In the following excerpt, Gray enumerates the different narrative and structural elements, as well as character types, present in the Táin and compares the poem with other epic poems, including the Iliad, the Odyssey, Beowulf, the Chanson de Roland, and the Mabinogion.

In the following essay, Bruford argues that the Tain was originally set down in writing by a cleric who intended it for secular aristocrats. According to Bruford, the popular interpretation of Cú Chulainn reveals the tension arising from the poem's exposure to a wider public.

In the essay that follows, Kelly analyzes the Táin in the general context of early Irish storytelling in order to discern its intended meaning and audience; in doing so, Kelly provides the background necessary to assess the poem's literary value.

In the essay that follows, Ó Cathasaigh explores the presence of Celtic and Indo-European mythological elements in the Táin and demonstrates how they were made meaningful for its Irish audience.

In this essay, Bowen examines the interaction of "mythology and invention" in the character of Queen Medb, claiming that "she has become a queen who, in spite of being human and fallible, is never quite free of her former divinity."

In this essay, Radner explores why the Táin was so popular during the eighth century, a time when Ireland's political situation differed so markedly from that of the Táin's audience. She concludes that the epic represents "a complex and strategic gesture of farewell to that [pagan era" that both glorifies the past and recognizes that its political environment was doomed to failure.]

In the following excerpt, Dunn explores the cattleraid plot and speculates about the historical genesis of the Táin.