How to get started with Old English poetry
The Shipwreck (1805), Joseph Mallord William Turner Most people who know anything at all about Old English poetry will be aware of the existence of Beowulf. Perhaps they will even have read it. But far fewer will be aware of the 90% of Old English poetry that is not Beowulf. It’s a shame, because the back catalogue of Old English poetry — the deep cuts — are well worth reading. And, in general, these poems are much easier (and shorter) to read than Beowulf. The entire corpus of surviving poet