The Hero Recovered

The image of the hero has been sadly tarnished over the past century or so, according the Waugh and Weldon, both of the English department at Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario. The essays in this festschrift for scholar George Clark return to the Nordic hero as seen in Beowulf, The Battle of Malden and the Icelandic sagas. These epics are looked at as they might have been received in their own time rather than through the lens of classical or universal archetypes. One chapter consists of an interview with Clark on the Norse elements in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. This is part of a section on the Nordic hero in modern dress. All of the articles see the poems, modern and ancient, within an historical context, allowing them individuality outside of the archetype. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)