A translation of the 10th-century Anglo-Saxon poem relating Beowulf's triumphs as a young warrior and his fated death as a defender of his people. Heaney has aimed to produce a work true both to the original, which is one of the classics of European literature, and to his own creativity. A masterful new translation of the Anglo-Saxon poem. It is the tale of a hero, his triumphs and his death as a defender of his people.