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Significance of symbolism in literature
Significance of symbolism in literature
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There are many similarities and differences between the movie "Beowulf and Grendel", to the poem. Major differences between the movie and the poem would be Grendel himself. In the poem, he is described as an evil monster born from two demons. In the movie, Grendel is actually human, but known as a troll to the warriors and Danes. The poem doesn’t give the background of Grendel or show how the Danes killed his father and the possible reason of his revenge, like in the movie. If the witch, Selma, was not included in the storyline of the movie, the audience would not have known key information that she was used to show from more flashbacks. The witch gives more of an idea about Grendel’s past life that could have been the possibility to reasons for his actions. Some major similarities are the battles. Both epics include the battles between Beowulf and Grendel, as well as Beowulf and Grendel’s mother. The end results are the same, leading to their death, but the journey and process to the two tales are different.
There are many differences between the two epics from the poem and the m...
Another difference in the poem and movie is the bloody battles. In the poem, Beowulf has supernatural powers when he is at battle. In the movie, Boulvine battles with human strengths and power. In the poem Beowulf fights all of his battles alone. In the movie Boulvine battles with several men. One of the famous warriors is the 13th warrior, played by Antonio Banderes. He helps Boulvine fight the Ven. In the poem Beowulf does not fight his third battle until 50 years later. In the movie Boulvine fights his third battle immediately after the second.
In both works, Beowulf and Grendel, Grendel himself is generally given the same connotations. He is given kennings, called names, referred to as the evil spawn of Cain, and even viewed as a monster; but why? Why in both books is he a wicked, horrible, person who is harshly excluded from everyone? After stumbling upon John Gardner's book, it was halfway expected that some excuse would be made for Grendel; that he wasn't really the inexorable monster the thanes in Beowulf portrayed him as. But all it really did was make him worse. What is the message we are being sent about Grendel?
One night, as Grendel was sleeping soundly in his home in the swamplands, he was suddenly awakened by the sound of music. The music angered Grendel because he had been up late the night before entertaining his monster friends and was in need of his beauty rest. So he headed out the front door and headed to see what the commotion is all about.
When compared the Movie and the Epic have the same story arc (Beowulf and Grendel, Beowulf and Grendel’s Mother and Beowulf and the Dragon). Starting out similarly with Grendel's slaughter of the Danes through Beowulf’s defeat of Grendel. However, turning in the opposite direction when Grendel’s Mother is introduced. Thus interpreting and changing the finer details of said story.
Grendel in the novel Grendel by John Gardner, and Grendel in the poem Beowulf, which has an unknown author, presents two different views of the same character due to the perception differences of Gardner and the unknown author. Grendel in Beowulf and the story of his namesake both have notable similarities and differences that make each distinctive from one another.
He does not act like the blood hungry beast he is seen as in Beowulf. In
There are numerous similitudes and contrasts between Beowulf the motion picture which was made in the year 2007, and the poem by an obscure Angelo Saxon poet. A large portion of the likenesses and contrasts are clear. The poem was changed into a motion picture and was more advanced and simpler to see then the epic poem itself. The movie happens to be more modern and gives the audience a better understanding of Beowulf and what happened during his life. It also helps the audience visualize it rather than having to picture the occurences while reading the poem.
Grendel in the movie and Grendel in the poem are alike in many ways. Grendel, in both the movie and the poem, has been terrorizing the people of Herot. “[He] snatched up thirty men, smashed them/ unknowing in their beds and ran out with their bodies, /The blood dripping behind him.” (Beowulf 37-39) Grendel enjoys and even delights in these acts of terror. Because of Grendel’s actions, he loses his arm in both the movie and the poem to Beowulf. Grendel’s mother moves to protect...
Throughout the story, Beowulf fights three battles against frightening monsters. Beowulf, the prince of the Geats, was a well known warrior with extreme strength who makes a promise to protect his people under any circumstance. In the poem, his strength is tested, but he uses it to save many people in battles against: Grendel, Grendel 's mother, and a dragon. Before, during, and after each of these battles Beowulf shows many similarities and differences in his actions.
The novel Ransom by David Malouf (2009) and Beowulf by Anonymous (?8thC) uses different narrative uses of the hero and the failure to be heroic within their respective texts. They both challenge the readers understanding of what it means to be heroic. Malouf depicts that there are greater acts of courage than those that can be gained through a battle, which are qualities of a hero. Both Priam and Achilles are expected to behave in a certain way which causes them to become symbols for a hero, as well as images of the ideal king and warrior for the people who are around them. It is through these characters, as well as Somax, that Malouf highlights that ordinary people who live and work away from the battle field are also capable of having qualities of heroes such as compassion, bravery and courage. Similarly, within Beowulf, the reader is constantly reminded of his heroic presence and strength as he is an ideal king an archetypal warrior. Beowulf is the greatest of the heroes depicted in the poem not only because he has the greatest prowess in battle. He also meets his social obligations for society. He has the values of a civilised man, as well as the strength of the warrior. Boewulf always looks after his people and is always gracious and kind therefore becoming a hero. Themes of compassion and kindness, and courage and bravery are explored in both texts.
Although from two different time periods in history and in literature, the epic poem, Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, and the medieval poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by Marie Borroff, both contain parallel elements as well as conflicting ones. These include their motive for why they risk their lives to go into battle, the good deeds that they accomplish along the way, and the wrongs that they correct in the end.
In the beginning of the novel, we find that that a mysterious creature attacked Hrothgar, the king of Danes and his army. In response to the situation, Hrothgar decides to call Beowulf who happens to his nephew. In this account of the story Beowulf is the hero to the Danes. He defeats the monster and it's mother. In contrast, in the novel Grendel, Grendel tells the story from his perspective. He describes to the how he wanted to be friends with the humans. In hi attempt to communicate, he is unsuccessful and finds himself being attacked. After trying several more times to befriend the humans, he deices to carry out his plan of being what society ‘wants’ him to be.
...The film version makes a lot more sense than the poem as to why Grendel was a curse to the Danes. In the poem, we only know Grendel attacks the Danes, because he does not like the loud noises they make from rejoicing and celebrating. It is not mentioned why Grendel is there, only that he is decedent from Cain and evil. The film gives more of an explanational background story as to why the creatures are there in the first place. The dragon only attacked them in the first place, because someone had taken the golden horn that Beowulf gave her. Which broke the pact she and Beowulf had. I liked Beowulf in the film better, because he was portrayed more as a epic hero. In the film he kills the dragon all by himself, without any help, and he sacrifices his arm in order to reach the dragons heart to kill him. Rather than in the poem, he gets hurt and Wiglaf kills the dragon.
In both John Gardner’s Grendel, and the poem Beowulf, there are significant differences between characters, and the way they are portrayed in each of the tellings. The interpretation of a hero is usually altered in order to fit the audience, such as, Saddam Hussein in America is made out to be this monster whereas, in his home country Iraq, he is looked at as a hero and idolized by some. In each telling, Grendel and Beowulf have many similarities in how they are described in each writing, but each character is also shown in a different light in each of the writings.
Why apply modification to a method that has been accustomed for years just to receive the attention of modern day man? The objective of history is to learn from it and to admire it, not revise and adjust. In Beowulf and Grendel the movie (Gundarsson 2005), the writers of the movie altered the original story in ways that contradict the epic and the culture it portrays. The writers appear to have tried to alter the values expressed by an ancient culture in an effort to create a modern and new appeal.The Beowulf in the epic and in the movie are expressed to be the same, however, they are entirely different in belief, representation, and also in emotional decisions, which differentiates the epic and the movie in general.