Beowulf Resources

We can find every kind of information on the internet.  It's hard for today's modern students to imagine those dusty, old libraries that were the depositories of research and primary sources.  Take our study of Beowulf, for example.  We can go online and text for the various translations using the briefest of searches on Google:  "beowulf poem."  Even with college and extensive city libraries nearby, we can look at electronic copies from the comfort of our homes.  (Which, by the way, is a great blessing when the temperature is -10.)


Below are some resources that I've found for our first piece of literature for British Literature:

Spark Notes is a helpful resource to read AFTER you've read the book, poem, drama, etc.  Novices at literary analysis will benefit from the summaries, explanations of the themes and characters, and analyses.  Students can


Another wonderful resource is The Project Gutenberg's Ebook of Beowulf.  This website not only has a complete version of the text translated by Lesslie Hall, it has cross-references within the poem.  It includes a full character listing, troublesome vocabulary, and a column to the right with commentary.

Poetry Foundation also has an online version, but this one is in "modern English."  While many of the older, very unfamiliar words are replaced, it attempts to maintain much of the visual imagery and the sense of poetry.

Now, if you want to look at both an old and a modern version, Beowulf in Hypertext is the site for you.  The Old Text version shows the ancient language and the breaks within the lines.  You can literally see the alliterative structures of the poetry.  The Modern Text is written in poetry form.  Not only will you find the text, but this site has a good quantity of background information,