Overview
- Breaks new ground by approaching the famed text of Beowulf through a first-of-its-kind approach
- Spans four years of development and multiple researchers to achieve its research goal
- Expands the horizons of literary studies through its unique development of computer assisted statistical analyses tailored for Beowulf.
Access this book
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Other ways to access
About this book
The most original and ground-breaking work on Beowulf in several decades, this book uses “lexomic” methods that blend computer-assisted statistical analysis with traditional approaches to reveal new and surprising information about the construction and sources of the greatest surviving Old English poem. Techniques of cluster analysis identify patterns of vocabulary distribution that indicate robust similarities and differences among segments of the poem. The correlation of these patterns with knowledge gained from source-study, philological analysis, and neglected previous scholarship sheds new light on the material of which Beowulf was made and the way it was composed. The implications of this investigation for the dating, structure, and cultural context of Beowulf will overturn the current scholarly consensus and significantly improve our understanding of the poem, its nature, and origins.
Similar content being viewed by others
Keywords
Table of contents (6 chapters)
Reviews
Authors and Affiliations
About the authors
Michael D.C. Drout is Professor of English at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, USA. He is the author of How Tradition Works and Tradition and Influence in Anglo-Saxon Literature.
Yvette Kisor is Professor of Literature at Ramapo College of New Jersey, USA. Her essays on medieval literature, particularly Anglo-Saxon, include publications in Anglo-Saxon England, The Chaucer Review, and ANQ.
Leah Smith is an independent scholar, as well as a public artist and art educator, working in Providence, RI, USA. She was a member of the Wheaton Lexomics Research Group from 2011-2014.
Allison Dennett is an independent scholar and childcare provider, working in Portsmouth, NH, USA. She was a member of the Wheaton Lexomics Research Group in 2013.
Natasha Piirainen is an independent scholar and a project associate working for an education non-profit in Portland, Maine, USA. She was a Mars Fellow, a Gertrude Adams Professional Development Fellow, and a member of the Wheaton Lexomics Research Group in 2013.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Beowulf Unlocked
Book Subtitle: New Evidence from Lexomic Analysis
Authors: Michael D.C. Drout, Yvette Kisor, Leah Smith, Allison Dennett, Natasha Piirainen
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30628-5
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-30627-8Published: 12 August 2016
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-80855-0Published: 09 June 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-30628-5Published: 03 August 2016
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 96
Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations, 15 illustrations in colour
Topics: Language and Literature, Classical and Antique Literature, British and Irish Literature