Beowulf : The differences
Wyatt meirs
3rd block
The oldest epic poem of the Anglo-Saxon period is the tale of good and evil. The crusade of heaven and hell, the bloody war that waged between our hero Beowulf and the infamous Grendel and his mother. But there seem to be two sides to this heroic and yet tragic story of these troubled and arrogant souls.
In the epic poem Grendel, was a fiery and evil soul, he was said to be a direct descendant of Cain, Cain was responsible for the first murder in biblical times. Grendel was a ravaging beast. Who had a lust for blood and murder, As it was stated in the poem Grendel was a, “powerful monster, living down in the darkness, growled in pain, impatient.” (pg.39, ln.5). “He was spawned in that slime, conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain,” (pg.40, ln.20-21).
Beowulf is the protagonist of the anglo-saxon poem, he is said to be,” the strongest Geat-greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world.” (pg.42, ln.110). He is this god like warrior, and savior. Stronger than any man, in physical strength, and in faith.
In the Poem, Grendel attacks a mead hall, Affectionately named, “Herot”. where all the danish warriors sang, drank, and feasted. Grendel attacks the danes who are asleep in the mead hall, the sound of the danish warriors jubilant activities made him angry, some say it made his blood boil. So late into the night when when all the merriment was gone and all the music and laughter had stopped, he snuck in and heinously murdered all the danish warriors in their sleep.
In the 2005 flick misguidedly named, “Beowulf and Grendel” Grendel was portrayed as the protagonist instead of the antagonist. He watched his father die in a hail of flaming tar and arro...
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...ur verse six of the bible. It was determined that it was time beowulf learned to be grateful and less self centered, Which is why as he went into battle with Grendel's mother, his divine power seemed to vanish and only his chainmail seemed to protect from the fearsome blows Grendel's mother’s razor sharp claws. It was the end of the battle that our Geat suffered a fatal battle wound and later on sercumbed to the effects of the wound and lost his life.
In short, the movie and the epic poem portrays two very different, very interesting sides to this extremely old and legendary tale of good versus evil. There are numerous differences that the poem and movie easily portray. and in some ways there are also some similarities between the two. But in the end our hero Beowulf slays Grendels mother and shortly afters loses his life from a battle wound he received the skirmish.
Even though, the values of Beowulf and Grendel are similar to the ones that I and my entire generation have grown up learning, both of the epic and movie have qualities that make me unable to come to a conclusion as to which of the works recounts the story of Beowulf and Grendel in a more exceptional way. Therefore, I give the forthcoming generations the responsibility of making that
The epic poem, Beowulf, depicts the battles and victories of the Anglo-Saxon warrior Beowulf, over man-eating monsters. The noble defender, Beowulf, constantly fought monsters and beasts to rid the land of evil. The most significant of these monsters, Grendel, represents Beowulf's shadow, the Jungian archetype explored in the essay collection, Meeting the Shadow.
Picture a world shrouded in darkness and despair, where war is inevitable and its inhabitants live with a relentless sense of fear. Medieval Europe was not a peaceful or secure place, but rather a world filled with turmoil, suffering, and unrest. Commoners living in medieval Europe never strayed far from the security of their homes because evil and suffering lurked within every facet of society. The story of Beowulf recounts the life of an idealized warrior, whose desire for honor instills deep convictions of justified violence. In many ways, Beowulf’s attitude parallels the warrior instinct exhibited by the crusaders as they attempted to recapture the Holy Land. Hence, the world of medieval Europe painted suffering for a just cause as an honorable
Do people ever talk about superheroes, and monsters? Especially people into comic books and children. Every child, even adults, have a superhero they look up to, or a role model they want to grow up to be like. Superheroes are everywhere from movies to books. Children even sit in their room playing with toy superheroes, hoping one day they can be just like them. Even hundreds of thousands of years ago there were superheroes! A long time ago in the Anglo-Saxon Period there was a brave and loyal hero! His name was Beowulf, and everyone looked up to him. This hero definitely brought peace to many people, and if it wasn’t for the mighty hero Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxons would have been terrorized forever. Therefore, the times were hard before Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon warriors always stood for three values, and the time was changed without monsters.
...owards Grendel. Gardner’s retelling of Beowulf reinforces the universal idea that there are two, if not more, sides to every story. It is prudent to remember that what is monstrous to some may be perfectly normal to others and recognizing all viewpoints can help bring about a truth: good and evil are not always clear-cut.
A hero is someone who is admired for their courage and bravery, as well as their noble accomplishments. They are respected by almost everyone, due to their kindness and charitable mindset, that drives them to fight for the good of others. Beowulf is the perfect representation of a hero, based on multiple characteristics that he displays throughout the novel. Along with his characteristics, Beowulf also takes on many “hero like” challenges and tasks. In the novel, Beowulf is praised and admired throughout the kingdom for his bravery, humility, and selflessness.
