Beowulf And Heaney: A Comparative Analysis

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Throughout different translations of the Beowulf epic, composers put their unique touches on different situations to portray different ideas on the same issues that are brought up within the original old english version. This is truly evident during the portrayal of Grendel’s mother within the separate translations. The variance shown between translations helps to distinguish the differences between what each composer considers a villain to be personally. This is clearly evident between written translations and Robert Zemeckis film adaptation due to the visual imagery we receive when faced with Grendel’s mother. Even still their are small differences between written translations that play a major impact on how the author views villains as a whole. These differences helps the composers to display different viewpoints on how our society functions today.
In order to understand how each composer considers villainy, we must first understand how Grendel’s mother is depicted each version. While Heaney focuses his depiction …show more content…

In Heaney’s version, we view the entirety of the battle between Beowulf and Grendel’s mother through Beowulf’s eyes. Heaney wants us to view Beowulf as a light in the dark, and this is apparent with phrases such as “Hygelac’s kinsman kept thinking about his name and game: he never lost heart”(Heaney 1529-30). As an audience we experience the ups and downs of this battle, rooting the entire time for the hero, Beowulf. By doing this, Heaney does not give us a chance to consider Grendel’s mother other than with the grim imagery he uses to describe her. It seems as if Heaney wants us to consider Grendel’s mother as a villain that is strong enough to present Beowulf with a challenge, but not strong enough to defeat his goodness in the

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