Cliffs Notes on Beowulf

by Stanley P. Baldwin

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also features glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.

CliffsNotes on Beowulf takes you into the epic story of warriors and strange beasts. Beowulf is considered to be the longest and greatest surviving Anglo-Saxon poem. Some see it as an early celebration of Christianity. Others think it extols – or perhaps condemns – heroic values.

Step into this epic poem and get ready for sword fights, feasts, and treasures. With this study guide, you’ll be able to follow all of the action as you consider the artistic impact of the work. You'll also gain insight into the characteristics of the unknown poet and the manuscript itself. Other features that help you study include

Character analyses of major players A character map that graphically illustrates the relationships among the characters Critical essays A review section that tests your knowledge A Resource Center full of books, articles, films, and Internet sites

Classic literature or modern modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

Genres: Nonfiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published March 17, 1999

About the author

Stanley P. Baldwin (born 1942) is a writer and teacher, currently living in Nebraska. He is a frequent contributor to scholarly series as SparkNotes and CliffsNotes. He wrote about Beowulf and many others in the latter series, and J.R.R. Tolkien in the former.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so great. Kennings are my new favourite thing.
“Word-hoard” - vocabulary
“Whale-road” - ocean
“Bone-house” - body
I always particularly appreciate explanations of the historical context. I only wish I’d listened to it before I listened to the poem.