Beowulf: A Verse Translation

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 civilisation 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, analyse, 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.