Search results for ""Author Fred C. Robinson""

THE TOMB OF BEOWULF Fred C. Robinson is known throughout the world for some of the most original and stimulating work on Old English literature and language published in recent times. This book collects twenty three of his essays, including three substantial new articles on the literary interpretation of Beowulf, the background and value of Ezra Pound’s translation of The Seafarer, and an account of the use of Old English in twentieth-century literary compositions. The essays vary widely in terms of subject and approach. They include literary interpretation and criticism of the best-known Old English poems (The Battle of Maldon and Exodus for example), an account of the historical, religious, and cultural background to the writing of Beowulf, articles on women in Old English literature and on the significance of names and naming. The book as a whole is informed by the author’s preoccupation with meaning, context, and language, and their subtle interactions. Its contents are equally characterized by readability and scholarship, and by learning and wit.

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There has in recent years been a lively debate among ANglo-Saxonists about the principles on which Old English verse should be edited. The present collection of essays, by the foremost living critic of Old English poetry, will move this debate on to a new plane. Robinson approaches editorial problems from a variety of perspectives: several essays show how insufficient attention to the manuscript context of a poem has led earlier scholars into error; on other occasions, scholars are shown to have resorted too quickly to emendation when a fresh combination of philological skill and intelligence can make a transmitted reading yield good sense; on yet other occasions, Robinson solves intractable textual problems by clean and elegant emendation. THe message of the book is one which no student of Old English literature can ignore: namely that the interpretation of Old English poems requires thorough familiarity with the manuscript context in which the poem is preserved, together with deep philological learning and penetrating common sense. No student of Old English poetry has these qualities in greater abundance than Fred C Robinson.

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This magnificent new edition, which includes relevant shorter texts and key illustrations, is designed specifically to help those who, while already enjoying some acquaintance with Old English, come to Beowulf for the first time.

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The sixth edition of this popular introduction to Old English language and literature retains the general structure and style of previous editions, but has been updated and includes two new texts: Wulf and Eadwacer and Judith. A new edition of the most widely used introduction to Old English language and literature. Includes two new texts, widely requested by teachers and students: Wulf and Eadwacer and Judith. Includes a range of helpful pedagogical tools - a map of Anglo-Saxon England, notes, a glossary, indexes to Part I, and a general introduction to Anglo-Saxon studies. Can be used in the classroom or for self-study; there is a special section "How to Use this Guide".

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English in Print from Caxton to Shakespeare to Milton examines the history of early English books, exploring the concept of putting the English language into print with close study of the texts, the formats, the audiences, and the functions of English books. Lavishly illustrated with more than 130 full-color images of stunning rare books, this volume investigates a full range of issues regarding the dissemination of English language and culture through printed works, including the standardization of typography, grammar, and spelling; the appearance of popular literature; and the development of school grammars and dictionaries. Valerie Hotchkiss and Fred C. Robinson provide engaging descriptions of more than a hundred early English books drawn from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and the Elizabethan Club of Yale University. The study nearly mirrors the chronological coverage of Pollard and Redgrave's famous Short-Title Catalogue (1475-1640), beginning with William Caxton, England's first printer, and ending with John Milton, the English language's most eloquent defender of the freedom of the press in his Areopagitica of 1644. William Shakespeare, neither a printer nor a writer much concerned with publishing his own plays, nonetheless deserves his central place in this study because Shakespeare imprints, and Renaissance drama in general, provide a fascinating window on the world of English printing in the period between Caxton and Milton.

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A comprehensive introduction to Old English, combining simple, clear philology with the best literary works to provide a compelling and accessible beginners’ guide. Provides a comprehensive introduction to Old English Uses a practical approach suited to the needs of the beginning student Features selections from the greatest works of Old English literature, organized from simple to more challenging texts to keep pace with the reader Includes a discussion of Anglo-Saxon literature, history, and culture, and a bibliography directing readers to useful publications on the subject Updated throughout with new material including the first 25 lines from Beowulf with detailed annotation and an explanation of Grimm’s and Verner’s laws

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Beowulf, the primary epic of the English language, is a powerful heroic poem eloquently expressive of the Anglo-Saxon culture that produced it. In this beautiful book a designer, a poet, and a specialist in Anglo-Saxon literature recreate Beowulf for a modern audience. Interweaving evocative images, a new interpretation in verse, and a running commentary that helps clarify the action and setting of the poem as well as the imagery, the book brings new life to this ancient masterpiece. Randolph Swearer’s oblique and allusive images create an archaic, mysterious atmosphere by depicting in forms and shadows the world of Germanic antiquity—Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon art, artifacts, and scenery. At the same time, Raymond Oliver gives Beowulf a world in which to live, filling in the cultural gaps not with a thick matrix of footnotes but with poetry itself. Unlike many translations of Beowulf in existence, Oliver’s retelling of the epic uses modern verse forms for poetic effect and includes a wealth of historically authentic descriptions, characterizations, and explanations necessary for modern readers. Marijane Osborn completes the process of restoring context to the poem by supplying a commentary to clarify the historical and geographical dimensions of the story as well as the imagery that accompanies it. All three work together to bring a likeness of an old and elusive tale to today’s reader.“The book’s design and the commentary on it provide a unique visual complement to Oliver’s poem… A strange and moving story, compellingly told and seriously interesting to any serious reader of books.”—Fred C. Robinson, from the Introduction

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