A Case for Irony in Beowulf, with Particular Reference to Its Epithets (European University Studies) (English and German Edition) - Softcover

Clark, Tom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0820470023 ISBN 13: 9780820470023

Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing, 2004

Synopsis

This book examines irony in the Old English poem Beowulf. It synthesises an argument that the poetics of Beowulf are fundamentally contrastive. Contrastiveness is a feature of expression that enables the presence of irony, although it does not guarantee it. Using a definition that emphasises contextual rather than absolute readings of irony, this study shows how irony is created in Beowulf by contrastive techniques such as the dichotomy of words and deeds, the use of juxtaposition in its development of characters, and the use of litotes. The author devotes particular attention to the epithets of Beowulf, examined as both an attributive phrase and the concomitant amplification of that phrase through its poetic context. Close readings of the poem's epithets reveal many ironies and many different types of irony. The systematic coherence of those types shows Beowulf in a new light, as a thoroughly ironic poem.

About this title

About the Author

The Author: Tom Clark is a research fellow in the Centre for Research in International Education at Monash University in Australia. He studied History and English at the University of Sydney and received his Ph.D. in June 2003.

Edition details

• Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0820470023
• ISBN 13: 9780820470023
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 300