'Beowulf': Comparing The Book And Movie

The epic poem ‘Beowulf’ is a classic tale from the Anglo-Saxon period; the story of a hero’s journey that portrays what the people of that time valued most. The poem tells of great battles against evil, which display heroic traits such as courage, strength and honor. In contrast, the film ‘Beowulf’ (2007) focuses more on the dramatic storytelling with less of a heroic tone. Both the film and the poem share a common plot, yet have plentiful differences. The movie deviated greatly from the text due to the introduction of new characters, and complex storyline.

First of all, the structure of both the text and the film are mainly similar to one another. Beowulf, the hero, was an honorable warrior who achieved great feats by defeating various monsters in his lifetime. Both depictions of ‘Beowulf’ follows the hero’s 3 major battles against monsters. Grendel, his mother, and the dragon all made appearance in each battle, respectively. The first battle of the movie mainly stays true to the poem with minor differences

In the poem, Beowulf’s encounter with Grendel’s mother was a gruesome fight for revenge, resulting in the latter’s death. However, in the film, Beowulf is instead seduced by Grendel’s mother to conceive a child in exchange for glory. Later on in the movie, the child of Beowulf and Grendel’s mother became the final villain of the story: the dragon. This also differs from the text, as Beowulf did not have any relations to the dragon whatsoever. The original king of the Danes, Hrothgar, was also implied to have the same relations to Grendel and his mother. Another minor difference is the film seems to have forsaken Beowulf’s people, the Geats, as he became king of the Danes instead. The film’s tone began as a tale of heroism, yet introduced many plotlines that overcomplicates and oversexualizes the