Since the beginning of time, fairy tales, stories and legends have shared a common theme where good and evil are played against each other. In the story of “Beowulf”, translated by, “Burton Raffel”, there is a hero who plays as a good character, and there is also a demon who rules the dark side. The hero Beowulf, agrees to take a journey to conquer the evil monster Grendel. But when Beowulf is trying to defeat the beast, Grendel fights back, causing integrity and generosity to vanish. The common theme in various tales like in Beowulf is, good vs. evil.
In Both Grendel and Beowulf, there is conflict. The conflict is betwixt the themes of light and dark, Paganism vs. Christianity, and Man vs. Beast. Grendel, the main character in Grendel and the secondary character in Beowulf, faces external battles but the most important battle take place internally. John Gardener recognized the basis for Grendel’s predicament which is “his [Grendel] stubborn cling to skepticism and cold, hard reason. . .” (Grendel’s Geis). Though there are many different themes present in both stories, there is one theme that remains consistent throughout out both. This theme is the lack of acceptance. Grendel’s in-acceptance is rooted in his lack of understanding of the world and its functions. As a result of the many things that have taken place in Grendel’s life, he is perceived as evil yet, not because he wants to be. He is misunderstood and not accepted. Much of Grendel’s evil wrongdoing comes as a result of lack of acceptance, lack of communication, and his ignorance.
Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson 2005) depicts a very different protagonist than the one in the epic (Heaney 2000). The Beowulf in the film learns how to have mercy as the movie progresses, while the epic Beowulf is very flat. This is due to the fact that the modern culture is very different from that of the epic. Our culture isn't content with such characters. We want our characters to have more lifelike characteristics such as emotions and a change of heart.
The poem Beowulf was written between 700-750 A.D. by an unknown author set in Denmark and Sweden, other wise known as Scandinavia. The original Beowulf only exists in one copy, and was severely damaged by a fire. The poem was an epic with many Christian references throughout the poem. In the poem, Grendel attacks the people of the Danes at night for the loud celebrating in Herot (mead hall), that drives him mad with rage, bringing death and destruction. Beowulf kills both Grendel, and his mother, then returns to his land to later become the king of the Geats. While in the 2007 film, Beowulf kills Grendel, is seduced by Grendel’s mother, lies about killing her, and becomes king of the Danes.
Time after time he charges into Herot Hall, slaughtering the warriors like sheep, and feasting on them. Denmark trembles in fear and grief as Grendel terrorizes their land. The people live in fear for their family and friends. Grendel is the Anglo-Saxon embodiment of what is dark, terrifying, and threatening. Grendel is an enemy of God. He can not know God’s great love. He is a powerful ogre that resides in the dark, wet marshes. He is a shadow of death that grows impatient with the Danes. He delights in their slaughter. No crime or savage assault would quench his thirst for evil. For evil can never be quenched. Grendel is a shepherd of evil and a guardian of crime. Grendel exhibits his envy towards the warriors as Cain did to his brother. Jealousy breed loneliness.
Beowulf looked over on the wall next to them and saw a magnificent sword hanging on the wall adorned with beautiful carvings, it was blessed with magic. No normal man could ever have lifted that sword, but Beowulf was no normal being. He waited for the right moment to go and retrieve the sword, and when he found the perfect opportunity and he ran straight towards the wall. He pulled the sword down with great force and began running towards Grendel’s mother. Beowulf took in a deep breath as he leaned back and heaved the sword forward. Beowulf had sliced straight through Grendel’s mother’s scaly neck, blood began to pour everywhere and he heard her bones cracking as the sword passed through her.
Beowulf, the heroic figure in the poem, is known throughout the land as a courageous man who performs great deeds of valor. He is a Geat, who later becomes the king of the Geats. Beowulf’s strength seems to be a gift from God. As a noble and kind man, Beowulf comes to Herot to save them from God’s foe. Before Beowulf initiates battle with Grendal he exhibits a sense of fairness in not using a weapon against the monster.
In the epic poem Beowulf, the struggle between good and evil reveals its omnipresence in even the oldest of tales. The many allusions and symbols throughout the story relate to Christianity and other Pagan beliefs. By looking at them, it becomes apparent that the author of Beowulf believed that the constant war between good and evil is not only fought by the common man but also in the ranks of their highest esteemed rulers and warriors, and even in their dreaded nightmares where monsters lurk and wait for the death of man. Beowulf was written during the budding of Christianity in England, when it was newly forming. In the story there are obvious references to Christian rituals.
The author of Beowulf demonizes Grendel by depicting him as being purely a monster as compare to John Gardner who depicts Grendel not as a savage monster but as an intelligent being who has human like qualities and characteristics. In the traditional story Grendel is depicted as a blood-thirsty fiend driven by his greedy animal instincts. ...