dragon that is terrorizing the countryside.

Combining mythical elements with actual historical figures and events, the narrative ranges from fierce action sequences to detailed portrayals of court life and earnest considerations of social and moral dilemmas, all in a tone of sustained grandeur.

Praise

“The poem includes battles, aggressive boasts, glorious funerals, frightening creatures, and a much-studied alliterative meter.” Publishers Weekly

“The Anglo-Saxon epic, composed between the seventh and tenth centuries, has long been accorded its place in literature.” Amazon.com, editorial review

“How powerful the oldest, most archetypal literary works remain.” Booklist

“Written more than a thousand years ago in the Germanic tongue from which the pre-Norman core of modern English is formed, Beowulf is the epic poem of the warrior hero who survived a succession of fierce trials only to languish for centuries thereafter in the entombing clutches of university scholars.” Kirkus Reviews

Details
More Information
Language English
Release Day Feb 29, 2004
Release Date March 1, 2004
Release Date Machine 1078099200
Imprint Blackstone Publishing
Provider Blackstone Publishing
Categories Literature & Fiction, Poetry, Evergreen Classics, Nonfiction - Adult, Nonfiction - All
Author Bio
Narrator Bio
Robertson Dean

Robertson Dean has played leading roles on and off Broadway and at dozens of regional theaters throughout the country. He has a BA from Tufts University and an MFA from Yale. His audiobook narration has garnered ten AudioFile Earphones Awards. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he works in film and television in addition to narrating.

Overview

The earliest extant heroic epic in any European vernacular, Beowulf is considered the most important poem in Old English. The title character is a warrior of superhuman strength who accomplishes glorious deeds to honor his king. He also represents the ideal lord and vassal, generous to his own men while fulfilling all the forms of courtesy at court. The narrative itself falls into two parts: Beowulf first rescues the royal house of Denmark from two marauding monsters; then, after having ruled his people peacefully for fifty years, he is called upon to combat a dragon that is terrorizing the countryside.

Combining mythical elements with actual historical figures and events, the narrative ranges from fierce action sequences to detailed portrayals of court life and earnest considerations of social and moral dilemmas, all in a tone of sustained grandeur.

Reviews

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