This volume is designed to present biographical, critical, and bibliographical information on Beowulf. Following Harold Bloom's introduction, there appears a detailed discussion of the background of the anonymous work. Then follows a thematic and structural analysis of the work, in which significant themes, patterns, and motifs are traced. An annotated list of characters supplies brief information on the chief characters in the work. A selection of critical extracts, derived from previously published material from leading critics, then follows. The extracts consist of statements by the author on his work, early reviews of the work, and later evaluations down to the present day. The items are arranged chronologically by date of first publication. A bibliography of editions of Beowulf (including both the Anglo-Saxon text and English translations), a list of additional books and articles on Beowulf, and an index of themes and ideas conclude the volume.