The Four Funerals in "Beowulf" and the Structure of the Poem

Description

It is well known that the old English poem 'Beowulf' begins and ends with funerals and includes the third as a digression part way through. Now, for the first time, a fourth funeral (hitherto disguised as poetic imagery) is identified from archaeological evidence. A detailed analysis of the four funerals establishes their thematic and structural importance, revealing them as pillars around which the poem is built. The poet is revealed as a literate antiquarian of considerable structural skill; one who explores feminist issues, plays with numbers and enjoys a pun; who establishes an ideal then probes its darker side. The author's unique knowledge of Anglo-Saxon culture provides constant surprises and enlightenment. This book will be invaluable to all students of the poem for its fresh and detailed reading, its identification of a coherent structure and its establishment of the integrity of the surviving texts. List of figures page vi Acknowledgements viii 1. Introduction 1 Part one: The four funerals 9 2. The first funeral: Scyld Scefing's ship of death 11 3. The second funeral: the cremation of Hildeburg's kin 4 3 4. The third funeral: the Last Survivor's lament 61 5. The fourth funeral: Beowulf's complex obsequies 85 6. Classicising the past 114 Part two: The funerals and the structure of the poem 131 7. Rings and fitts 133 8. The funerals and elliptical structures I: the inner funerals as frames 158 9. The funerals and elliptical structures II: the outer structures 178 10. The funerals and elliptical structures III: the funerals as centres 202 11. Coexistent structures: three movements and a coda: 'Beowulf's' feminist middle; elements and seasons 217 12. Conclusions 234 Bibliography 241 Index 255