Beowulf Unlocked: New Evidence from Lexomic Analysis

by Michael D.C. Drout, Yvette Kisor, Leah Smith

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.  

110 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 3, 2016

Reviews

[Dave Maddock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read multiple times for my thesis. A detailed review forthcoming, after I've written my required papers...

[Andrew Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hwaet! a first look at Beowulf using lexomics analysis to determine the textual make up of this key work. Lexomics is a form of textual analysis that combines computer-assisted statistical analysis with traditional literary scholarship, using the results of each to explain those of the other and this monograph is a good introduction to it and how it works in Beowulf. This is the first of several monographs in which Professor Michael Drout and his team use this really interesting analytic tool to frame the Beowulf poem as an interlinked series of discourses and the initial findings unveiled in this first volume is - as with all Beowulf scholarship - sure to cause much discussion and debate. Highly recommend for all lovers of lit and Lang - and Tolkien makes several interesting appearances

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smith, Leah, Allison Dennett, and Natasha Piirainen. Unlocking Beowulf: New Evidence from Lexomic Analysis. Ed. Michael D. C. Drout and Yvette Kisor. Palgrave-McMillan, 2016.
Reviewing this paper is problematic for me. I read Beowulf long ago and have only the most basic familiarity with computer programming. I could hang on to the traditional analysis that argues persuasively to me—unqualified as I am to judge—that there are independent probably written sources for certain sections of the poem. What, if anything, is new in the computer program was never clear to me.