My essay is the result of an attempt to re-examine certain cruces of "Beowulf," some textual, some interpretative, some both, under the now widely accepted belief that Tolkien and Miss Whitelock are correct in their assertions that the poem is a meaningful work of art and that it was addressed to a Christian audience by a Christian poet. Given due consideration, however, are any pagan beliefs which may be operative.
The work is so organized that Sections II and III develop a background of thought and a background of compositional principle which, it is believed, basically affect the decisions on most cruces, while the remaining sections are devoted to the cruces themselves. I intend the work as suggestive rather than conclusive and hope, as any writer on "Beowulf" hopes for his material, that it will engender some fresh thought about the many questions yet remaining on this remarkable poem. (Introduction)