“Accomplishes what before now had seemed impossible: a faithful rendering that is simultaneously an original and gripping poem in its own right.”  —
New York Times Book Review
“Excellent ancillary materials in this critical edition make a potentially alienating text and culture accessible and engaging.” —Tim Melnarik,
California State University, San Bernardino
This Norton Critical Edition includes: • Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney’s poetic translation of the great Anglo-Saxon epic—winner of the Whitbread Prize—along with his translator’s introduction. • Detailed explanatory annotations and an introduction to Old English language and prosody by Daniel Donoghue. • More than two dozen visuals, including, new to the Second Edition, a fine selection of objects from the Staffordshire Hoard. • A rich array of Anglo-Saxon and early northern civilization materials, providing student readers with
Beowulf
’s cultural and historical context. • Nine critical interpretations, three of them new to the Second Edition. • A glossary of personal names and a selected bibliography.
About the Series
Read by more than 12 million students over fifty-five years, Norton Critical Editions set the standard for apparatus that is right for undergraduate readers. The three-part format—annotated text, contexts, and criticism—helps students to better understand, analyze, and appreciate the literature, while opening a wide range of teaching possibilities for instructors. Whether in print or in digital format, Norton Critical Editions provide all the resources students need.