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by Gummere (Translator)
The great Old English epic of heroism, monsters, kingship, loyalty, and fate comes to life in Francis B. Gummere's vigorous verse translation. Beowulf tells of the Geatish hero who sails to Denmark to free King Hrothgar's hall from the terror of Grendel, then faces Grendel's vengeful mother, and finally, in old age, meets the dragon that will bring his legend to its tragic end.
Set in a world of mead-halls, sea-voyages, blood-feuds, treasure, exile, and doomed glory, Beowulf is both an adventure story and one of the foundational works of English literature. Its battles are thrilling, but its power comes equally from its deep concern with honor, memory, leadership, mortality, and the fragile bonds that hold a warrior society together. The poem looks back toward a heroic pagan past while carrying the marks of the Christian culture that preserved it, giving it a haunting double vision of courage and loss.
Gummere's translation preserves the force and movement of the poem while making it accessible to modern readers, students, and lovers of epic literature. Essential for readers of mythology, medieval literature, heroic fantasy, Anglo-Saxon history, and classic poetry, Beowulf remains one of the most influential stories ever written in the English tradition.
