The works listed will allow your students to further explore the theme of Good vs. Evil in Epic Tales and other themes related to Beowulf:


Fiction
Dante Alighieri. The Divine Comedy. c. 1320. Hell, purgatory, and heaven in a classic epic and formative work in modern Italian. (challenging)

Elder Edda (Poetic Edda). c. 1270. An important Icelandic work that features both heroic and mythological verse. (average)

Bryher. Beowulf: A Novel. New York: Pantheon, 1956. A plaster bulldog named for the Anglo-Saxon hero becomes mascot of a British teashop in a tale of courage and endurance during the London blitz of World War II. (average)

Crichton, Michael. Eaters of the Dead. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976. The popular author resets Beowulf among 10th-century Vikings in a novel disguised as nonfiction. Teacher preview recommended. (easy)


Nonfiction
Anderson, George K. The Literature of the Anglo-Saxons. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1949. A well-written examination of Anglo-Saxon history as well as the language and literature. (average)

Clark, George. Beowulf. Boston: Twayne/G. K. Hall, 1990. A recent, widely available critical study. (for teacher's use)

Whitelock, Dorothy. The Beginnings of English Society, vol. 2 in The Pelican History of England. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 1952. A fine, accessible study that draws often on Beowulf. (challenging)