SOURCE: “The Beowulf Poet,” in Philological Quarterly, Vol. XXXIX, No. 4, October, 1960, pp. 389-99.
In the essay below, Baum explores the possible audience for which Beowulf was composed and argues that internal evidence suggests the poet intended to create a “quasi-heroic” poem for his own enjoyment, with the hope that others might also be pleased with his work.
