Beowulf Author:Burton Raffel Song of Wars and Kings.. Beowulf is the earliest extant poem in a modern European language. It was composed in England four centuries before the Norman Conquest. As a social document this great epic poem is invaluable-reflecting a feudal, newly Christian world of heroes and monsters, blood and victory and death. As a work of art it is quite un... more »ique; Beowulf rings with a beauty, power, and artistry that have kept it alive for more than twelve centuries.
The noble simplicity of Beowulf's anonymous Anglo-Saxon singer is recaptured once more in a vivid new translation by Burton Raffel. "Not long after Homer was fortunate enough to find Richmond Lattimore for his Iliad and Robert Fitzgerald for his Odyssey, the Old English poet found Raffel for his Beowulf....Raffel is a poet. Every page of his Beowulf declares this truth." From the Afterword by Robert P. Creed.« less