Beasts of time
Subtitle: apocalyptic Beowulf
By: Edward L. Risden.
Series: Studies in the humanities ;; v. 8; Studies in the humanities (New York, N.Y.) ;; v. 8.
Publisher: P. Lang; Lang AG International Academic Publishers, Peter
Published: 1994
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 165
Subjects: Beowulf.; Bible -- In literature.; Christian poetry, English (Old) -- History and criticism.; Epic poetry, English (Old) -- History and criticism.; Apocalyptic literature -- History and criticism.; Literature and society -- England -- History -- To 1500.; Cosmology, Medieval, in literature.; End of the world in literature.; Paganism in literature.; Death in literature.
Description: Over time the reputation of Beowulf as a poem continues to rise. Extant in only one manuscript, yet perhaps the most studied of English poems, it represents a remarkable text and artifact: the first European vernacular epic. And like much of the work of its age, Beowulf exhibits a strong native strain of apocalypticism, a pervasive awareness of the imminence of end-times.

The chief source of its apocalyptic power, the poem's beasts, haunts the reader; one cannot depart the poem without a sense that the monsters and heroes continue their battle into the present and beyond.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [143]-158) and index.