Narrative Pulse of Beowulf

'John M. Hill has long been acknowledged as the leading student of what we may call the sociology of Anglo-Saxon England, and his new book is certain to solidify his standing as one of today's most important and astute readers of the social context out of which Beowulf emerged. The Narrative Pulse of Beowulf is infused with Hill's deep erudition but manages throughout to be extremely accessible. It offers a fresh and compelling way of reading the most widely known and studied work of medieval English literature. This is a welcome addition to Beowulf scholarship, and one that will attract a broad readership.' -- Mark C. Amodio, Professor of English, Vassar College

John M. Hill discerns a distinctive 'narrative pulse' arising out of the poem's many scenes of arrival and departure. He argues that such scenes, far from being fixed or 'type' scenes, are socially dramatic and a key to understanding the structural density of the poem.One of the most consistent critiques levelled against Beowulf is that it lacks a steady narrative advance and that its numerous digressions tend to complicate if not halt the poem's movement. As those passages often look backward or far ahead in narrative time, they seem to transform the poem into a meditative pastiche. The Narrative Pulse of Beowulf counters this assertion, examining Beowulf as a social drama with a strong, forward-moving narrative momentum. John M. Hill discerns a distinctive 'narrative pulse' arising out of the poem's many scenes of arrival and departure. He argues that such scenes, far from being fixed or 'type' scenes, are socially dramatic and a key to understanding the structural density of the poem. Bolstering his analysis with a strong understanding of the epic, Hill looks at Beowulf in relation to other stories such as The Odyssey and The Iliad, epics that, though they may appear to have a certain narrative elasticity, use scenes of arrival and departure to create a cohesive social world in which stories unfold. As a new and comprehensive study of one of the most important Old English texts, The Narrative Pulse of Beowulf sheds new light on this famous poem and the epic tradition itself.