ABSTRACT
This ancient English poem is of singular interest and a very peculiar character. It grows upon all those who have given it the attention which is necessary to master the diction. But, apart from its intrinsic qualities, there is another cause which tends to fascinate the reader. It is, up to the present time, entirely isolated and disconnected from all the rest of English literature, and it is the only case of the kind. From the laws of’ Æthelbert, which date about the year 600, down to the literature of Queen Victoria, every important writing can be assigned to its own place, with its natural antecedents and consequents, except only the poem of the Beowulf. We propose to give a sketch of the modern literary history of this poem and an outline of its contents, and to notice some of the surmises that have been started as to its origin.
